Corned Beef

How to Make Corned Beef Brisket, Nitrate-Free at Home

By On March 15, 2010 · 97 Comments

I was going through the list of things I need for making corned beef brisket and was surprised to discover one odd ingredient:

salt peter,

the form of potassium nitrate, KNO3, that occurs naturally, used in the manufacture of fireworks, fluxes, and gunpowder.

I checked the recipe twice and thought I read it right. Salt peter has been used for the longest time to cure meats.  It gives the meat its distinct red color. But, seriously, I wouldn’t add chemicals in my food just to make it look pretty. After all, the use of salt peter has already been discontinued ever since modern nitrates have been developed. This is actually a great example that demonstrates why I am a huge fan of making food from scratch at home: you know exactly what goes in your food.

Corning is a technique for preserving or curing meat by soaking it in brine for long periods of time.

“Curing, no matter which method, involves several processes, the most significant of which is denaturing of the proteins. This happens when salt is introduced to the meats proteins. Proteins are coils and the salt causes the proteins in the muscle fibers to unwind and absorb the extra water trapped inside. Water inside your meat spells trouble because bacteria love water so eliminating it by salting and drying allows for longer storage.” – Chef’s Corner

So what good stuff goes in to the corning solution?

 

Corned Beef

 

Corning the Beef Brisket, adapted from Alton Brown’s Good Eats

1 (4- to 5-lb) beef brisket, trimmed
2 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
8 whole allspice berries
12 whole juniper berries
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 pounds ice (optional)

Place the water into a large stockpot along with salt, sugar, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. The aromatic fragrance of the spices is simply amazing.

Remove from the heat and add the ice.  Stir until the ice has melted.  Ice is added to cool down the solution but you can totally skip this and just refrigerate the brine until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees F.

Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine.  Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 10 days.   Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine. If you don’t have a huge zip top bag, brine the brisket in a large tupperware container and make sure to flip the brisket each day to make sure that all of the brisket comes in contact with the brine.

 

Cooking the Beef Brisket

1 small onion, quartered
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

After at least 10 days, remove the brisket from the brine and rinse well under cool water.  Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cover with water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender.

Remove from the pot and thinly slice across the grain.

There are so many wonderful things you can do with corned beef. On the top of my list is a tasty Reuben sandwich: thin slices of corned beef with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing on lightly toasted rye bread.  And a personal favorite is crusty corned beef hash with eggs.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Reddit Facebook Twitter Delicious Mixx StumbleUpon Digg
← Older Comments
  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    Thank you very much, Rachel, for your long comment! We love long comments here in the blog!! :-) I’m so grateful to you for the long, thoughtful comment you left in defense of cooking nitrate/nitrite-free. Thank you for taking the time to come back and write it. It’s amazing how polarizing this issue with using nitrates/nitrites has been since I posted Alton Brown’s wonderful recipe last year. And I’m so glad there are people like you who get the message.

    Star anise is one of my favorite spices to cook with. Star anise and cinnamon? Sounds like a delicious addition to the corning mix. I’d have to try that out next time we corn beef. And roasting carrots and potatoes with olive oil and caraway seeds is a brilliant idea. It adds another layer of flavor in the dish. Thank you for sharing.

    Hope you find this note of appreciation for your notes in my blog. Have a great week!

    Jun

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    Thank you, Marijo for stopping by and checking out Alton Brown’s wonderful corning recipe. Hope to hear from you soon about how your homemade corned beef went. Rachel in her comments above gave a brilliant suggestion on roasting potatoes and carrots with olive oil and caraway seeds and serving them next to the corned beef and cabbage. Again, thank you for stopping by. Come back soon!

