I've been corning my own beef briskette for about 10 yrs now. It's pretty simple to do and yields awesome results. I go to Costco, BJ's or Sams and buy a whole flat. the thicker the better, preferably 8-9 lbs. Trim off the excess fat and brine it in a mixture of:
8 Tbslpn Kosher salt
1.5 oz of pickling spice ( 1 jar)
6 Tblspn Whole Black Peppercorn
4+ Tblspn minced garlic
1oz per 25 lb (do the math) pink curring salt
Water to cover meat
If doing multiple brisket’s, I put them in food grade 5-6 gallon buckets with lids, and either in the fridge or garage if it's cool enough. Let brine for at least two weeks, pref 3. Then boil or bake for about 3 hours for the best corned beef you've ever had. I add some Garlic and fresh pickling spice to boil, just because.
If single flat: mix ingredients and place Briskets in large zip lock with air pressed out. Put in fridge in large foil pan and turne every day or two for 2-3 weeks.
Note, it helps to add dry ingredients to hot water and then throw in some ice before you add meat.
Note: they typically shrink 40-50% so plan your gathering accordingly.
I've just finished taking my second corned beef, corned as above and turned it in to some even more fantastic Corned Beef Pastrami.
I took the above briskets and cut it in half. One half I left as coned beef, the other I did a Pastrami rub:
Night before rub the corned beef with a mix of:
3 tblspn of Coriander
2 Tblspn of Coarse ground black pepper
6 Tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard seed(whole)
1 tbslpn Kosher salt
.25 C Brown sugar
.25 C Paprika
1 Tblspn grond Ginger
Seal in plastic bag overnite.
Smoke at 200-225 3-4 hrs or 'till done
Cool overnite and Slice thin the next day and reheat with whatever juice you can save.
I like sandwiches on Rye with horseradish (homemade of course) and Swiss.
Also makes amazing corned beef and/or pastrami hash!
Enjoy!
Does anyone have variations to this? I'm always trying something new!
