Corned Beef / Pastrami

Yield: 1 Corned Beef / Pastrami
Time: 1 week

Corned Beef Brine:
makes 4 liters

2 kg water
2 kg ice
500 g salt
100 g brown sugar
30 g pink salt
3 tbsp. pickling spice
6 garlic cloves – crushed
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. whole allspice

For the Corned Beef / Pastrami
1-2 kg beef roast (brisket, sirloin, rump)
1 sealable container, large enough to hold roast and brine
4 liters Corned Beef Brine

Directions

Place the water, salts, sugar, garlic, onions, pickling spice and allspice in an large pot and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat, add ice and allow to melt. When ice is melted, brine should be around room temperature. Allow brine to continue cooling if over 30°C / 85°F.

For corned beef, trim any excessively thick areas of fat down to about 5mm / ¼”. For pastrami, trim fat down to 2mm / ⅛”.

Place beef roast in sealable container, pour in brine and seal container Refrigerate for 5 – 7 days. To accelerate brining, use a meat/brine injector and thoroughly inject brine into center of roast. This will cut brining to 3 – 4 days.

At end of brining, remove roast from brine and rinse with fresh water. Pat dry with paper towels.

For Corned Beef, braise the roast in chicken broth in a covered vessel (e.g. Dutch Oven) at very low heat (120-150°C / 250-300°F) until meat reaches 65°C/150°F in the center.

For Pastrami, after curing, pat dry and coat in a mixture of ground black pepper and coriander, then smoke until meat reaches 65°C / 150°F in the center.

Chef’s Note:

In the United States, brisket is what most people think of when they think of corned beef. However, many deli meats are from other cuts like the sirloin or round. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, corned beef is a much different product. See the Corned Beef article at Wikipedia for more info.

For larger or smaller beef roasts, scale the brine accordingly.

For more info on curing meats, see Cured Meats: Ham, Corned Beef & Pastrami.