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Homemade Corned Beef

A little patience and a brine made with common household spices can turn a regular brisket into delicious homemade corned beef. The name corned beef originates in 17th century England, derived from corns– or small crystals – of salt used to salt or cure the meat. When served with carrots, potatoes, cabbage or other vegetables, it's known as New England Boiled Dinner in the eastern United States or Jigg's dinner in Newfoundland.
You'll need to start the brining process 7-10 days in advance of cooking, so be sure to plan ahead.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Irish-American
Keyword: brined beef, brisket, corned beef, corned beef and cabbage, Jigg's dinner, New England boiled dinner
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Making the Brine

  • 4-5 lb. beef brisket
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1.5 - 1 cup pickling salt (If desired, use pink curing salt that contains sodium chloride and sodium nitrate)
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp. peppercorns
  • 8 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 8 whole allspice berries
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 12 whole juniper berries (optional)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (optional)

Cooking the Corned Beef

  • water
  • 1 Tbsp. pickling spice
  • 1 small head cabbage (cut into wedges)
  • 6 potatoes (peeled and quartered)
  • 4 carrots (peeled and sliced into large chunks)

Instructions

Brine

  • Put all brine ingredients (minus the brisket) into a saucepan and simmer over low-to-medium heat until salt is dissolved (approximately 8-10 minutes).
  • Remove brine from heat and cool to room temperature.
  • Put the brisket in a glass or ceramic (non-reactive) container that's large enough to hold the meat and the brine (including brine spices). Make sure the brisket is fully submerged in liquid. (You may need to weight it down with a plate.)
  • Cover the container and place in refrigerator for 7-10 days.

Cooking the Corned Beef

  • After 7-10 days, remove the brisket from the brine and discard brine.
  • Thoroughly rinse the brisket to remove salt from the exterior of the meat.
  • Place brisket in a Dutch oven or pot large enough to hold the brisket and enough cold water to cover the meat.
  • Bring the water to a simmer.
  • (Optional step: To reduce saltiness of the brisket, you can remove pot from the heat and discard the water. Then, refill the pot with cold water and bring it back up to a simmer.)
  • Add the pickling spices and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes. Skim off any foam or residue that accumulates on the surface.
  • Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 3-4 hours until tender. (As a guideline, suggested cooking time is 45 minutes per pound of meat.)
  • Approximately 30 minutes before the meat is done, add the potatoes and carrots.
  • Approximately 15 minutes before the meat is done, add the cabbage.
  • Remove corned beef and vegetables from the cooking water.
  • Slice meat diagonally across the grain. Serve with cooked vegetables.