Home Cured Corned Beef on a Reuben Sandwich

There is nothing quite like Home Cured Corned Beef and it makes the most fantastic Reuben Sandwiches!

Course Beef

Cuisine American

Keyword charcuterie, corn beef, home cured, Reuben Sandwich

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 3 15

Total Time 3 45

Servings -10 Servings

Calories 629kcal

Author Barb

Ingredients

For the Pickling Spice

2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon ground mace
2 small cinnamon sticks crushed or broken into pieces
2 to 4 bay leaves crumbled
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger.

For the Brine

1 ½ cups kosher salt
½ cup sugar
4 teaspoons pink salt sodium nitrite, optional
3 cloves garlic minced
4 tablespoons pickling spice
1 5- pound beef brisket

For Cooking the Beef

1 carrot peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium onion peeled and cut in two
1 celery stalk roughly chopped.

Instructions

To Make the Pickling Spice Mixture

Combine peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds in a small dry pan. Place over medium heat and stir until fragrant, being careful not to burn them; keep lid handy in case seeds pop.
Crack peppercorns and seeds in mortar and pestle or with the side of a knife on cutting board.
Combine with other spices, mix. Store in tightly sealed plastic or glass container.
This looks like a lot but really, it's not. You mix and grind the spices, add them to water with the brisket, keep it chilled for 5 days and then on the 5th day you cook the meat with a couple of vegetables and more spices. I actually think I spent almost as much time figuring out how to cut the meat...and did find it should be sliced on an angle to the grain so you don't end up with strings of the finished product.

To Make the Brisket

In pot large enough to hold brisket, combine 1 gallon of water with kosher salt, sugar, sodium nitrite (if using), garlic and 2 tablespoons pickling spice (below). Bring to a simmer, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
Place brisket in brine, weighted with a plate to keep it submerged; cover. Refrigerate for 5 days.
Remove brisket from brine and rinse thoroughly. Place in a pot just large enough to hold it. Cover with water and add remaining pickling spice, carrot, onion and celery. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer gently until brisket is fork-tender, about 3 hours, adding water if needed to cover brisket. (I cooked mine on low overnight in a crock pot; I'll do it next time on the stove-top and see what different I can discern. There will be a next time!)
Keep warm until ready to serve. Meat can be refrigerated for several days in cooking liquid. Reheat in the liquid or serve chilled. Slice thinly against the grain and serve on a sandwich or with additional vegetables simmered until tender in the cooking liquid.

Notes

A note about the salt from Michael: Salt level not hugely critical here because it’s basically boiled and excess salt moves into cooking liquid. You can weigh out 12 ounces here if you feel better using a scale (approximately a 10% brine).

Or you can simply make a 5% brine of however much water you need to cover (6.4 ounces per gallon). When you cook it, season the cooking liquid to the level you want your meat seasoned. Another option is wrapping the brisket in foil and cooking it in a 225 degree oven till tender, but only do this if you’ve used the 5% brine.

Nutrition