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Saturday, June 2, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Curing your own Corned Beef
Corn Beef and Cabbage! One of my favorite dishes, and I’m not even Irish! But, that’s not so odd. I read that Corned Beef and Cabbage is more popular here in the US then in Ireland where the dish is generally considered to have originated.
Corned Beef is readily available at the supermarket grocery store. But, why buy it as another prepared food product when we can cure our own Corned Beef? The obvious advantage to the “do-it-yourself” approach is that you can control and know exactly what is going into your Corned Beef meal. Buying prepared, you have no idea of the exact ingredients that were put into the bag with the Corned Beef Roast. Just what are those “various spices”, “flavors”, and “preservatives” listed on the label? None of it may be bad for you, but, why not take charge and make your own, and control what you are eating?
This site will present you with an illustrated, step-by-step process for Curing your own Corned Beef from cuts of a Beef Brisket that you select from your butcher’s counter. We will be basically following the steps outlined by the Morton Salt Company for their “Tender Quick” meat curing product. Along the way, I will introduce what I think are new ideas to make the process Easier and more Fool-Proof.
Spice recipes are numerous and varied. I will not recommend any specific curing recipe here. You can easily search the internet for spice recipes for Corned Beef and select ones to try which most interest you. I will however strongly suggest that you visit the Morton Salt web site and consider ordering their informative booklet “Morton Salt Home Meat Curing Guide”. Curing Corned Beef is only one of quite a number of meat Cures outlined in the booklet.
Morton Salt Meat Curing Guide
Corned Beef is readily available at the supermarket grocery store. But, why buy it as another prepared food product when we can cure our own Corned Beef? The obvious advantage to the “do-it-yourself” approach is that you can control and know exactly what is going into your Corned Beef meal. Buying prepared, you have no idea of the exact ingredients that were put into the bag with the Corned Beef Roast. Just what are those “various spices”, “flavors”, and “preservatives” listed on the label? None of it may be bad for you, but, why not take charge and make your own, and control what you are eating?
This site will present you with an illustrated, step-by-step process for Curing your own Corned Beef from cuts of a Beef Brisket that you select from your butcher’s counter. We will be basically following the steps outlined by the Morton Salt Company for their “Tender Quick” meat curing product. Along the way, I will introduce what I think are new ideas to make the process Easier and more Fool-Proof.
Spice recipes are numerous and varied. I will not recommend any specific curing recipe here. You can easily search the internet for spice recipes for Corned Beef and select ones to try which most interest you. I will however strongly suggest that you visit the Morton Salt web site and consider ordering their informative booklet “Morton Salt Home Meat Curing Guide”. Curing Corned Beef is only one of quite a number of meat Cures outlined in the booklet.
Morton Salt Meat Curing Guide
The key here is the use of the “Tender Quick” product to cure the meats and prevent the growth of harmful bacteria while the meat is being preserved.
The Two "C"s
Clean and Cold.
Clean.
If you will keep your work preparation area Clean, all of your kitchen tools and containers as Clean as possible, you are unlikely to have any problems with bacteria growth and sickness from eating the food you will be preparing. Use paper towels to wipe up spills, discard them after use. Use lots of paper towels as you go. If you use cleaning cloths repeatedly, it is likely that you will spread bacteria from one swipe to the next. It’s not worth the possibility of getting sick, and having to make a late night visit to the emergency room. Paper towels are cheap, much cheaper that any doctor’s bill. You might consider keeping your favorite spray cleaner handy, and add a small amount of laundry bleach to help control bacteria.
Cold.
Cold.
Any food product kept cold is less susceptible to bacteria growth. If you are taking a break, or working on something other than the fresh meats, slip them back into refrigeration until you are ready to work on them again. Cold meats are also easier to slice and work with than meats that have reached room temperature.
Always remember the Two “C’s”, and stay healthy.
Always remember the Two “C’s”, and stay healthy.
Prepare the Beef Brisket
Prepare the Beef Brisket
Corned Beef is usually made from the
cheaper cuts of Beef Brisket. Select a Beef Brisket at your local Super Market, or if you are lucky and can deal with an actual butcher, have him advise you on a good piece of Brisket from which to start. Cut the Brisket up into roasts the size that you think will be appropriate for your family’s consumption. The roast I picture is cut as a size that I know will work for my family. It could be larger and produce more leftovers for sandwiches, etc. Here is another advantage of doing it yourself. You can make up the cured Corn Beef roast to fit your cooking and eating needs.
Trim the major fat layer from the outside of Beef Brisket. A filet knife works well for this trim.
If there happens to be a layer of fat running through the middle of the roast, leave it alone, it will not be a problem, and can be trimmed out after cooking the roast.
Corned Beef is usually made from the
cheaper cuts of Beef Brisket. Select a Beef Brisket at your local Super Market, or if you are lucky and can deal with an actual butcher, have him advise you on a good piece of Brisket from which to start. Cut the Brisket up into roasts the size that you think will be appropriate for your family’s consumption. The roast I picture is cut as a size that I know will work for my family. It could be larger and produce more leftovers for sandwiches, etc. Here is another advantage of doing it yourself. You can make up the cured Corn Beef roast to fit your cooking and eating needs.Trim the major fat layer from the outside of Beef Brisket. A filet knife works well for this trim.
