Corned beef made with gunpowder?
In this recipe, saltpeter (potassium nitrate) is used as a preservative and curing ingredient that will give your beef brisket the signature corned beef color. Saltpeter was/is also used to make gunpowder. So yes, in a way, you are using a key component of gunpowder to make your corned beef brisket. Sure, it might be a little deceptive but it is a great talking point and something that you and your guests will always be able to share with others.
When choosing beef brisket you can use a flat cut, a point cut, or a whole beef brisket, it depends on your fat preference. Flat is more lean and dense and the point is more fatty and tender. Both are great options but a full brisket provides all options if you have enough mouths to feed.
Curing your own brisket is a long process, it takes ten days to do it properly but it is worth the wait.
There are a lot of companies that make corned beef. All you need to do is cut open the package and slow cook. Curing for ten days isn’t for everyone. If you would rather just use a premade corned beef that only needs to be cooked you can skip the curing portion of this recipe.
For the ones that are ready to embark on an 11 day adventure, let’s move forward.
Add water four quarts of water to a pot and bring it to a boil. While the water is heating you will add salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon, pickling spices, bay leaves, juniper berries, and cardamom. Let the water continue to boil for twenty minutes. After twenty minutes, remove from the heat and let the brine come down to room temperature. Place the brine into the refrigerator overnight or cool until it is at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour your brine into a non reactive and food safe container. Add your beef brisket into the brine and try to completely submerge. If there are areas that aren’t completely submerged then you will need to rotate the brisket everyday for the next ten days to avoid bacterial growth on the unsubmerged areas. On the tenth day, remove the brisket from the brine and rinse it very well.
Some chefs will submerge the brisket in water overnight to remove more of the salt, that is a completely optional step but if you are monitoring your salt intake it might be a necessary step for you.
Heat your oven to 325 degrees.
In a roasting pan, add your corned beef, onions, celery, and carrots. Fill the pan halfway with water. Cover very tightly with foil and place it in the oven for at least four hours or until the beef is very tender. A great way to know your beef is done and the muscle fibers have broken down is to temp the beef. Typically between 195-203 degrees Fahrenheit you will find your corned beef will be tender and will melt in your mouth. Remove the pan from the oven, loosely cover with the foil, and let the corned beef rest while preparing the other dishes.
To make the apple cider braised cabbage, start by heating a sauté pan over high heat. One the pan is hot add olive oil to the pan. Carefully place the cabbage wedges into the hot oil and sear both flat sides of the cabbage very well.
Remove the cabbage from the pan and place them into a roasting pan.
Add onion to the hot sauté pan and cook them until they begin to caramelize and brown. Deglaze the sauté pan with apple cider vinegar while scraping the bottom of the pan of any burnt bits. Add salt and pepper to the pan while reducing the vinegar by half. Add apple cider to the sauté pan and bring it to a boil.
Pour the onions and apple cider mixture over the seared cabbage wedges in the roasting pan. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the cabbage is very tender.
To make the roasted carrots, parsnips, and potatoes; add potatoes, carrots, parsnips, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil to a shallow baking pan and roast, covered with foil, for one hour at 375 degrees or until everything is fork tender. Once the ingredients are fork tender, add butter and roast uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes.
To plate start by slicing the corned beef into 1/4″-1/3″ slices across the grain. Add one apple cider braised cabbage wedge onto a plate, add roasted carrots, parsnips, and potatoes to the plate, and add a few slices of the corned beef to the plate. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the cabbage, spoon some of the corned beef liquid from the roasting pan over the corned beef. Serve with whole grain mustard and some crispy bread.
11 days of preparation and love gets eaten in 11 minutes but every second of those 11 minutes will be thoroughly enjoyed.
Corned Beef, Braised Cabbage, Roasted Carrots, Potatoes, and Parsnips
Ingredients
Corned Beef Brisket
- 5 lbs Beef Brisket
- 4 qts Water
- 1 cup Kosher Salt
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp Saltpeter
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 2 tbsp Pickling Spice
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 12 Juniper Berries
- Pinch Whole Dried Cardamom
- 1 Onion Quartered
- 1 Large Carrot Quartered
- 1 Stalk Celery Quartered
Apple Cider Braised Cabbage
- 1 Head of Cabbage cut into 6 Wedges
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion Chopped
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 cup Apple Cider
- 1 tbsp Butter
Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Potatoes
- 3 Medium Carrots Quartered
- 2 Parsnips Quartered
- 10 Red Skin Potatoes Halved
- 1 Sprig of Thyme
- 2 Cloves of Garlic
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
Instructions
Corned Beef Brisket
- Add water to a pot and bring to a boil, while it is heating stir in salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon, pickling spices, bay leaves, juniper berries, and cardamom. Let the water come to a boil and continue to boil for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the brine come down to at least room temperature. Place it in the refrigerator overnight.
- Place your brisket into the brine and leave it for ten days. Be sure to rotate it daily.
- On the tenth day, remove the brisket from the brine and rinse very well. You can remove even more of the saltiness if you soak it in water overnight.
- In a roasting pan, add your corned beef, onions, celery, and carrots, cover at least halfway with water. Cover with foil and cook at 325 degrees for at least 4 hours or until the beef is very tender.
Apple Cider Braised Cabbage
- Heat a sauté pan over high heat, add oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot sear the inner sides of the cabbage.
- Remove the cabbage from the pan and place in a baking pan.
- Add onion to the pan and sauté them until they begin to brown. Add apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to the onions, and allow the vinegar to reduce by half.
- Add the apple cider to the pan and bring it to a boil.
- Pour onion and cider mixture over the seared cabbage. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until the cabbage is tender.
Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Potatoes
- Mix all ingredients, except butter, in a baking pan, covered, and roast for one hour at 375 or until all ingredients are fork tender. Add butter bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes.