Making Your Own Corned Beef- Pt. 1

Ahhhh......Corned beef. Cleveland loves its corned beef and so do I. Oddly enough, making your own is quite simple. All you really need is some brisket, a decent brine recipe, patience and space to do it.

We are brining our own brisket at the restaurant for a couple of reasons. We have plenty of cooler space, and it just tastes better!!

I used a simple recipe, and it goes a little something like this:

1 8 to 10 pound brisket (trimmed of any hard fat)
2 quarts of water(preferably distilled)
1 c. Kosher Salt
1/2 c. Cider Vinegar
4 T. Light Brown Sugar
6 ea. Bay Leaves
2 t. Black Peppercorns
1 T. Yellow Mustard Seeds
1/2 t. Ground Cloves
6 cloves of Garlic
2 T. Curing Salt

Bring everything but the garlic and brisket to a boil. When the salt dissolves, chill the liquid. Put the brisket in roasting pan and pour the brine over. Place in your refrigerator and rotate once daily for at least 10 days.

Discard the brine. Rinse the brisket. Peel and cut 2 carrots, 2 yellow onions, and 2 stalks of celery into 1/2" pieces. Sear the brisket and on all sides until slightly brown. Add veggies and a couple of bottles of your favorite beer. Now add : 3 bay leaves, 3 whole cloves, 3 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 t. mustard seed and add 2 bottles of your favorite beer(hopefully Irish). Cover and simmer slightly until fork tender. This usually takes 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Below are a couple of pics of the brining process at work:

Oops...looks like some bacon got up in this piece. I'll post about that deliciousness next.