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Making Corned Beef

You can also try your local homebrew store, or order them from Penzy's (http://www.penzeys.com/) - much cheaper than Whole Paycheck! (Penzey's is an outstanding source of spices.) Also an alternative to saltpeter is Morton's Tender Quick Cure (http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-...g-and-pickling-salts/178/morton-tender-quick/), which I can pick up at most any grocery hereabouts.

And that is one fine chunk o' corned beef! Makes me hungry looking at it.

I figured Penzey's would have them, but I do not plan on making this very often. I was told that my corned beef takes up too much space in the refrigerator :lol:
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
If you are planning to make a corned beef from Alton Brown's recipe with 10 days in the brine and a one-day water soak and having it ready for St. Patrick's Day, your brisket should go into the brine by March 6th.
 
If you are planning to make a corned beef from Alton Brown's recipe with 10 days in the brine and a one-day water soak and having it ready for St. Patrick's Day, your brisket should go into the brine by March 6th.

Thank you for the heads up!

Also, I would highly recommend that water soak to anyone thinking of making this. It really makes a big difference.
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
Well some little dude dressed in green showed up at my door and shouted "It's time!" so. . .
$Corned Beef.jpg
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
Morton's tender quick, salt peter (potassium nitrate), sodium nitrate, and the like are not common items where I am so mine will look cooked brown grey when done but the taste should be there. I'm looking forward to trying it. I've never had colcannon either but I'm going to try this as well. Soda bread is what I traditionally do for brunch with butter and jams and jelly.
 
Morton's tender quick, salt peter (potassium nitrate), sodium nitrate, and the like are not common items where I am so mine will look cooked brown grey when done but the taste should be there. I'm looking forward to trying it. I've never had colcannon either but I'm going to try this as well. Soda bread is what I traditionally do for brunch with butter and jams and jelly.

Have you tried Amazon? That is where I got my salt peter from.
 
Instacure #1 is fine for meats that will be cured and then cooked, cure #2 should only be used for meats to be dried and cured over long periods of time - salamis, hams, etc
 
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Instacure #1 is fine for meats that will be cured and then cooked, cure #2 should only be used for meats to be dried and cured over long periods of time - salamis, hams, etc

I think it may be the other way around (at least according to the packages I got).
 
If cure #1 is salt and sodium nitrite then it'll be for cured and cooked. #2 has sodium nitrate and nitrite - the nitrates get broken down over time into nitrites, keeping it safer for longer. From what I've read #2 is generally used for uncooked meats, as when exposed to high heats the nitrates can form nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic
 
I just got done reading Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn. Their corned beef calls for #1 and dry-cured sausages call for #2. See p.38, emphasis added:

Curing salt with nitrite is called by different names and sold under various brand names (tinted cure mix, or TCM, DC Curing Salt, Insta Cure #1). We call it pink salt because that's what it looks like and how it's commonly referred to in restaurant kitchens. No matter the name, it's all the same: 93.75 percent salt and 6.25 percent nitrite. ... Sometimes nitrate is added to pink salt; this curing is used for dry-cured sausages, sausages that cure for a long time, and is sold under the brand names DC Curing Salt #2 and Insta Cure #2.
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Yesterday's dinner was corned beef with cabbage and potatoes. Today's lunch was a Reuben.

Transcript of a discussion we had last evening-
Mrs. O, while it was cooking: It's on sale all week. When should I go get some more? I figure Thursday of Friday.
Ouch: I think it's useless to discuss this now, since you will change your mind as soon as you start eating it.
Mrs. O: But aren't you the one always saying it's not a good idea to go food shopping while you're hungry? Huh? I think this is the perfect time to discuss it.
Ouch: Okay. You can get more Thursday or Friday.
Mrs. O, 30 seconds after she started eating: I'm buying more tomorrow.

This same conversation repeats itself every single year.
 
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