If there happens to be a layer of fat running through the middle of the roast, leave it alone, it will not be a problem, and can be trimmed out after cooking the roast.Once the fat is trimmed, measure or estimate
the thickness of the resulting piece of meat, and make note of it. You do not have to use a ruler; I only picture it to make the point. The meat I have pictured is approximately 1 and ½ inches in thickness.
(Click on Pictures for a full size view, use your browser's Back button to return)
the thickness of the resulting piece of meat, and make note of it. You do not have to use a ruler; I only picture it to make the point. The meat I have pictured is approximately 1 and ½ inches in thickness.(Click on Pictures for a full size view, use your browser's Back button to return)
Package the Spice
Package the Spice
Follow the recommendations in the Morton Salt Booklet for the amount of meat you are going to cure. You will need to weigh the meat to get an approximation of how much you have to adjust the amount of Tender Quick, sugar, and other spices called out in the booklet.
I like to also go ahead and prepare spice packets
for when I’m actually cooking the Corned Beef after it is cured. I generally like to cook mine in a Crock Pot all day while I’m away at work. So the spice packet saves me a lot of make-up time in the morning before I leave for work. Put the roast in the Crock Pot, open the spice packet, and cover the meat with water, or stock, and let the Crock Pot do its thing all day on the Low setting. The packet can be sealed into the packaging with the meat, as we will see here.I have had good luck with the locally available dried spice mix in the pictured Crab Boil. I open the bag and make my own packets up with
1 tablespoon of Crab Boil dried spice,
1 teaspoon of Kosher Salt,
1 teaspoon of added Yellow Mustard Seed.
I use my Food Saver to make up the little packages of spice, and insert one in each Corned Beef roast package that I make. You can adjust this spice mix to your own tastes.
(Click on Pictures for a full size view, use your browser's Back button to return)
Add the Meat Cure and Package
Add the Meat Cure and Package
Consult the Morton Salt Home Meat Curing Guide and make up the dry cure mixture according to the weight of the
meat for each roast that you have prepared Place the meat into a Food Saver Bag. Pour in the cure mixture. Using your clean hands rub the meat with the dry cure mix, getting it evenly distributed over the meat. Place one of the little spice packets you made up into the bag with the meat.
Be sure that the spice packet is clean; give it a good wash under clean running water. Use the Food Saver to remove all air from the package and vacuum seal it. 
Now, you do remember how thick the meat is don’t you? You measured it back in the earlier preparation step. Any way, Morton Salt recommends allowing the cure to progress for 5 days for each 1 inch of meat thickness. So my 1 ½ inch thick piece of meat pictured here should be allowed to cure for somewhere near 7 to 8 days.
The time is not critical, but I would adhere to the recommended time within reason.
Very important. Label the package as to what is in it, and the date that the cure will be complete and “Ready”.
Now all you have to do is place the package into your refrigerator and wait. It’s a
good idea to lay it flat in your refrigerator, and flip it over each day to make the cure work the same throughout the meat. If you skip-a-flip a day or so, it will not matter at all, but do rotate them daily if you think of it.
When you reach the “Ready” date, you may either refrigerate it for a short time, and go ahead and cook it, or you may choose to place it directly into your freezer until you are ready to cook. This is the nice part about using the Food Saver Bags. The package needs no further attention to get it ready for the freezer.
One final hint: I have found that my cook-all-day in the Crock Pot on Low setting works well if you just take the package from the freezer, put the Corned Beef (still frozen) in the Crock Pot, cover it with water or your favorite stock, and let it thaw and cook all day. Be sure that you open that convenient spice package that you made up and included in your Food Saver Package. Your kitchen is going to smell SO GOOD when you get home in the evening from work.
Consult the Morton Salt Home Meat Curing Guide and make up the dry cure mixture according to the weight of the
meat for each roast that you have prepared Place the meat into a Food Saver Bag. Pour in the cure mixture. Using your clean hands rub the meat with the dry cure mix, getting it evenly distributed over the meat. Place one of the little spice packets you made up into the bag with the meat.
Be sure that the spice packet is clean; give it a good wash under clean running water. Use the Food Saver to remove all air from the package and vacuum seal it. 
Now, you do remember how thick the meat is don’t you? You measured it back in the earlier preparation step. Any way, Morton Salt recommends allowing the cure to progress for 5 days for each 1 inch of meat thickness. So my 1 ½ inch thick piece of meat pictured here should be allowed to cure for somewhere near 7 to 8 days.
The time is not critical, but I would adhere to the recommended time within reason.Very important. Label the package as to what is in it, and the date that the cure will be complete and “Ready”.
Now all you have to do is place the package into your refrigerator and wait. It’s a
good idea to lay it flat in your refrigerator, and flip it over each day to make the cure work the same throughout the meat. If you skip-a-flip a day or so, it will not matter at all, but do rotate them daily if you think of it.When you reach the “Ready” date, you may either refrigerate it for a short time, and go ahead and cook it, or you may choose to place it directly into your freezer until you are ready to cook. This is the nice part about using the Food Saver Bags. The package needs no further attention to get it ready for the freezer.
One final hint: I have found that my cook-all-day in the Crock Pot on Low setting works well if you just take the package from the freezer, put the Corned Beef (still frozen) in the Crock Pot, cover it with water or your favorite stock, and let it thaw and cook all day. Be sure that you open that convenient spice package that you made up and included in your Food Saver Package. Your kitchen is going to smell SO GOOD when you get home in the evening from work.
(Click on Pictures for a full size view, use your browser's Back button to return)
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