Home-Cured Corned Beef from Brisket Recipe
Transform your brisket into a delicious homemade corned beef in 7 days!
Ingredients
- 5 pound beef brisket flat cut for slicing or point cut for shredding
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 Tablespoons Coarse Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Prague Powder #1
Spice Blend
- 1 Tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon whole mustard seed
- 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 4 bay leaves crushed
Instructions
Toast the Spices
- Put the following spices into a small skillet over medium high heat. Stir constantly to toast the spices. This only takes a few minutes and will bring out the flavors in the spices. Once you can smell the spices and the mustard seeds start dancing in the pan, immediately remove the pan from the heat and turn the stove off. Allow the spices to cool completely before mixing up the dry cure.1 Tablespoon whole peppercorns, 1 Tablespoon whole mustard seed, 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds, 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 4 bay leaves
Prepare the Brisket
- Trim the fat cap down to about ½" if needed. Make sure you have a bag large enough to fit the brisket into to cure in the refrigerator. I recommend using a gallon size freezer bag for brisket up to 5 pounds.5 pound beef brisket
Mix the Dry Cure
- In a medium size bowl, combine the brown sugar, coarse sea salt (best to use the salt grinder refill of coarse sea salt) and the toasted spice blend. Mix well.¾ cup brown sugar, packed, 3 Tablespoons Coarse Sea Salt, 1 teaspoon Prague Powder #1
Cure the Brisket
- Curing Day: Place the brisket into a large sealable bag (ziplock freezer bag or vacuum seal bag). Put half of the curing and spice mix on the fat cap side of the brisket and spread it out as much as possible. Put the remaining curing and spice mix on the other side of the brisket and spread it out. Remove as much air as possible from the bag and seal it. Place the bag into the refrigerator lying flat with the fat cap side up.Day 1: Remove the bag of brisket from the refrigerator and massage the brisket through the bag. This will move the curing and spice mix around on the meat. You will see some liquid in the bag on day 1. Flip the bag so the fat cap side is down and put the bag back in the refrigerator. Day 2: Repeat massaging and flipping the bag of corned beef. Flip the bag so the fat cap is up. Day 3: Remove the bag of brisket from the refrigerator and massage the brisket through the bag. There will be more liquid in the bag by day 3 and the brown sugar and salt should be fully disolved. The whole spices will not disolve. Flip the bag so the fat cap side is down and put the bag back in the refrigerator. Days 4,5,6: Repeat the massaging and flipping the brisket.
Soaking & Preparing the Brisket for Cooking
- Day 7: Remove the corned beef brisket from the bag and discard the curing liquid. Fill a container with cold water and submerge the corned beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but 8 hours is recommended.
- Rinse the corned beef to remove all of the spices. Your homemade corned beef is now ready to be cooked.
Notes
You can store your cured brisket in the fridge for up to 48 hours after curing and rinsing.
You can also allow it to dry in the refrigerator overnight on a rack (uncovered) and then freeze it in an airtight container. Use within 3 months for the best quality.