Corned beef has been a staple of old-school diner menus and Irish American diets for decades. You might find it mingling with sauerkraut in Reuben sandwiches or served next to potatoes at a St. Patrick’s Day supper. Sure, you can buy it already canned or cured at the store, but nothing beats the flavor—and feeling of total accomplishment—of homemade corned beef.
What is corned beef?
Corned beef is essentially just meat that’s been cured in brine. Most recipes use beef brisket and add corned beef spices (aka “pickling spice”) to infuse the meat with extra flavor. But the salt is the real key here. It seasons the meat and breaks down the muscle fibers to make the brisket more tender. Salt also allows the cells to retain more moisture, giving you juicier meat.
Most homemade corned beef recipes also use pink curing salt. This salt is not the same as Himalayan pink salt. You wouldn’t want to eat it like table salt, and it’s usually dyed red to avoid confusion. Curing salt contains sodium nitrite, which inhibits bacteria growth and prevents food from spoiling. It also gives the corned beef its characteristic bright pink color.
Why is it called corned beef?
Corned beef gets its name from the type of salt that was originally used to brine the meat. These were the days before refrigeration, so meat was stored in salt to preserve it. The salt they used was the size of corn kernels, and people started calling the meat “corned” beef. The name stuck, even though most types of salt are much smaller these days.
How to Make Corned Beef
It’s surprisingly easy to make homemade corned beef. The steps are simple, and the flavor payoff is second to none. All you really need is a beef brisket and a curing brine. We make our brine with kosher salt, brown sugar, pink curing salt, garlic and pickling spices.
Of course, corned beef brisket does take time. The brisket needs to sit in the brine for 10 days, so make sure you plan ahead. Schedule it on your calendar to ensure the meat is ready in time for your big event.
How long do you cook corned beef?
We cook a 4- to 5-pound corned beef brisket for three hours. As a general rule of thumb, corned beef takes about 45 minutes per pound on the stovetop. Every brisket is different, so it may take more or less time.
Using a meat thermometer is the best way to know when your corned beef is finished cooking. Probe the corned beef in the thickest part of the meat. Look for a corned beef internal temperature between 180° to 195°F. The lower temperatures result in firmer slices. We prefer a more tender, flaky corned beef that’s closer to 195°.
Corned Beef Ingredients
- Beef brisket: A 4- to 5-pound brisket is usually plenty big enough for corned beef. Look for a brisket with good marbling—the long streaks of white fat within the lean sections of the meat.
- Kosher salt: You can use table salt, but we prefer kosher salt for brining meat. It doesn’t contain added iodine, which can make the brine cloudy and add an off flavor to the meat.
- Brown sugar: Sugar counterbalances the salty flavors in the brine. You can use regular sugar, but molasses-rich brown sugar adds more depth.
- Corned beef spices: Pickling spices give corned beef its signature flavor. Instead of using a store-bought blend, go the extra mile with homemade pickling spice. It’s simple to make, and you probably have most of the ingredients in the pantry.
- Pink curing salt: If you can’t find curing salt at the grocery store, you should be able to order it online. It may be called Prague powder #1. Don’t use other pink-colored salts like Himalayan pink salt or Prague powder #2, which have a different chemical composition.
