CORNED BEEF - The Recipe Place

The home of Food Delivery Insurance

Corned Beef

Ingredients

4 lb Brisket, beef
Salt, coarse; as needed
1 Egg; in shell
1/2 cup Sugar, brown
Water, as needed

Directions

Find a ceramic, glass, or enameled vessel large enough to hold both the beef and enough brine to cover the beef by 2 inches or more. Be sure the crock or container will fit into your refrigerator.

To determine the brine quantity needed, enclose the beef in a plastic bag, put it into the container (no need to close the bag--just hold the open end above water level), and run cold water into the container to cover the bag of meat by two to three inches. Remove the meat.

Stir coarse salt into the water, letting each addition dissolve before adding more, until an egg will float in the solution. (You'll probably need about 1-1/2 cups salt). Remove the egg once it has served its purpose. Stir in the brown sugar.

Pour the brine into a pot and simmer it for 15 minutes, then let it cool completely and pour it back into the crock or container. Lower the meat, minus bag, into the brine and weight it down with a heavy plate or a round of heavy wood that has been sterilized by bioling. If necessary, add more weight--a nonmetallic object such as a canning jar full of water--to hold the meat under the brine. Set the container in the refrigerator and let the beef cure for at least two weeks, turning it every day or two.