Luck O' The Brine

Tomorrow everyone will be Irish, and everyone will request a kiss for this fact. You can use this holiday as an excuse to fill up on whiskey, stout and green beer. But, if you were like me, you would look forward to March 17th as the one day a year when you get homemade corned beef. Just like turkey on Thanksgiving, this was the only day out of the whole year we got to eat scary pink beef. And it was delicious.

I love the way corned beef shreds off of a fork, and the dry little bits get soft so quickly when doused with its cooking liquid. Even though I typically hated steaks and beef as a child, corned beef never seemed like the same thing. It was wonderful. Since then, I still look forward to corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day although this year we had it a few days before, so I could share with you.

I can’t remember exactly when the first time I made it was, but I think it was for the bar I worked at just after college. The owner typically offered corned beef wrapped in cabbage rolls for this heavily trafficked bar day. But I was aghast at this – wrapped in cabbage leaves is NOT how I ate it. I’m sure you can do it this way, but my limited knowledge of Irish food traditions does not agree.

I offered to take the corned beef home and cook it for her to sell on St. Patrick’s Day. Of course I don’t know how the health department would feel about such an offer, but she took it quickly. That first year, I made two 5-7 pound briskets for lunch. When we offered the corned beef to regulars, they politely turned it down. Until, that is, they heard that I had made it. Then they politely accepted. But it was when someone asked for a second order that I knew it was good.

I will try not to brag here (It’ll be hard, but I’ll try), that corned beef was good. The next year I offered to do the same thing, cook the corned beef the night before and then sell it at the bar. However, that year, the assistant manager didn’t trust me. He made his own corned beef, and we competed against one another over orders. I won. I’m not saying that my version is so fantastic, but it’s pretty darn good. I treat it like a sauerbraten, so that there is more flavor in the braising liquid. I also think that cooking it for an extremely long time is best. There, those are the secrets – sauerbraten and time. I think those might just be the secrets to the meaning of life, but I’ll get back to you on that one.

This year, I wanted to try and corn the beef myself. Not that I have anything against the pre-corned beef in the grocery store. Like I said, the scary pink is one of the pros for me when it comes to corned beef. But I thought, why not, let’s get corny. (I couldn’t help myself there, I apologize.) In looking at various cookbooks – all of them recommend buying pre-corned beef. So I went to the web, and discovered that a week to 10 days is preferable in corning beef. I had given myself 2 ½ days. Once again, I turned to sauerbraten to solve my dilemma.

The results were pretty good, and I know that tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, so asking you to corn your own beef is a bit cruel. So I will share that part of the recipe as well as what to do to cook a store bought corned beef. So buy some Irish stout, or get some food coloring and a cheap beer and toast to all things Irish!

Cheers!

Homemade Corned Beef
The brine makes more than you will need, simply scoop out and use as many of the spices as you can. And use whatever liquid you need.

For the Brine
1 2-4 pound beef brisket
2 quarts water
1 cup salt (preferably Kosher)
½ cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
4 all spice berries
8 juniper berries
1 tsp. mustard seeds
¼ tsp. coriander seeds
10 black peppercorns
¼ cup white wine vinegar

For the Corned Beef
2 large carrots, cut in 1” pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 medium celery stalks, cut in 1” pieces
1small head of cabbage, cut into 1/8’s
2 cups brining liquid (spices strained out)
1 cup beef stock (plus more if needed)
Pre-brined beef
1 bay leaf
¼ tsp. mustard seeds
¼ tsp. coriander seeds
2 all spice berries
¼ tsp. fennel seeds
4 black peppercorns
Salt to taste

For the brine – combine all the ingredients for the brine together in a large pot and bring just to a boil. Be sure salt and brown sugar have dissolved completely. Cool as quickly as you can (I like to stick the pot outside to cool it off), you can add about a tray’s worth of ice to help.

Once cool, place beef into a re-sealable bag, or into a doubled up roasting bag. Pour brine over the meat, and be sure the meat is completely covered. Place bag into a bowl or pot (in case of leakage) and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 days (more if you have planned ahead).

To cook the corned beef – place all the vegetables, half of the cabbage and the spices into a crock pot or Dutch oven. Carefully remove the beef from the brine and add to the pot. Add brining liquid and beef stock so that the vegetables and most of the beef. Stir to mix the spices throughout. To cook in a crockpot, set to medium high, and let cook for 10+ hours. 2 hours before serving, turn the heat down to low. An hour before serving, add the remaining cabbage.

