St. Paddy's day in the kitchen

[Dvdb]

Going to brine my own corned beef this year, probably following Alton's recipe.

Anyone with experience and advice?

[devilmaster]

Going whole hog? (no bad pun intended).

I love corned beef. The joys of having a great 50 year old deli in town.

As i'll always congratulate anyone who wants to make food from scratch (which in my mind is more important than reading nutritional labels on premade, preboxed, prebought crap) there are a few things I think I can offer:

1) Over guesstimate the size and how much you need. The brisket will shrink alot. Nothing like having a great meal without having enough - and besides leftover corned beef is one the greatest meal makers around. One whole brisket may not be enough depending on the size and appetite of the crowd. Besides when you buy whole, the local butcher doesn't usually touch it. He'll sell it right out of the packers bag. Don't let the butcher trim the fat. Fat is always needed.

Usually with Alton recipes, I'll add a little bit more spices and veg, just to up the flavour. And i usually add 50% more. So if the recipe calls for 2 bays leaves, add 3. *this does not include salt* Just spices and veg.


2) Corned is pickled. Premake the whole meat, including cooking it. If you follow alton's recipe, he suggests brineing for 10 days, then cooking. Do not cook it on the 17th, cook it one or two days ahead of time. Save the cooking liquid. This also helps in one massive way. If anything goes wrong, (it shouldn't) then you have a day or two to see if wholesalers have precooked deli style corned beef left. I've scrambled a few times because i tried something new for a big event and had ummm, a mistake of some sort.

3) On the 17th, reheat the meat with low to medium steam, preferably the steam of the reserved boiling liquid, and if you can, baste the meat with it too. The boiling liquid has flavour, spices and particularly, boiled off fat. Steaming and basteing will reintroduce some of the flavours and fats lost to the original boiling leaving the meat tasting tender and juicy to the diners.

If you're not a big fan of boiling like I am, pastrami is basically smoked corned beef with cracked pepper laid on top. ;)

Good luck, can't wait to hear how it turns out.

[Indy]

Reading that makes my Irish heart sing with joy. :D

[devilmaster]

update?

[Dvdb]

Day seven of brining. Flipping it over on a daily basis for even coverage.

The wife of a friend of mine has followed Alton's recipe the last few years and says it's the best corned beef she has ever had.

I compared this process to Christmas. The presents are laid out under the tree and mocking me at this stage. Hurry up Thursday.

[Dvdb]

Unbelievably good!!

[TravelGal]

Unbelievably good!!

:thumbup: What did you say your address is? My mouth is watering.

[racer2c]

As I was goin' over the far famed Kerry mountains,
I met with Captain Farrell, and his money he was counting.
I first produced me pistol and I then produced me rapier,
Saying: "Stand and deliver, for I am your bold deceiver!".
Musha rin um du ruma da, Whack for my daddy-o,
Whack for my daddy-o, There's whiskey in the jar

[eiregosod]

dont forget the cabbage!

best cooked/marinaded in the juice of said salted beef/ham

[chop456]

I can never decide between making boiled potatoes and cabbage or Colcannon.

So I make both. :D

And for Jah's sake - don't overcook the cabbage. I quarter and core it, then skewer the quarters with bamboo. This makes it easier to remove and serve and prevents ending up with cabbage soup.