Corned beef may be a popular dish around St. Patrick's Day, but this cut of meat is also an easy dish to make any time of year. Corned beef is a brisket that has been brined. It is often sold precooked, but if you have purchased it raw, the best way to cook corned beef is slowly.
You can bake, boil, or cook it in your slow cooker, but the key to a tender, flavorful meal requires at least a few hours. All of these methods are very easy, and you can add vegetables to the meat while it's cooking to create a one-dish meal.
Boiling is the traditional way of preparing corned beef. This approach accomplishes three things simultaneously: It cooks the meat, tenderizes the tough cut of brisket, and draws out the excess salt. While the salt used in brining is responsible for corned beef's delicious flavor and texture, the meat can be too salty if some of it isn't removed.
To boil corned beef, put the meat in a large pot and cover it with plenty of water. Add a tablespoon or two of pickling spice as well as a few garlic cloves, a quartered onion, a carrot, and a few stalks of celery if you like. Bring everything to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cook (don't disturb it much) until the corned beef is completely tender when pierced with a fork, about 3 to 4 hours. Remove the corned beef from the pot and slice across the grain to serve.
You can also add potatoes and/or cabbage about 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Alternatively, wait until the corned beef is done, then pull it out of the pot and cover it to keep warm, or set it in a 200 F oven. Cook whole small red potatoes and cabbage cut into wedges in the liquid until they are done.
Slow Cook
Cooking corned beef in a slow cooker has all the benefits of boiling, but you don't have to keep watch while it cooks. Place a quartered onion, a carrot, a couple of garlic cloves, and a few stalks of celery in the slow cooker. You can also add potatoes if you like. Set the corned beef on top of the vegetables, sprinkle it with a tablespoon of pickling spice, and add just enough water to submerge the beef. Cover and cook on high for about 4 1/2 hours or on low for 8 to 9 hours.
Bake
Baked corned beef develops a fabulous crispy crust. Before you bake it, however, you must boil it to remove some of the curing salt. Place the corned beef in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil while you preheat the oven to 350 F. Discard the water and repeat to draw out more of the salt.
Set the corned beef fat-side up in a baking pan and cover with foil. Bake for 2 hours. Unwrap, position an oven rack in the top third of the oven, and bake until the top is browned and crispy, about 30 minutes. You can also cover the meat with mustard or sprinkle it with brown sugar (or both) to add flavor and help the brown crust develop.
You can bake, boil, or cook it in your slow cooker, but the key to a tender, flavorful meal requires at least a few hours. All these methods are very easy and you can add vegetables to the meat while it's cooking to create a one-dish meal.
Boiling is the most common method, but you can also slow cook, bake, grill, or pan-fry your corned beef. Each method has its distinct flavor and cooking process, so it's worth trying them all to find the best fit for you. The most common method for cooking corned beef and cabbage is boiling.
Simmering corned beef on the stovetop is a tried-and-true method that results in very tender beef. One of the keys to simmering corned beef correctly is the amount of water in the pot. When there's not ample liquid to cover the meat, your dreams of tender corned beef may be replaced by a tough, chewy result.
Beer contains acids and tannins, which break down meat and tenderize it. It's the same idea as using citrus, wine, or vinegar in a marinade. In this case, Chapple uses two bottles of pale ale to braise the beef, combining it with onion, garlic, bay leaves, and 12 cups of water.
Corned beef is made from one of several less tender cuts of beef like the brisket, rump, or round. Therefore, it requires long, moist cooking. Corned beef is safe once the internal temperature has reached at least 145 °F, with a three minute rest time, but cooking it longer will make it fork-tender.
Regardless of whether you cure the meat yourself or buy a ready-to-cook corned beef, chances are there's excess salt lingering on the surface and tucked into folds on the outer part of the meat.
OVEN: Set the oven for 350 °F (or no lower than 325 °F). Place brisket fat-side up. Barely cover the meat with water—about 1 inch—and keep the container covered throughout the cooking time. Allow about one hour per pound.
Place the corned beef in a stockpot. Add the spice packet and a bottle of dark beer. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on a low simmer for about 2.5-3.5 hours, or 45-50 minutes per pound. When cooking is complete, remove from the liquid and let rest for 20 minutes.
Extra flavourings can be added into the pot such as sliced onion, garlic cloves, bay leaves, celery and fresh herbs such as parsley or thyme. It is best to keep the heat to a simmer so that the meat remains tender. As a guide, cooking time is about 25-30 minutes per 500g or until the meat is fork-tender.
Place the brined corned beef in a large pot or Dutch oven along with the liquid and spices that accompanied it in the package. Pour in enough water to cover the beef, then bring the water to a boil on the stovetop. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover the pot.
No matter the method you use, it's best to cook low and slow. Place the corned beef in a stockpot. Add the spice packet and a bottle of dark beer. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on a low simmer for about 2.5-3.5 hours, or 45-50 minutes per pound.
Use rye bread, small sandwich or ciabatta rolls and top with thousand island dressing, grainy mustard or prepared horseradish, cole slaw and Swiss cheese. Or chop up leftover Corned Beef and cook it in a skillet as a breakfast hash. You can also use leftover Corned Beef in vegetable beef soup.
Perhaps you are cooking it for the first time and have no idea or are the experienced cook and may be looking to try something new. There are three different cuts of corned beef – brisket point, brisket flat and round.
Regardless of whether you cure the meat yourself or buy a ready-to-cook corned beef, chances are there's excess salt lingering on the surface and tucked into folds on the outer part of the meat.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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