Corned Beef

Today I used a pickled Silverside to make my Corned Beef. Other cuts of pickled beef like Girello and brisket may also be used. The preparation time is short as you buy the meat already pickled. Allow 2 hours cooking time and you will have a great dinner plus encore eats for a week. Slice it thin and put it into a salad or wrap. Or make a Reuben Sandwich with sauerkraut, dill cucumber and Swiss cheese.

Pickling beef for corned beef involves using a brine solution (pickle) to preserve and flavour the meat. The Brine is usually made in a large pot using water, salt, sugar, and pickling spices. The exact amounts will vary but a common ratio is around 1 cup of salt, 1/2 cup of sugar and a few tablespoons of pickling spices per 4 litres of water. Pickling spices usually include Coriander Seeds, Mustard Seeds, Peppercorns, Bay Leaves, Cinnamon Stick, Cloves, Ginger (dried or fresh), Red Pepper Flakes (optional), Fennel Seeds, Juniper Berries, or Garlic to name a few.

The brine mixture is boiled and stirred until the salt and sugar is fully dissolved. Brine (pickle) is cooled completely before use. The beef is then left to soak in the brine (pickle) for 5 to 10 days. Sometimes the brine will be injected into the beef to ensure that the brine has penetrated deep inside the meat.

You can see why it is best bought from a reputable butcher or store. Leave it to to the experts.

Corned Beef

Recipe by Chris McIntyreCourse: Blog, Meals, MeatCuisine: IrishDifficulty: Beginner

Servings

12

portion

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

2

hours 

Calories

210

kcal

Ingredients

• 2.5kg pickled silverside of Beef

• 2 medium Carrots

• 1 medium Onion

• 3 Garlic cloves

• Parsley Stalks

• 5 Whole Cloves

• 1/2 tsp Peppercorns

• 50 mls Apple Cider Vinegar

• 150 mls 100% pure Maple Syrup

Directions

• Place pickled silverside of Beef in a large pot and fill with cold water. Enough to cover by a few inches. Bring up to the boil then remove the beef and put to one side. Discard the water, clean the pot, place the beef back into the pot and refill again with cold water, bring back up to the boil.
• Drop heat to a low simmer. 90c Add the carrots, onion, garlic, parsley stalks, cloves, peppercorns, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup. Put a lid on but leave the lid off enough to allow the steam to escape. Turn down to lowest setting. Using a thermometer try to maintain a water temperature of 90c for 2 hours
• Turn heat off. Remove the lid and allow to rest in the cooking liquid for about 1 hour. Then, If serving the beef it will still be hot to serve as well as being tender and juicy.
• Otherwise allow to cool completely. Keeping the beef in its liquid, transfer to a deep container with a tight fitting lid. Slice as much as you need as needed. This will keep up to one week in the fridge.
• Mustard sauce
• Make my bechamel sauce as per recipe on this site. Half the recipe and add extra milk until you have desired thickness. Then add Dijon mustard to taste. When you season the sauce do not add too much salt. Allow for the saltiness of the beef.

Recipe Video

Notes

• One serve is aprox 150g. Smaller serves will yield more.
• When the beef comes up to the boil for the first time, the water will look grey and foamy which is perfectly normal. You can slim away this foam and continue as per the directions. I choose to discard the water and refill with fresh water as the pickling brine is usually salty. This step will make for a better end product