  • Pingback: How to Make Pork Tocino (Sweet Cured Pork)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000463021486 Matthew Levine

    Yes, most of us are probably aware that everything is made of chemicals. Most of the things we traditionally eat are chemicals produced by nature and tested by thousands of years of experience, not chemicals produced in a laboratory, just introduced in recent decades, and never thoroughly studied for their health effects. What in the world makes you think that sodium nitrite is any better for you than saltpeter? Look up the studies about people who regularly consume cured meats. I am making my own corned beef because if it was not possible to have it without nitrites, I would not eat it at all. I love the taste, but it’s not worth getting cancer. Most people just buy whatever they want from the grocery store, assuming it won’t kill them, without realizing that the processed food industry that now controls our food supply is mostly feeding us things that would not have been considered “food” prior to industrialization.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000463021486 Matthew Levine

    Also, as others have stated, cooking your meat thoroughly will kill any bacteria that may be present and destroy the botulism toxin. Since the cooking is taking place after the brining, it doesn’t matter too much if there a few bacteria develop during that stage. Practically all beef that comes from industrial feedlots is contaminated with e. coli – that is why we have to cook it, and when we cook it, we don’t get sick.

  • Speedviper1971

    The sodium nitrite causes headaches with my daughter so will use alternatives.  Just a beware for the migraine individuals! 

  • George Marshall

    I have found a great way to make Corned Beef- in a coffee caffetiere (the push down coffee maker). I have a big one which I bought from a charity shop which nicely handles a 1kg (2lb) found of brisket. I just stir up the salt and sugar in 2 cups of water and chuck in the spices (they all come out in the end, so I don’t see any need to boil), drop in the brisket and press it down an inch below the surface (top of up with any more water if needed. Take the beef out after a day and give everything a good stir and push it all down again. Leave it for 10 days… you are so right about the Nitrate, leave it out

  • Jim

    there is no 10 days curing it, when i am cutting up beef it hangs in the cool room for 2 days , i do the corning of the silverside and rolled beef at the start and i pump the meat with the poison free pickle, then freeze it at the same time as the rest of the meat ( steak, roasts and mince ) so why would i want to poison my pickled meat. in this day and age of freezers there is no need to use preservatives that are known to cause cancer.

  • Nduffield

    Excellent!  Great recipe and ended up with wonderful homemade corned beef brisket!  Best we ever had!

  • http://www.facebook.com/roderic.rinehart Roderic Rinehart

    Great recipe. I used this as my base with some additions like star anise, cardamom, and coriander seeds. All of the worries in the comments are overstated, and I would not worry at all about listeria or e coli. People need to source their food and treat it better once they get it.

    As for bulk herbs and spices, you can of course go to Whole Foods and buy as small amount as needed, or get bulk from Frontier Organic or Mountain Rose Herbs.

  • Andygeezerbloke

    hi a silly coupla questions perhaps, but im a noob lol. Does the brisket need to be un-rolled? mine is rolled and tied with string. also, does it absolutley need to be 10 tens? 9 days will hav gone by for xmas day so would be nice to eat then(my fault as left it a day late!) also i didnt find a ziplock back big enough so cut meat in half and done 2 individual bags.any advice greatly appreciated! thanks Andy.

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    Hey Andy,  thank you for trying out the recipe.  I would untie and unroll the brisket so that it gets a pretty good soak in the corning brine.  Cutting the brisket in half and placing each in smaller ziploc bags are fine as long as the meat is fully submerged in the brine.  And also 9 days won’t hurt.   Go ahead and enjoy it on Christmas day!  Enjoy the Holidays! 

  • Pingback: How to Make Menudo | Jun-Blog

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    That’s awesome, Joe!! I’ve never smoked ours but maybe I should try.  Happy New Year to you!!

  • Patricia Bryant Resnick

    Thank you, Jun! I am also pleased to find AB’s recipe adapted here; it’s exactly what I
    was looking for. I’m a long-time fan and I’ve had excellent results with
    his recipes. (His pound cake is huge and magnificent.)

    I’s Valentine’s Day today, so perfect time to start planning for St.
    Paddy’s Day dinner.  (And I’m hearing Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains being interviewed on NPR, though I don’t know how genuinely “Irish” corned beef is.
    Still, synchronicity!)

