Home-cured corned beef. It seems daunting, doesn’t it? Curing meat at home is much easier than you’d expect, and there’s a growing community of home cooks who are beginning to revive traditional methods of food preservation and charcuterie. Preparing corned beef at home is a simple entrance into this lost art; moreover, the flavor is richer, less salty and more deeply spiced than the pre-packaged corned beef you find in the supermarket in the weeks before St. Patrick’s Day.
Pairing corned beef wih cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day is decidedly more of an Irish-american tradition than it is a strictly Irish tradition. The combination became popular in Irish-american homes during the 19th century as Irish immigrants began to settle down in American cities, they lacked easy access to their native foods – namely joints of cured pork which they customarily paired with cabbage – and thus began to use the more widely available cured beef.
While the combination of corned beef and cabbage may be more American than Irish, that’s not to say that cured beef lacks its own heritage. Curing meat with salt and brine, much like fermenting vegetables for sauerkraut or kimchi, has long been practiced. It was born out of practicality more than culinary preference as, prior to the days of refrigeration, people needed a way to preserve meat that could not be immediately consumed after harvest.
Traditionally, cooks would use saltpeter (a nitrate) to aid in curing their meat. Saltpeter would help to preserve the meat’s pinkish color which, otherwise, would turn a dingy grey. The substance was also to prevent contamination by pathogens. While one could certainly use nitrates or nitrites for preparing home-cured corned beef, both nitrites and nitrates are not with out their own host problems – having been linked to cancer. Surely, only a small amount is used.
In this recipe for home-cured corned beef, I skipped the inclusion of saltpeter and resolved instead to focus on fresh whey (a source of lactic acid) as well as celery juice, which are used to prepare nitrate- and nitrite-free cured meats. While the exclusion of nitrates and nitrites failed to produce a brilliantly pink piece of meat, it did produce a meat with a charming dusty rose hue.
As always, it is critical to choose grass-finished beef for home-curing as for any recipes here at Nourished Kitchen, it is a rich source of the wholesome fat conjugated linoleic acid which research indicates shows promise in the fight against cancer; moreover, violent strains of e. coli bacteria are greatly reduced in grass-fed beef.
Recipe for Home-cured Corned Beef
Prepared without nitrate or nitrate salts, this recipe for home-cured beef is quite simple to prepare, requiring little preparation – just good, wholesome ingredients. We serve it with boiled cabbage and new potatoes seasoned with a sizable sprinkling of fresh parsley. If you like to celebrate St. Patrick’s day with corned beef, cabbage and soda bread in the best of Irish-american tradition, you can begin brining the beef up to ten days prior to the date you plan to serve it. Want to see more photos of the curing process, view the full set on flickr.
Ingredients for Home-cured Corned Beef
- 2 to 3 lb grass-fed beef brisket or other cut of grass-fed beef
- ½ cup unrefined sea salt
- ½ cup pickling spice (mustard seed, bay leafs, all spice berries, cloves, coriander, peppercorns etc.)
- 2 cups fresh whey
- 2 cups celery juice
Other Items Needed for Curing Beef
- 100% cotton cheesecloth
- 100% cotton cooking string or twine
- lidded ceramic crock or glass bowl
- weight (such as a ceramic plate)
Method for Curing Corned Beef at Home
- Rinse the beef brisket and pat it dry.
- Stir ½ cup unrefined sea salt with ½ cup pickling spice together and vigorously rub it into the beef. Roll the brisket together and tightly tie with 100% cotton cooking twine, then tightly wrap the brisket in 100% cotton cheesecloth.
- Set the beef in a lidded bowl or crock, and pour two cups fresh whey as well as two cups fresh celery juice over the beef to cover. If the mixture of fresh whey and celery juice does not completely submerge the meat, add enough filtered water to cover.
- Weigh down the beef with a clean ceramic plate or other weight, cover your pot or bowl securely.
- You may cure it in the refrigerator for a minimum of five days or upwards of ten days, or, try the method outlined by Sally Fallon in her landmark cookbook Nourishing Traditions (available on Amazon* or through independent sellers) which encourages curing corned beef at room temperature for two days or so.
- As the beef sits in brine, it’s important to turn the meat each day so that it cures evenly.
- Once the curing process is complete, approximately a week in the fridge, strain the beef and pickling spice from the brine. You can then serve home-cured corned beef as you would any corned beef. We prefer to add ours to the slow cooker along with fresh cabbage.
