Corned Beef from scratch?

[Ali G]

I'm going to attempt to corn a beef brisket for St. Patrick's Day for the first time. After searching for recipes, I came across this site:

http://www.zenreich.com/ZenWeb/corned...

I believe they use a Cooks Illustrated recipe which got a lot of good reviews. I was surprised to see that it was a dry rub instead of a brine. All of the corned beef briskets I've purchased in the past have come in a brine. Does anybody have any experience making their own corned beef? Any advantage of a dry rub vs. wet?

Also, I'm thinking about cooking this in a crock pot. I don't trust my Italian wife to make a proper boiled dinner :) and by the time I started cooking after work, we would be eating at 10pm. Any suggestions on time? Low setting / high setting?

[goodeatsgal]

I made it from scratch last year, using Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie recipe (and posted online at Leite's Culinaria http://leitesculinaria.com/5912/recip...). I did not use the pink salt because I wanted to avoid the nitrite. I followed the instructions to brine for 5 days, and then put it in the crock pot on Low in the morning before I left for work. I set it for about 9 hours (my crock pot automatically turns to Warm after cooking); all in all, it was in the crock pot for probably 10-11 hours). The corned beef turned out very tasty! Also, I cooked the vegetables separately when I got home. I just bought a brisket last night and will start the brining tonight. Can't wait!

[mrbigshotno.1]

Do it wet in a brine, Use Mortons Tender-quick and add lots of garlic and a couple TBS of pickling spice, better put it to cure NOW! It takes 10-12 days to cure properly, turn the meat and reseal every couple of days. Crockpot works just fine, about 8 hours.

[Ali G]

Is the Tender-quick used to keep the meat pink? I'd like to avoid nitrates and nitrites, partially for health reasons, but mostly because I want to make a "grey" corned beef. We always cooked the grey corned beef when I was growing up. I think of the pink as deli meat. Maybe it's a Boston thing.

[Zeldog]

Tender quick does contain nitrate, so if you find a recipe that you like, but calls for nitrate (aka Cure #1 or Prague powder #1), just leave it out. Here's a simple recipe I like that uses a wet brine. And don't skip the juniper berries if you can find them.

http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/pastra...

[novelgazer]

I've never made it from scratch, but for comparison's sake, here's Alton Brown's recipe:

http://goodeatsfanpage.com/Season10/E...

And, like Appycamper, I prefer braised to boiled.

[appycamper]

i like braised more than boiled. if you do the beef a day ahead you can pull it from the liquid and heat and slightly brown in the oven the day of. might not be the "boiled dinner" way but i cook each veggie item separately and to its optimum texture then toss in the leftover braising liquid to heat before serving.