Corned Beef and Cabbage

This recipe takes some prep, but it is so good.

Corned Beef Brine Ingredients:
10 cups water
1 1/2 cups kosher salt (I used 1 cup Celtic sea salt)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS dry mustard
3 TBS pickling spices (see recipe below)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh 7-9 pound brisket

Pickling Spice Ingredients:
2 TBS mustard seeds
2 TBS whole allspice
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp whole cloves
1 inch fresh ginger sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 (2 inch) cinnamon stick
2 TBS black pepper corns

Corned Beef and Cabbage Ingredients:
3 ribs celery (I used fennel ribs w/ fronds)
2 large onions, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium red potatoes
5 large carrots, cut into thirds
1 head of cabbage, cut into 6 or 8 wedges

Preparation:
Combine water, salt, sugar, mustard, spices and 3 minced garlic cloves in an nonreactive stock pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Trim beef of extra fat and put into cooled liquid. Add enough cold water to cover the beef. Cover the pan and refrigerate for 7-9 days. Check to make sure it stays submerged and turn it every day or two.

Remove beef from brine and rinse it well. Place it in a large stock pot. Cover with water and add celery, onions, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Bring to a boil. Remove any scum that floats to the surface. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Add potatoes, carrots, cabbage and simmer until tender, about an hour. Salt and pepper the stock to taste. Serve.

Left over meat makes great corned beef sandwiches.

Corned Beef or Pastrami lunch meat:
To make corned beef lunch meat, remove brisket from refrigerator. Rinse well and pat dry. Wrap tightly in 6 layers of foil. The layer touching the meat should be greased. Cook roast on 240F for 5 hours. Remove and allow to cool 24 hours in refrigerator. Thinly slice and serve. Mine was a bit dryer than store bought meat, but still tastes great.

To make Pastrami lunch meat, start by brining a corned beef brisket. Remove brisket from refrigerator after 7-9 days. Rinse well and pat dry. Mix 1 TBS smoked paprika, 2 TBS ground coriander, 1 tsp garlic powder and sprinkle over entire roast. Sprinkle 1 TBS hot pepper flakes over entire roast. Sprinkle 3 TBS coarse black pepper over entire roast. Press the rub down, so it sticks to roast. Tightly wrap roast in 6 layers of foil. Grease the layer touching the roast and follow cooking/cooling/serving instructions from the corned beef lunch meat recipe.