NOTE ON WHEY: If you need fresh whey, but don’t know how to acquire it do not substitute whey powder. Instead, strain one quart of yogurt by placing a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and lining it with 100% cotton cheesecloth. Next pour yogurt into the cheesecloth-lined sieve, in a few hours you will have an adequate amount of whey. Read more about straining yogurt to produce labneh, or yogurt cheese.
NOTE ON CELERY JUICE: You can obtain a sufficient amount of celery juice by running one entire celery through your juicer. If you do not have a juicer, you can omit celery juice and replace it with an equivalent amount of whey; however, note that doing so may change the color and I have not tested this recipe without the inclusion of celery juice. Note that celery juice itself is a vegetable source of nitrite which is why it’s used in curing.
YIELD: 8 to 10 servings
TIME: 10 minutes (preparation), 2 to 3 days (curing at room temperature) OR 5 to 10 days (curing in the fridge)
*Affiliate link. I will earn a very small commission should you purchase through this link to Amazon.
This looks amazing, but pardon my ignorance. What’s celery juice? And if it’s literally juiced celery, can I make it if i don’t have a juicer (or a vita mix)?
Hi Jenny,
Could you clarify a couple of things? Is the piece of beef that we should use supposed to be a roast that has been “butterflied” so to say? In your instructions, it would seem that way as we are to roll it up (kind like a jelly roll?). I have not been able to get a brisket cut from my farmer, so could I use any other cut of roast? In that case, I wouldn’t be able to roll it up, so would I just encrust the outside of the roast with the salt and spices? Would I still encase the whole roast in cheesecloth?
Thanks!
Celery juice is naturally high in nitrites so it’s a bit weird to skip using the saltpeter.
Christine: If you can’t find brisket (my favorite cut for this being the point cut), you can cure a round roast which will be a little drier than a brisket but still good. You might want to adjust the time for the cure or butterfly the roast so that the surface area is more similar to the flatter brisket.
Hmm, can this work for ground beef? I would really love to make some corned beef hash once done making my ground beef.
I meant corned beef lol
Ryan – I don’t really have a problem with the use of naturally occurring nitrite. Especially when it’s used in such minute quantities. Celery juice is less concentrated in nitrite than, say, pink salt. But, honestly, I don’t have easy access to pink salt or saltpeter where I live so celery juice seems to effect, more or less, the same goal. If you wanted to avoid all nitrites – you’d have a tough time, since many vegetables contain them.
Christine –
I actually didn’t have a brisket, and didn’t butterfly the meat either. The only meat I had available was a grass-fed chuck roast. What you see above in the photograph of the raw meat is just the natural separation of the meat from the fat. After rubbing the chuck roast thoroughly with the spices, I rolled it and tied it and left it, weighted, in the brine.
I am so tyhrilled to see this! I used to love it as a kid but as I grew up and learned more about it, I was afraid of it!
I also LOVE that you recognize the roots of this dish. Irish-Americans in NYC used brisket since that is what they saw their Jewish neighbors using. The method of boiling meat with veg stems from their feudal days when the British kept them from having…well…anything and they had to hide the smell of any meat they didnt give up to their lords with the smell of cabbage.
Wow, thanks for sharing this recipe! If I end up getting a whole cow’s worth of meat, I will definitely try it.
What kind of whey are you using? Could I use the whey from my over-done milk kefir?
I’m picking up my quarter of grassfed beef today and this will be perfect for the brisket – my husband claimed the last one for the smoker/bbq, so this one’s mine!!
One other question… how long do you cook it? I’ve never made corned beef because it’s always got so much garbage in it. Do you cook it like a pot roast? Covered in water?
This sounds wonderful! Does anyone have more specific recommendations on which spices to use? I love the idea of making a theme St. Patrick’s day meal – cooking with the kiddo is so much fun!
This is awesome! I was just saying to my husband the other day that I wanted to try to make this myself someday! And here you are doing it!!!
I answered all of my other questions but now I’m wondering, how much celery does it take to get 2 cups of juice…
I think you could make plenty of whey perhaps a bit more easily by taking 1/2 gallon of milk, (or as much liquid whey as needed) heating milk to 110 degrees and then either putting 1-2 spoonsful of either lemon or vinegar (white) to cut the milk and produce the whey (giving you some yummy ricotta by product if using storebought milk – or if natural milk – CHEESE!). It might be a bit simpler than the yogurt method which would take a lot of yogurt to make a small amount of whey it would seem (and take much longer because of the time it takes to drain). Just a thought…
If you have left over whey, it’s great for plants, making rice (makes a yummy, yummy, rich rice), spagetti, boiling potatoes, etc. Also good for moisture in cakes, baking goods. Never throw it away! Use it!
