Corned Beef

• Pour water into a large 6 to 8-quart pot. In this water add mustard seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, sugar, salt, saltpeter, bay leaves, ginger, juniper berries, allspice, and cloves.
• Place the stockpot on the stove and cook it over high heat, while occasionally stirring the water, until the sugar and salt completely dissolve in it.
• After they have dissolved, remove the pot from the heat and add ice to it. Keep stirring the ice with the help of a stainless or a wooden spoon until it has completely melted. This liquid mixture that has been prepared is called the ‘brine’. (If it takes time to cool down the brine, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees.
• Once the brine has cooled down, take a zip lock plastic bag around double the size of brisket and place the brisket in it. Now pour the brine on the brisket in the ziplock bag, seal, lay it flat on a tray or a dish, cover, and keep it the fridge for 10 days.
• Check the brisket and the brine daily to make sure there is no leak and that the beef is submerged in brine.
• At the end of 10 days, take the brisket out of the brine and was it in cold running water.
• Now place the brisket in a pot large enough for its size and add onions, celery, carrot and water that cover it for about 1 inch.
• Place over high heat and bring it to a boil then lower the heat and let it simmer gently for 2 ½ or 3 hours until the meat is fork tender.
• Take it out of the pan once it is tender enough and thinly slice it across the grain.

Trivia

• Corning the beef is a practice that originated from salting the beef back in ancient times

Till 1825, the biggest exporters of corned beef were Irish