Want to blow prepackaged corned beef out of the water? Make it at home.
Makes
6 servings
Total Time
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Ingredients
GRIND:
COMBINE:
Test Kitchen Approved
GOOD TO KNOW: TENDER QUICK
When you corn beef at home, Tender Quick is the product to use. The curing mixture of salt, sugar, and small amounts of sodium nitrates draws moisture from the meat, retains the meat’s pink color, adds flavor, and inhibits bacterial growth. Find Tender Quick at your local supermarket near other salt products, or on Amazon (click here).
Instructions
Grind mustard seeds, juniper berries, coriander seeds, allspice, cloves, pepper flakes, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a spice grinder until finely ground.
Combine spice mixture, Tender Quick, garlic, brown sugar, and ginger in a small bowl. Prick brisket thoroughly on both sides with a fork, then place in a 9×13-inch glass baking dish and vigorously rub with curing mixture.
Cover dish with plastic wrap and weight meat with something heavy. Cure brisket in the refrigerator 72 hours, flipping halfway through.
Trimming all excess fat from the surface of the brisket ensures the dry cure can corn in 72 hours.
To help the dry cure penetrate all the way through the meat, poke holes all over both sides of brisket.
Rub the brisket with the cure in a nonreactive pan to prevent it from picking up a metallic taste.
After applying the cure, weight the beef with cans or a cast-iron skillet to encourage corning.
