Thank you!Sure! It's from the book "Charcuterie: the Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn (ISBN 978-0-393-05829-1). We made a couple of amendments to suit our taste.
Brine:
4 litres water
450 grams kosher salt
100 grams sugar
25 grams "pink" salt (curing salt with nitrite)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 large stick cinnamon
15 g juniper berries
20 grams pickling spice mix (see below)
Approx. 2.25 kilograms meat (brisket, flank, tongue etc.)
Another 20 grams pickling spice for later in the process...
Combine brine ingredients in a large pot that is also big enough to hold the meat easily (but don't put the meat in yet).
Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Allow to cool to room temp, then refrigerate the brine overnight.
Next day, add the meat to the chilled brine. Refrigerate (with turning and overhauling) for five days. She often puts the meat in a large freezer bag and pours in the brine. Squeeze out the air before sealing.
Remove meat from brine, rinse under cool running water.
Place meat into pot, cover with water, and add the reserved pickling spice. Bring to a boil (covered) and simmer gently for three hours or until it is fork-tender. If water gets low, add more.
When done, let cool until you can peel the tongue. Serve warm or cold. Makes excellent "French Kiss" sandwiches (because you slip a little tongue in).
Pickling Spice blend, makes about 125 grams:
20 g black peppercorns
20 g mustard seed
20 g coriander seed
12 g hot red pepper flakes
14 g allspice berries
8 g ground mace
2 small cinnamon sticks, broken
24 bay leaves, crumbled
6 g whole cloves
8 g ground ginger
Lightly toast peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds in a small dry skillet. Pound in mortar to crack them. Toasting the cinnamon a little also makes it easier to break up. Combine cracked spices with the rest, mixing well. Store in a tightly sealed container.
O.H.