Ultimate Corned Beef And Cabbage

Total Time: 242 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 240 hrs Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons saltpeter
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 8 cloves
• 8 allspice berries
• 12 juniper berries (substitute 1 tablespoon gin)
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 lbs ice
• 1 (4 -5 lb) beef brisket, trimmed
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 head cabbage, cored and cut in eight pieces

Recipe

• 1 use a mortar and pestle, meat mallet, etc to break open the whole spices.
• 2 place the water in a 6-8 quart stock pot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper, bay leaves and ginger. cook over high heat until the salt and sugar dissolve.
• 3 remove from heat and add ice, stir until the ice has melted. if necessary, place the brine in the refrigerator until it reaches 45ºf.
• 4 once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2 gallon zip-top bag and add the brine. seal and lay flat in a container. place in refrigerator for 10 days. check daily to make sure the beef is submerged and flip the bag.
• 5 after 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water. place brisket in a large stock pot with the onion, carrot and celery. cover with cold water by 1 inch, bring to a boil.
• 6 reduce heat to low and simmer 2.5-3 hours until the meat is fork tender. add the cabbage when the corned beef has 30-45 minutes left to cook. bon appetito.