I’ve always wanted to try my hand at Curing Corned Beef for our St. Patrick’s Day supper.  Well, I finally got around to making it this year and there is no going back….it was the best thing EVER.  I will tell you, it takes about a week to cure, but it is so worth it.  If you don’t have seven days at least try for 4-5 days of curing, but it’s best to just let it sit for 7 days if you can.

Curing meat does require a little pre-planning.  Ideally, it takes 7 days to cure and you can’t cure it without the addition of pink curing salt.  This is totally different from table salt of any kind and you don’t want to eat it (that’s why it’s colored pink…so you don’t accidentally use it while cooking).  When the curing process is done, you rinse the meat well under cool water and then boil it either on the stove or my favorite way is my Slow Cooker Corned Beef recipe (recipe coming 3/14/16).  Make sure to pop over there to find out how to cook it once you are done with the curing process.

I’ve got you covered, if you’re looking for more corned beef dishes!

Curing Corned Beef

Yield: 16

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 7 days

Total Time: 7 days 30 minutes

Corned beef takes about a week to cure, but it is so worth it. If you don’t have seven days, at least try for 4-5 days of curing, but it’s best to just let it sit for 7 days if you can.

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Ingredients

For the Beef

• 4 lbs trimmed brisket
• 5 tablespoons pickling seasoning (recipe follows)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 onion, quartered
• 3 teaspoons pink salt (used for curing meats)
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1/4 cup ground coriander

Pickling Seasoning

• 6 bay leaves, roughly crumbled
• 2 tablespoons mustard seed
• 2 tablespoons whole allspice
• 2 tablespoons whole coriander
• 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoons whole cloves
• 1 tablespoons red pepper flakes
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in several pieces

Instructions

For the Pickling Seasoning

1. Combine and store in an airtight container for 6 months.

To Cure the Beef

1. In a large 3-4 gallon container with a lid, combine pickling seasoning, 1 cup of brown sugar, kosher salt, garlic, onion, pink salt, black pepper, and coriander with 1 gallon of water. Stir well to combine and to dissolve salt and sugar. Add brisket and place a heavy bowl on top of meat to keep it submerged while brining. Add lid to the container and place in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
2. Remove brisket from brine and rinse under cool water well for several minutes. The meat will feel denser and have a different texture and color from when it went into the brine.
3. Cook corned beef and enjoy!
4. Find the Instructions for cooking the corned beef here .

Notes

Plan ahead! It takes 7 days to cure.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16 Serving Size: 4 oz corned beef
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 369 Total Fat: 25.6g Saturated Fat: 10.25g Cholesterol: 106.6mg Sodium: 318.3mg Fiber: 1.3g Sugar: 9.8g Protein: 335g