To cook the corned beef in a dutch oven, set your oven to 300°. Place dutch oven, with the lid on in the middle of the oven for 6+ hours. I prefer to do this over-night if a) you are comfortable sleeping while your oven is on and b) you plan on eating the corned beef for lunch. Again, add the remaining cabbage about an hour prior to serving, and turn the oven down to 250°.

Serve with potatoes of some kind.

A Scottish Snow Day

The first year I worked for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, I worked in the Scottish Kitchen. We hosted home cooks and professional cooks from Scotland to share their knowledge and stories with the public. Although some of the public asked if Braveheart was an accurate depiction of Scotland, the participants did have a favorable impression of America as a whole.

hey I had a snow day the next day

Part of my job was to keep things running in the kitchen; prepping recipes, getting ingredients and keeping people happy, which let’s be honest is not hard to do in a kitchen. In fact, one of the women I met became so close with me that we were giggling like small children all day. We actually were told to keep it down inside the prep tent, because our laughter was coming through the stage and distracting the audience. Oops.

Now you may think that she and I were similar in age but she was about 40+ years my senior. And if you have ever wanted to meet Mrs. Doubtfire in person, that was her. Towards the end of the two weeks we were together, I had to work with her on stage; asking her questions and leading a discussion about the culture of food in Scotland. I’m pretty sure no one in the audience understood a word of what we were saying, because we were finishing each other’s sentences and laughing uncontrollably at the thought of having store bought biscuits if I ever came to visit. Can you imagine! Store bought! Ha!

Working in that kitchen with all the wonderful people I met, was what really pushed my love of cooking, and my comfort around food. The ease with which meals were prepared, advice offered and satisfaction reached was inspiring. We actually ended up making meals just for other Scottish participants because the ache for home grew throughout the festival. We had a constant parade of participants, volunteers, and staff at the kitchen tent flap, looking for shortbread, lamb curry or Scotch broth.

I got my own mini cooking lessons from women and men alike in that kitchen, and we whipped up such delicacies as cod’ head stuffed with oats and cod liver oil, haggis and black pudding. All of which was wonderful, although I could do without the cod’s head again. Most of the recipes I learned were hearty, comforting, and inexpensive to prepare. That is just the thing we need this winter.

This recipe is easy and very inexpensive. It can be stretched out with vegetables, and can be made in a crock pot or on the stove. You can get creative with the dumplings, or just keep it as simple as can be. When you take a bite, remember that this warmed many a person on a cold and foggy (or snowy) day.

Mince with Doughballs
Although the name is not that pretty, this rustic meal comes together with an almost exotic flair. The original recipe calls for just ground beef, onions, gravy powder and dumplings. But I like to add some root vegetables to make it a complete meal. If you want to make this is a crockpot, follow the steps up to the dumplings, reduce the liquid by about ½, and set on low to cook all day. But this only takes about forty-five minutes start to finish (including chopping time) if you want to make it all in one shot.

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
1 medium rutabaga, diced
2 medium potatoes (I used Eastern Potatoes, because they will hold their shape)
1 pint beef broth
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. ground all spice
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

For the dumplings
6 oz. of self-rising flour (about 1 1/3 c)
3 oz. margarine (about 2 Tb.)
salt
¼ c. chopped parsley
Ice water (about 2 Tb)

Brown the meat in the bottom of a large dutch oven. Drain off any excess fat, and add onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant about 3-5 minutes. Then add the remaining vegetables, stirring to combine. Pour in beef broth, scraping up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Add all spice, bay leaf, and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20-30 minutes.

When the vegetables are tender, taste the sauce mixture and adjust seasonings as needed. The sauce should be thick, if not, make a quick slurry of cornstarch and water, and stir into pot. Next, combine the flour, parsley and salt. Rub the margarine into the flour, until combined, and small pea sized balls form. Slowly add water, stirring just until the dough holds together. Be careful not to overwork the dough, or the dumplings will be very dense.

Drop dough by the spoonful onto the top of the ground beef mixture, cover with a lid and steam the dumplings for 7-10 minutes, until they are plump and cooked through.

Serve in bowls or  deep plates with a doughball per person.