    I’ve always wanted to do my own corned beef. I’m lucky as I can just go out to the front yard for my juniper berries.

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

     Thank you, Patricia. Alton Brown’s corned beef is delicious. I’m impressed (and a little jealous) that you have juniper berries in your front yard.  Have fun corning your own brisket!

  • Mark

    I used adapted the recipe for venison. I also used a syringe to inject the brine into the round.This is a good trick if you want to corn heavier pieces, such as beef round roasts. 

  • Vernar

     I feel sorry for you…….if you don’t like this method of cooking with no nitrates…. THEN DON’T USE IT!!!  I have cured my own bacon, made my own sauerkraut and home canned.  It’s how my grandparents prepared their food.  I love this recipe and Jun’s tips! 

  • Lowriderat

    Jun, This sounds like a great recipe that I would like to try but I have a question.  I always  slow roasted my corn beef in the oven at about  325 degrees (4 – 6 hrs).  Do you think that would be o.k.??  And if I decide to slow roast, will it result in a more salty taste??  What do you think?

    Thanks for the great tips for no nitrates!! 

  • Maybs

    Thanks so much for sharing! I love corned beef and would really like to try this receip but I’m just not sure (actually, I’m sure they’re not!!) if I can find junniper and allspice berries in the Philippines.  Would you like to suggest alternatives for these? Thanks again! Mabuhay!

  • Pingback: Homemade corned beef? | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page

  • kate

     I’m trying this out for the first time.I personally don’t care if my corned beef is pink,brown,or purple as long as it tastes good:) I’ll repost to tell how it goes.Thanks Jun<3

  • relax

    I am almost positive that you are mentally challanged.  You should remove your head from your ass and stop being such a germ worried sissy.  FYI…… Your facts are way off.

  • Debrakabrin

    I would love to make this corned beef. I am not allowed to have the brown sugar but can have honey. Is it safe to use honey instead of the brown sugar ? If so, how much honey would I substitute ?

  • Goldenduffer

    Is there a way of making corned beef with a lower salt content? Especially since many of us are looking to reduce our salt intake because of health reasons.

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    Thank you for your question, Debra.  Yes, you can use honey instead of brown sugar.  I’d use roughly 3/4 cup honey for every cup of brown sugar.  Here’s a link I found about substituting honey for sugar that you may find useful: http://goo.gl/bxNvt.  Enjoy your corned beef!

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    That’s a great question.  The salt in the brine is required to preserve the meat.  Now, you can skip corning it and just slowly cook the brisket in the spice mix with less salt (whatever amount that is suitable for you).  In doing so you can have the taste of corned beef (from the spices) with less salt.

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    Thank you for your question, Maybs. I’d try it out without juniper berries and allspice and see how it tastes.  Someone left a comment earlier saying he added star anise, cardamom and coriander seeds into the spice mix.  That can be something you can do.  Let me know how it goes.

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    Slow roasting sounds like a great idea!  I think the slow-roasted brisket will be a tad saltier than one that’s boiled.  Some of the salt leaches out into the water when you boil it, which stays in your meat when you slowly roast it.  Thank you for writing and I hope you enjoy your corned beef!

  • Janet Pierce

    Thanks so much for sharing, I hate buying the “pre-made” corned beef packages in the store.  Was actually considering cutting corned beef and cabbage out of our menu because of it, and I so love using the left over beef for things like tacos with slaw, and a cabbage and potato bake not to mention hash.  Now I dont have to feel guilty about serving one of the family’s favorite meals every other month or so.  Though I will have to omit the brining step this first time, only 2 days till St. Patty’s Day.

  • Pingback: The Natural Experiment, Day 1 « Tummy Ache Central

  • Megtibs06

    Thanks for sharing this recipe! I made it last year and corned the brisket for 10 days, and although it was good it lacked some flavor. This year I corned the brisket for 15 days and it was so good! It’s amazing what 5 extra days can do for flavor. I’m glad I found this recipe. For many years I’ve wanted to try to make our own, but didn’t want to use the nitrate’s. I now have a recipe to turn to every year.

