Corned Beef

sageadvice · Mar 17, 2013

LAST EDITED ON Mar-17-13 AT 04:16PM (MST)[p]Behind the times and not knowing that today is St Paddy's Day, i called the only store in town here that sells meat, asking if they have Corned beef in. Yes, two kinds was the reply. Hardly ever missing a chance for good Corned Beef, i hustle on down to the store. They have the regular kind, wrapped in plastic and another that sounded like it was local made by some lady, it was just displayed unwrapped in chunks showing thru the butchers glass counter.

Besides the dollar more a pound for the unwrapped local stuff, I asked the difference between the two and was told by the very attractive young lady behind the counter that she's getting the unwrapped for her own house...so i got that as i love a good corned beef.

To the meat of it, if i had wanted to boil a regular roast for over 4 hours, it might have tasted as or more "corned" as what i've now gotten on my plate. I paid extra for this? You don't always get what you pay for!!' Cheers!!

Now let's hear how delicious yours was.

Pass the mustard please.

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

Paul_Crawford · Mar 17, 2013

Haven't eaten yet, but the smell coming from the crock pot is driving me insane. I got a round of Harris Ranch meat. Had all the seasonings in the package. Threw in red 'taters,carrots, and pretty soon the cabbage. Can't wait. pc

Trix4me · Mar 17, 2013

Yummmmmm! I lost the argument we had shrimp.

YukonDall · Mar 17, 2013

OLD FAMILY RECIPE MEAT LOAF OVER HERE....(GROUND ELK)........YUM........YD.

SlinginLead · Mar 17, 2013

I'll be carving up a prime rib shortly. Just finished whipping up some hot horseradish sauce. Listening to my dad singing Irish tunes on the CD, enjoying a glass of merlot. I'll have a glass of Bailey's Irish Cream for a night cap. "Bottoms Up"

fireball77 · Mar 17, 2013

I love corned beef cabbage(red) or( purple ) only and taters YUM!!!

sageadvice · Mar 17, 2013

Thanks for the responses!!

I spoke on the phone tonight with Larrbo. He's a long-time butcher and owns if not the largest, one of the largest Meat distributing Co's here in the north State. He pretty much nailed the problem with the way my CB turned out. I bought a big cube of a Corned beef so it was from the "round" and it was probably Cow meat instead of USDA Choice or at least "Standard" grade. Not much fat at all and that can be the best flavoring part. I should have bought Brisket, either "cooks" or a other reputable band.

I hardly ever have CB leftover for very long but this one might be here awhile. Oh well, Happy St. Paddys Day Folks! Hope you all had a good one!!

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

smitty · Mar 17, 2013

I had leftovers.

Deep fried salmon and lasagna, and asparagus.

nickman · Mar 17, 2013

IN MY OPINION: "Corned beef" is the most disgusting thing you can get from beef cattle production. You can create some GREAT onion burgers from the same chunk of meat.
I do like the cabbage, potatoes and carrots.

"I could agree with you, but then we would both be
wrong......and stupid"

larrbo · Mar 18, 2013

We had corned beef over at my daughter's home last night...it was the second time this week for corned beef brisket. We don't wait for St. Patrick's day for a corned beef feast, we have it several times a year. Sage, sorry about you dinner last night.

Phantom Hunter · Mar 18, 2013

I'll leave the corned beef to ya'll. I'll smoke my beef brisket over mesquite coals till tender and enjoy.

sageadvice · Mar 18, 2013

That's ok Larrbo n thanks! The Cabbage and red potatoes came out great. I like my cabbage still crispy. Cooked but still has a bit of a crunch to it. The red potatoes i dice, butter, a bit of sour cream, salt and plenty of pepper. Yum!

I'm surprised at the percentage of responders who when having a choice between CB and something else for Dinner, had the other. No harm no foul...or would that be fowl? lol

Nickman, The liver gets the prize for me. There also are other things i don't eat from cattle. Liver though, to me, is just vile!

Red, can i call you Red? Yes! I like the Purple cabbage best too. Besides tasting good when cooked in the CB juice, you can tell it from the potatoes, not that they don't taste just as good when all mixed together, but some like to keep a tidy plate.

