Do you know how to make corned beef? Continue below for the lost survival recipe step by step instructions.
If you are looking for a recipe for a cured meat that is both delicious and easy enough to make at home, then corned beef is a great choice.
Though the practice of meat curing has existed for a long time, corned beef as it is eaten today has its origin in Ireland. It was later made popular through extensive trading during the British Industrial Revolution.
In our last article on Survival Food Recipes, you learned how to make the Oldest Bread Recipe, now in this post, we’re going to cover how to make Corned Beef. Let’s take a brief look at its history before we proceed to the recipe.
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Corned Beef Recipe
What is Corned Beef?
Corned Beef is a cured meat. The pink color of the corned beef comes from the use of sodium nitrite ( also known as the pink salt).
While this adds a distinct flavor to the meat and inhibits bacterial growth, sodium nitrite consumption has been linked to cancer in some studies. However, if you limit your consumption of cured meat to once or twice a month, then this is not much of a risk.
History
The word “corned” in corned beef comes from the large grains of salt that were used to cure the meat. These salt grains were big enough to look like wheat or oat kernels and hence were called corns of salt.
The corned beef was primarily exported by the Irish till the beginning of the 19th century. Later it also became popular during World Wars 1 and 2, when fresh meat was heavily rationed.
Ingredients
1. 1 Gallon Water.
2. 1 1/2 to 2 Cups Kosher Salt.
3. 4 Teaspoons Pink Curing Salt (you can choose to omit this; the corned beef, in that case, will be grey and can be stored for a shorter time).
4. 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar.
5. 4 Tablespoons of Pickling Spices
6. 1 4 to 5 Pound beef brisket
You can opt for using store-bought pickling spice or you can make your own with the following ingredients-
1. 1 Tablespoon each of mustard seeds, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, black peppercorns, and allspice berries.
2. 2 Teaspoons each of whole cloves and ground ginger
3. 4 Large Bay Leaves- crushed.
4. 1/2 stick of Cinnamon
5. 8-9 whole Cardamom pods.
Equipment
- Large Stockpot
- 2 Oven Roasting Bags
- A Dutch Oven
- Enough space in your refrigerator to keep the brined brisket.
Instructions
Overview
The basic process of making corned beef involves marinating the beef brisket in a brine flavored with spices of your choice and then boiling it till tender.
The spices mentioned here are just a guide and you can easily customize this according to your taste.
Toast the whole spices lightly in a pan, careful not to burn them. Once cooled, grind them and mix with the ground ginger.
Step 1) Prepare
Prepare the brine by putting the gallon of water in your stockpot and add about 3 tablespoons of the pickling spices along with the kosher salt, sugar and curing salt. Bring this to a boil.
Step 2) Remove
Once boiled, remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
Step 3) Place Inside
Place one roasting bag inside another and put the brisket in the inner bag. Fill this with the now cooled brine. Make sure that the entire brisket is covered in the brine.
Step 4) Cool Down
Place this in the refrigerator for about 10 days for the flavors to develop properly. Keep an eye out for leakages.
Step 5) Wait
After 10 days, take the brisket out and wash it thoroughly.
Step 6) Bake
Place it in the dutch oven with enough water to cover and the remaining tablespoon of pickling spice and boil it for 3 hours or until tender. You can add celery or carrots to the water to add more flavors.
Step 7) Cut It
Once tender, cut the brisket against the grain and enjoy your corned beef.
Conclusion
Now you all about corned beef and why it’s such a valuable survival food recipe to learn. When planning to make this corned beef recipe just make sure that you start the preparations with enough time on hand to achieve that optimum taste and texture.
For your next gathering, while you can easily buy corned beef from the market, there is nothing better than making it yourself and surprising your friends and family. Do give this recipe a try.
I hope this recipe post helped you learn how to make corned beef. You might also like our recipe post on how to make pemmican just like the pioneers did and also how to make the oldest bread in history.
Have you ever made corned beef before?