Corning Beef for Pastrami

Once again a post has come about by the graces of a little free-time, a great source for local and natural meats and some nudging from that large group of fellow Charcutepalooza participants. And by a happy coincidence I was able to use a fresh beef brisket I had ordered from Slagel Farms for the third challenge of the Year of Meat. March’s challenge was to corn some beef. The verb to corn simply means to preserve with salt. It comes from the fact that the best salt to do this with in the past was a course grained salt that at some point actually looked a bit like corn.

The Leprechaun's pot of Corned Beef Brisket

Like most Americans, I am a mutt, a crossbreed, a cornucopia of mostly European bloodlines. But I can say that from both sides of my family I have a good amount of Irish, Scotch-Irish, even Kentucky Irish (one of the many sources for the term Rednecks). Throw in some French, German and Crow Indian and you have the whole me. My middle name is Patrick and my family name starts with a Mc as if the above didn't help or my pasty white skin and red-headed/freckled past wasn't enough to give me a good reason to prepare the Mid-March Feast of Corned Beef. But you don't have to walk with a shillelagh or kiss the Blarney Stone to make this treat at home from scratch. It does take a week from start to finish though, so be sure to plan ahead if you want this for the big "everybody's got some Irish in 'em" day.

I personally used a sous-vide method and will describe that, but I will also let you know what to do if you don't have a vacuum sealer since a decent zip-lock will work too. But first you'll need the following:

5 # Beef Brisket (you can go larger or smaller, but adjust the amount of spices accordingly)

1 t Black peppercorns

1 t Coriander seeds

1 t Mustard seeds

5 ea. Bay leaves, crumbled

10 ea. Allspice

4 ea. Cardamom pods, smashed

8 ea. Juniper berries

1 C Kosher salt

3/4 C Brown sugar

1 t Curing salt #1 (optional to preserve pink color)