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

overton · Mar 18, 2013

We had beef stew and Scottish soda bread.

NVBighorn · Mar 18, 2013

I had corned beef. It's not my favorite and about once a year is enough. It does make some good sandwiches though.

I do find it interesting that people are being marketed certain foods that at one time were considered "Po' folks food". Not sure about corned beef but flank steak and "skirt steak" for sure. Flank steak was never considered anything you WANTED to eat, it was more that you HAD to eat up that type of cuts before my Dad would take a new beef to the butcher. And skirt steak, by definition, is what I would consider "guts" and not real meat but since fajitas came into vogue people will pay top dollar to eat a smoking hot dish of them. I wonder why blood sausage hasn't caught on...

On a side note, what exactly makes corned beef "corned"? I should know but I don't.

Paul_Crawford · Mar 18, 2013

Don, you met my brother "Bob". Well, if you mention corned beef to him he will immediately be gagging!!!

BTW, ours turned out to be phenomenal last night. Having it for left-overs tonight. The cabbage tends to make me a little gaseous so the wife slept in another room last night. lol pc

eelgrass · Mar 18, 2013

Joey, I will defer to larrbo on the cut, but my wife always buys the "round". She hates all that fat on the brisket. She's kind of weird that way. She learned a long time ago to not over cook CB, as the round especially gets too dry if over cooked. She takes the recommended time and cuts it in half. She bought one but was feeling under the weather this weekend, so she'll cook it maybe next weekend. I also love CB sandwiches, lots of mustard.

Flank steak, especially deer, makes great jerkey. I take great pains while skinning a buck to preserve it. At least that I can remember.

Cheers!
Eel

NVBighorn · Mar 18, 2013

Cooking corned beef has always struck me a little like the famous recipe for kidney. You gotta boil the piss out of it.

sageadvice · Mar 18, 2013

Eel, Yeah, i may have overcooked it! I used to be the guy every year who cooked it for everybody down at the favorite watering hole. I've cooked a bunch of the stuff, with confidence, that it would all turn out. This time it didn't. I sure may have over cooked it, about 4 hrs in the pot all told. No doubt though, it is dry, not so tender, and lacking the corned flavor i really like. Between maybe over cooking and the lack of "corned" flavor... mine could have been better!

Here is a link to directions in making the stuff;
http://ruhlman.com/2010/03/corned-beef-how-to-cure-your-own/

Good luck on yours next week Steve, gotta be better than mine!!

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

dingo · Mar 18, 2013

NVB-the term "corned" is an old reference to salt.

The reason that corned beef retains the red color is from the addition of nitrite.

The flavor comes from a variety of spices which the blend is sometimes refered to as pickling spice. (Bay leaf, peppercorns, allspice berries, juniper berries, cloves, mustard seed, cinnamon, cardimum, coriander, and ginger.)

Pastrami uses the corning process and then the cured meat is rolled in cracked pepper and smoked.

I like to cure my own using whole tri-tips...then smoke them with apple and alder.

nickman · Mar 19, 2013

I guess these opinions are the reason they invented the "MENU"........clearly, we all have different tastes and choices.

Please pass the peanut butter and jelly.

"I could agree with you, but then we would both be
wrong......and stupid"

Paul_Crawford · Mar 19, 2013

Don, I'll bet you'd dive into a big ol' burger at your nephew's bar/grill. I sure would!!! pc

sageadvice · Mar 19, 2013

Me too!

Love a good Drippy Mushroom Bacon Cheese Burger...but that's another thread.

Speaking of another thread, i'm headed out on the Lake shore to see if i can catch-land the biggest trout i've ever caught, that would be over 9 1/4 pounds. No particular spot in mind as i head out but i'm going and hope to tell the tale when i return.

Thanks again for all the comments and yes Nickman, thank goodness, that is what the Menu is for!

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

NVBighorn · Mar 19, 2013

http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/CornedBeef.htm

An interesting read if you're wanting some fodder for cocktail party chatter.

Corns of salt... who knew.