I love corned beef but not the canned variety. I prefer cured beef in large slabs that can be simmered then sliced when tender. I love serving the thinly sliced meat on a bad of boiled shredded cabbage and smothering them with mushroom sauce. But that kind of corned beef is not easy to find. Not where I live anyway. So, I’ve long wanted to be able to prepare my own corned beef at home. Do the brining, ditch the preservatives… you know, the old fashioned way.
About two weeks ago, I bought two large pieces of good quality Australian beef briskets and decided I would brine them. And brine them I did. I placed them in a container with a home made brining solution of one cup water and one cup of rock salt plus half a teaspoonful of baking soda. I kept the beef in the fridge for a couple of days, turning them over ever day.
At the end of the brining period of about four days, I rinsed them and simmered them for two hours. The beef was so tasty and tender. I sliced some and used them to make noodle soup.
The rest, I spread with a quickly prepared barbecue sauce, then I put them in the turbo broiler for about 15 minutes per side (use a grill and the smoky flavor will make the meat even better). When they came out of the broiler, I sliced them and spooned some sauce over them. Lovely. Just lovely.
If you’re not into brining, you can just simmer slabs of beef brisket in salted water until tender. Cool then proceed with the barbecue part. Just brush the meat with barbecue sauce and broil or grill, basting often.
For the barbecue sauce (good for about a kilo of meat), mix together:
Ingredients
- 1/4 c. of grainy mustard
1/4 c. of ketchup
1/4 c. of sugar
4 cloves of garlic, grated
4 tbsps. of Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Melt some butter in a pan. How much depends on the amount of spinach you’re cooking. Just eyeball it. Spinach wilts so much and even if it looks like you have a lot, by the end of cooking time, you’ll end up with a very modestly sized side dish so go easy on the butter.
Saute some chopped garlic (again, how much is relative) in the butter. Add the spinach. Cook, stirring lightly, until the spinach is wilted. Serve with grilled meat or seafood.
Quick Notes
If you want to serve your barbecued beef brisket with an easy-to-make vegetable side dish, you can try the spinach dish that you see in the photo. My husband, Speedy, was the one who prepared it.
Trim the spinach, discarding any tough stalks. Rinse and drain well.
Cooking time (duration): 35 minutes, excluding boiling time for beef
Number of servings (yield): about 3/4 c. of barbecue sauce
Meal type: lunch
I tried using baking soda as a meat tenderizer before, its just that it had this weird smell and aftertaste. Had to rinse and change the stock midway through the cooking. Maybe I overdid the quantity of baking soda…
At least I now knew the secret of Chinese restaurants who serve “tender” beef
How about your beef then? Did it had any weird aftertaste or smell?
There’s a proportion, according to a reader, is 1 tsp. of baking soda per kilo of meat. I used less than that. My beef was just fine.
Hi Ms. Connie,
How about a sukiyaki cut beef, pwede rin ba gamitin instead of the whole chunk of beef brisket?
With such thin slices, the salt will turn the meat dry.
After removing from the brine solution did you just simmer the beef using plain water?
Yes.
Hi..Nice blog..Got it from scanning MM’s links..Will try the beef brisket recipe soon..Been looking for a good one for the longest time
Have fun with your beef.