Corned Beef

The corned beef was a huge success. Here’s what it looked like at the end of brining.

At the end of brining

Hilda wanted to cook it ahead on Wednesday so it could be chilled for slicing and reheated. Before I went to work, I drained off the brine and took the brisket upstairs. What to cook it in? It was huge. We finally settled on my big crock pot. It came up the sides, but shrank as it cooked.  Once refrigerated, it sliced perfectly.

Sliced for dinner--we warmed it up in the microwave with a ladelful of braising liquid

Hilda saved the cooking liquid for boiling cabbage, onions, carrots, and potatoes. The potatoes were particularly delicious, having absorbed the salt and spices from the braising liquid. This is the platter on the table.

The dinner platter

The taste was so much better than over-salted store-bought corned beef. The flavors of the beef and spices were much more pronounced since they were not overwhelmed by salt.

Last night, I made Reubens with the corned beef and our homemade sauerkraut. This too was excellent. We are planning to do this again for next St. Patrick’s Day. In fact, we might do it more than once a year. 

Reuben with homemade corned beef and sauerkraut