I just found your site and I am SO excited! Have been expanding my whole food cooking knowledge for years (grinding my own spelt grains, making piima cream cultures), but your site is helping me take it to the next level. When you have a chance I’d love to learn more about how you got your site so fabulous. I have a health blog here http://www.lorigregory.com — mostly an integration of ayurveda and healthy living that i have cultivated for the past 15 years. But I was getting overwhelmed trying to include all the yummy food stuffs, now i’ll just refer to your site and stick to what i do best! thanks so much jenny!
lori gregory
Hey there. I have a question about whey! I no longer have a source of raw milk, so I don’t have fresh whey leftover from cheesemaking. However, I do have access to non homogonized cultured buttermilk. It seperates just like non-homogonized milk, but the bottom liquid is clear-ish green watery stuff, just like whey. Do you think it will work??
I can’t use whey because of milk allergies. What to you suggest?
Tina -
If you don’t have whey, I’d encourage you to use brine from cultured vegetables which is non-dairy source of lactic acid.
Blessings-
Jenny
We just started making yogurt and kefir with our delicious local raw milk. We’re planning to start this tomorrow. I’ve got a bottle of “corning spices” from Penzeys that we’ve been wanting to use for some time. Has anyone used them before?
Jenny, I have a two pound (or less) grass-fed brisket that I’d like to try using for this recipe.
Can you tell me how much less of the ingredients I should use to cure it? Also, I saw your reply on using the brine from cultured veges in lieu of whey – how interesting.
P.S. I love the new picture, Jenny! You look awesome
What may I substitue the whey with? Our family is lactose intolerant. I have everything now to make this and am unsure, being that I need 2 cups of whey and am unable to find a substitute. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Leigh –
If you don’t have whey, you can substitute the juice or brine from cultured vegetables which is a non-dairy source of lactic acid.
- Jenny
great! Thank you Jenny. I’ll use juice from my cultured veggies. I appreciate you replying so promptly. God Bless!
WOW! We just cooked the two briskets we corned. 8 pounds of beef for 8 people and it was so good we barely had any leftovers. http://www.wildtyperanch.com/blog/5209
Hi,
I am new to whole foods cooking- so I am wondering . . . what are cultured vegetables? Love seeing this recipe- love corned beef but had given it up with cutting out nitrite foods. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m draining some whey right now for my corned beef. My brisket is about 3 lbs. A few questions:
- Is it necessary to wrap it while it’s brining? The Nourishing Traditions recipe doesn’t call for that, so I’m trying to understand the reasoning.
- How do you know when the cure is complete?
- Has anyone tried room-temp vs. refrigerator curing? I’d like to use the faster method, but I don’t want to mess it up and have bad meat. We don’t have a problem with curing at room-temp, but I have had mixed results with my fermented vegetables.
- Is it necessary to wrap it while it’s brining? The Nourishing Traditions recipe doesn’t call for that, so I’m trying to understand the reasoning.
Tying the roast improves the appearance of the roast and helps to promote more even curing and (when cooked), more even cooking.
- How do you know when the cure is complete?
Fermentation and curing aren’t exact sciences and are dependent on many factors. About a week in the fridge is sufficient and I imagine it could go longer.
- Has anyone tried room-temp vs. refrigerator curing? I’d like to use the faster method, but I don’t want to mess it up and have bad meat. We don’t have a problem with curing at room-temp, but I have had mixed results with my fermented vegetables.
I haven’t tried it at room temperature. Maybe I will!
does this meat “keep” when it’s been cured? Like, could I put it in a crock covered with brine and it would stay good for weeks/months? I always thought that’s what our homesteading mothers would have done, but I don’t want to try it and have it spoil on me! Let me know what you think….
Love the recipe and all the comments. I didnt know about the feudal origin of boiling the meat with the cabbage. And I totally forgot you can use whey to cook rice, pasta, potatos – brilliant! Last time I saw that done was by my grandpa a while back! And I didnt realize you can substitute juice from fermented veggies instead of whey – how cool! And I didnt know why (nitrates!) celery always comes up in such recipes – good to know!
I’m defrosting a buffalo shoulder roast for this recipe right now – cant wait to see how it turns out!
Thanks for all the great info and for the recipe!