Corned Beef & Cabbage (home-cured method)

It’s that time of the year again and I’m making Corned Beef for St. Patrick’s Day. This version, originally from Alton Brown, keeps the carbs under control, and I highly recommend serving it with Cauliflower Colcannon!

WARNING: This is “from scratch” corned beef, meaning you’ll be starting this 10 days before you want to eat it. If you want a quicker version, try my recipe using a spice packet.

CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE (home-cured method)
Yield: 6–8 servings
Per 1/8 serving: 785 calories, 54g protein, 58.3g fat, 5.5g net carbs

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown style Swerve sweetener
1 teaspoon pink curing salt (see notes)*
1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
8 whole allspice berries
12 whole juniper berries
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds ice
1 (4 to 5 pound) beef brisket, trimmed
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 large stalk celery, coarsely chopped
10 tiny potatoes, halved (if not eating low carb)
1 two-pound cabbage, cut into 8 chunks

HORSERADISH SAUCE
1/2 cup organic sour cream
1/4 cup Primal avocado mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish(or more, depending on your taste)
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice (taste and decide)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of sea salt

Place the water into a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the ice. Stir until the ice has melted. If necessary, place the brine into the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees F. Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine.

After 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water.

Place the corned beef, pepper, allspice, bay leaves and salt into a large 8-quart pot along with 3-quarts of water. Cover and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat to low and cook, at a low simmer for 2-1/2–3 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender*.

When the meat is fork-tender*, add the carrots, onions, and celery. Return to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. If you’re not eating low carb, you can also add 10 tiny potatoes, halved. After 15 minutes, add the cabbage and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until the cabbage is tender.

Remove the corned beef from the pot and thinly slice across the grain.
Remove the vegetables to a bowl, so that they don’t become soggy.

*A braise is fork tender when you can insert a sharp knife into the center of the cut and encounter very little or no resistance. Your knife should be able to slip in like butter, and you should be able to easily tear a piece of the meat away from the rest of the braise.

Serve with whole grain mustard or horseradish sauce (above), and some Cauliflower Colcannon.

***

** ABOUT CURING SALT
Caution: Use only 1 teaspoon.

I use “The Spice Lab Curing Salt #1”, available on Amazon.
(Also known as Prague Powder 1, Insta Cure #1, curing salt #1, or tinted cure.)

Curing salt is table salt with added sodium nitrite for preserving meats. It gives corned beef its distinctive pink coloring because the pink powder binds and interacts with proteins in meat.

Pink curing salt helps to prevent bacterial reproduction that can spoil meat.

WORD OF CAUTION: Use curing salt with extreme care. Follow the proper food safety guidelines and use the right measurements when curing meats. Mix with water and use sparingly. Only 1 tsp. is needed to cure 5 lbs. of meat. Consuming too much curing salt can make you sick.