Corned Beef

Making a homemade brine for your St. Patrick’s Day corned beef is super simple (if you have the time and patience for it). But is it as good as the pre-packaged corned beef you can buy at the store? We decided to challenge ourselves to find out!

Ingredients

For the Brine:

• 2 cups of water
• 4 cups ice water
• 1 cup Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 10 whole cloves
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1 tsp mustard seed
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 10 Juniper berries
• 10 allspice berries
• 3 tsp Prague powder (pink curing salt)
• 2-gallon Ziploc bag

For the Corned Beef

• 3 pound beef brisket (only the flat)
• 32 ounces beef broth
• Coarse ground pepper (16 mesh)
• 1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 small package of baby carrots, whole
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1/2 stalk of celery, chopped
• 16oz can of beer (we used Kansas City’s own Boulevard Brewing Co. Nitro Dry Stout)
• Medium aluminum foil pan
• Aluminum foil

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Instructions

1. Make the Brine
   • In a medium sauce pan, start heating 2 cups of water
   • Add all of the seasonings
   • Bring to a simmer until all of the sugar and salt is dissolved, about 25 minutes. Stir continuously to avoid burning the sugar and salt.
   • Remove from the heat, and add 4 cups of ice water
   • Stir, then set aside to cool until room temperature

2. Brine the Brisket
   • Add your brisket flat to a 2-gallon Ziploc bag
   • Once the brine is at room temperature, add to the bag and remove any excess air
   • Make sure the liquid brine covers all sides of the brisket
   • Place in the fridge for about 7-10 days, rotating every other day to make sure the entire brisket gets brined

3. Smoke the Brisket
   • After 7-10 days, remove the brisket from the bag, rinse off any excess brine, then pat dry
   • Cover all sides with coarse ground black pepper (we prefer 16 mesh, but you can also use a pepper grinder if that’s what you have on hand)
   • Place the brisket in a medium sized aluminum pan, and cook in a smoker, oven or slow cooker at 300°F for about 2-2.5 hours
     • Pro tip: We’re not looking for a specific internal temperature here, but cooking until we get a beautiful mahogany color to the brisket

4. Finish the Brisket, Cook Alongside Veggies
   • While the brisket cooks, prep your veggies
   • Remove your brisket from the heat, and add 32 ounces of beef broth and 16oz of beer to the pan
   • Place your veggies in the pan, surrounding the brisket on all sides
   • Place back in the smoker, and cook at 300°F for an additional 2.5-3 hours, until the meat shreds easily
   • Once done, remove the pan from the heat, let cool slightly, and shred the beef.
   • Serve on a plate on top of the veggies, and enjoy!

We hope you enjoy this classic St. Patrick’s Day dish with family and friends! When it comes to homemade vs. store-bought, we found that the homemade brine was superior, delivering more consistent flavor throughout the meat. However, it wasn’t a huge difference, so if you’re low on time, don’t be afraid to just grab one of those pre-packaged corned beefs from the store. We prefer Kansas City staple, Boyle’s Corned Beef Co. for a satisfying savory flavor.

Have you tried your own Corned Beef brine at home? What did you think of it? We’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

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