Real Life: Corned Beef Trial and Error

Ah, the humble corned beef. It wasn't something I ever ate as a child, and I'm fairly certain my mother was the only person who enjoyed it. A few years ago, I, oddly, started craving corned beef. How do you crave something you've never had? I don't really know, but I am glad I did.

Because mom was the only person enjoying it in our family, she bought deli corned beef. Off to the deli counter I went! Luckily my local grocer offers Boars Head, which in my opinion, is the best quality deli meat in our area, and am always happy with it. I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it the first time, and it's something I still enjoy regularly.

Over the last couple of years, I've seen corned beef being made on multiple Diners, Drive-in, and Dives episodes. (Thank you, Guy, I really pick up so many tips from these shows!) One of them is that corned beef is basically a variety packet of pickling spices and a slab of beef. Recently while shopping Costco, I picked up a corned beef "kit" made by O'Brien's with high hopes of duplicating Boar's Head or competition-style beef.

Awesome Prep: The directions were right on the packet, so no research was necessary, how awesome is that?! I put my raw brisket slab on a rack, poured the packet on top, filled the pan with water, inserted my thermometer, covered it with foil, and popped it in the oven. 50 minutes per pound meant roughly 4 hours, so it would be ready about a half-hour before we wanted to have dinner. Perfection!

Beep. Beep. Beep. went the thermometer alarm and upon looking at the clock, it had only been 2 hours. This is the moment confusion and panic set it. Is the thermometer deep enough? Is it working correctly? Dinner cannot be done! What am I going to do?!! Surely, someone can relate to this right now. After playing with the thermometer, not only was it correct in alarming me the beef had reached package directions' temp, but it was tough as shoe leather. Ugh. Off to the internet I went in a frantic rush.

A few sites recommended cooking it to reach 190 degrees, so I reset my thermometer alarm and thought I was good to go. I also used my brain a bit at this point. What do I know already? 1. Those aforementioned television episodes show corned beef in a pot of liquid. 2. 2. The kit directions for the slow cooker say to add water to the beef, meaning it would be simmering in liquid. Knowing this, I took the brisket off the rack and put it in the liquid. I had already tossed in some extra beef bones in an effort to double duty the broth, so I knew the flavor would be there. Panic disappeared and I knew I had it taken care of. Nope, a mere 30 minutes later it had reached the new temperature threshold and was still tough. So, I gave up. I set the oven temp to 300 degrees and took some burger patties out of the freezer to defrost.

When it was dinner time, I pulled the beef out because I was determined. I started Tom's burgers because he wasn't determined. I was able to slice tender and moist corned beef for my dinner. I was so happy I made edible corned beef at home all by myself! I used my newly purchased electric knife. While this may read like a shameless marketing plug, it isn't. I was genuinely happy it was in my cabinet as my other knives were in the dishwasher; that, however, was a shameless plug because I love my kitchen knives!

Brunch: One of my favorite brunch orders in restaurants is corned beef hash. Mmm. Corned beef, potatoes, onions, all tossed into a pan to get a good sear, then adding the eggs. Yummy. Served that with a side of rye toast, and I am the happiest girl in the world. I awoke the next day salivating while thinking of a homemade hash, albeit a low carb version, but the corned beef and eggs are the stars in hash anyway.

Errors (Major): The beef wasn't sliceable. Now, I know, that protein is more solid/tough while cold, but this was the shoe leather from improper cooking. I managed to pull off/tear/ cut in tiny pieces enough beef for a solid brunch portion and decided it was worth the risk to toss in a pot and boil. I used one cup of water and let it go on high. When the water had evaporated, the beef didn't look great, but visibly, the texture was different giving me hope, so I added another cup and continued to let it go. While that second round of water did its thing, I could tell the slices were tenderizing, they appeared relaxed and the color was brighter. Yes, I used the word relaxed for beef. During my stovetop experiment, I giggled to myself, as I used the word "relaxed" in that very moment standing in the kitchen trying to salvage the brunch I had been craving for days. Alas, I had salvaged enough to fulfill my brunch needs. Click on the brunch picture above to see the recipe.

Recovery: I kept going with it. I placed the remainder of the four-pound brisket in a stockpot with a lid, poured the stock that was used in the initial cooking process over the beef, covering it completely. After bringing the liquid to a rapid boil, I turned the burner down to a level 5-5.5, simmering it for almost 2 hours. With the lid on, the liquid didn't evaporate as quickly, so there was no need to refill. If you don't make stock with your brisket, water will work just fine.

Success! This yielded the perfect corned beef brisket.

Big Girl Breakdown: This is not the first time I have had issues with cooking directions on the package of raw meat. I really should know better at this point in my life, but I didn't decide until mid-day I wanted to make it, so there was no time to review recipes to verify the package was accurate. Lesson learned. I've found a number of sites suggesting "low and slow", which, in hindsight, makes sense for the brisket cut and the little bit of BBQ knowledge I have. The package said 350 degrees, and that is not low. I will know next time what to do. Honestly though, considering Tom doesn't eat it, I will likely just go back to the deli anytime I crave it for myself.