  • Purplecat80

    Some of us avoid nitrites because of migraines, so even a small amount is going to affect us adversely. There is a difference between ingesting things over a period of time that may be hazardous to our overall health, and the immediate damage to ones day by investing a migraine trigger. We also keep aspartame, red #40, and added MSG out of our diets for the same reason. And yes I understand that not all people have the same triggers, and that seemingly innocent pure foods can trigger migraines. These are just the big 4 for my family.

  • SensibleSpice

    Thanks for this. I am going to attempt to ‘corn’ a piece venison today using your method. Wish me luck! 

  • Pingback: Homemade Corned Beef | Food Hackery

  • kate

     Ok,making this for the second time.Couldn’t find a brisket at the market so I used top round the first time.It was pretty good:) This time I’m using a bottom roast because it’s a bit more marbled.Should work out better.Thanks again,Jun.

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    You’re very welcome, Kate.  I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe.  Bottom roast sounds wonderful corned.  Have a good weekend!

  • http://www.facebook.com/wewe.young Wewe Young

    hi! right now it is 2 am Manila time. I am boiling my corned beef after waiting 10 days of brining. i invited a friend for breakfast later and I am really excited to taste my 1st home made corned beef. thank you very much for the recipe!

  • http://blog.junbelen.com/ Jun Belen

    Thank you for writing. I am so excited for you! Don’t forget the fried eggs and fried rice with your corned beef for breakfast.

    I hope you don’t mind me asking, are you located in Manila? Someone asked where she can find some of the spices like juniper berries and cinnamon sticks. I was hoping you can share where you found them.

  • Dave

    Hi Jun,
    What an entertaining read! Nitrates, Nitrites, chemicals, wow! I’m pretty comfortable with Alton Brown recipes. I’ve used dozens of them. I may have missed it in there somewhere but, if I wanted the pinkish color, for purely aesthetic reasons, and wanted to use beet powder, how much do you suppose I would use.

  • Pingback: Homemade Corned Beef « Easy Homemaking

  • http://www.facebook.com/lauralshanahan Laura Shanahan

    Hi Jun! I was wondering if I could use this recipe here for making corned beef using frozen meat that has been defrosted. I only buy organic, free-range meat now and in my area most sources of this meat use flash-freezing or deep freezing with certain cuts of meat; I won’t be able to find a beef brisket fresh. I am wondering if I have to worry about microbes or certain bacterial colonies flourishing if I do not start out with fresh meat. I am aware of the rule that defrosted meat should be cooked to the correct temperatures usually within 24-48 hours of complete thawing-out. Is this brine sufficient to keep the bacterial counts down after the meat has been frozen for some time?

  • Guy

    I used pickling salt – same thing as Kosher just not blessed by a rabbi as well I through in a cup of celery for some natural Nitrates that can’t hurt.

  • leynce12

    If you are worried that the meat will turn out grey and have no salt peter, just add a few drops of pink or red food coloring to the brine. I’ve used this recipe/AB’s recipe for years now without salt peter and used the food coloring to get the pinkish color. Taste is never affected.

  • Pingback: Cabbage for St. Paddy’s Day | Of Goats and Greens

  • C.lee Haskell

    Thanks for taking the time to post this helpful recipe. I am trying to go local so I bought a brisket from a local farm that raise their cows naturally. (grass-fed & no Horm. or Antibio.) Now I just gotta figure out how to make corned beef from that brisket. Thanks to you I think I got it figured out.

  • http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/ Alethea Allarey

    So there’s a restaurant in Fort Bonifacio that serves corned beef sinigang. I had it at Christmas and now I can’t make corned beef brisket and not throw in the sinigang mix. I should really switch to the no preservatives soup base, but I still have a few of these Knorr ones. I sent this link to my mom though, since it’s still pretty hard to find not-canned corned beef at home.

← Older Comments