Gettin' Corny - Making Your Own Corned Beef

Homemade Corned Beef
Recipe courtesy of Alison Rhyne
adapted from The New York Times Cook Book recipe, Home-Cured Corned Beef

Brine

• 7 quarts water
• 3 cups kosher salt
• 1 (5-7 pound) beef brisket
• 4 garlic cloves
• 25 cloves
• 25 peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• Handful of thyme sprigs

Stock

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 onion, sliced
• Handful of thyme sprigs
• 15 peppercorns
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly cut
• 2 celery stalks, roughly cut

Directions

1. In a stock pot or crock large enough to hold brisket, dissolve salt in 7 quarts water. Add remaining brine ingredients. Then place brisket in solution and weight so that brisket is completely submersed and covered. Place cover on pot and refrigerate for 10-12 hours, turning occasionally.
2. Remove brisket from brine and rinse well.
3. Place corned beef in large stock pot, add water to about one inch above meat. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 to 3 hours, or until tender.
4. Remove from stock pot and slice thinly. Make the best Reubens in town. See the magazine for a killer Russian dressing recipe.