Corned beef #2

I previously made Corned beef and cabbage in the sous vide with a pre-brined corned beef but the grocery store didn't have one, so I got a regular one and will brine it myself.

Pickling spice mix

I found this recipe for brine that looked good. I reduced the recipe because I didn't need as much as I was vacuum marinating the brisket, and mine was much smaller. The original recipe calls for a mix of red and black peppercorns, but I didn't have any red so I used all black.

• 1 tsp. whole allspice
• 1 tsp. whole mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp. whole black peppercorns (or a mix of red and black)
• 1/4 tsp. whole cloves
• 2 whole cardamom pods

Lightly toast this group of spices in a dry sauté pan over low heat for a several minutes, being careful not to burn them. It should be very fragrant.

The original recipe called for a mortar and pestle but I have no idea how that worked. I used my spice grinder, which is actually a coffee grinder that's dedicated to spices.

It made 0.6 oz., which is enough for two batches. I vacuum sealed and froze one package of 0.3 oz., which is a heaping tbsp.

Brine

The original recipe made a gallon of brine! 16 oz. was sufficient for vacuum marinating my smaller brisket.

• 1.4 oz. kosher salt
• 1 heaping tbsp. pickling spice (0.3 oz.). This is half of the amount prepared above.
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)
• 1/8 stick of cinnamon (or 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon)
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar, light or dark
• 1 bay leaf
• 16 oz. water

Bring the brine to a boil, let the brine cool.

Marinate

Put the beef in a large vacuum sealer bag and add the brine. Spread any spices around the meat surface.

Refrigerate for 5 to 7 days, flipping once per day.

After marinated for 7 days in the refrigerator.

Drain, discard the brine, and remove any loose spices.

Cooking sous vide

I looked around and there are a lot of recipes, at vastly different time and temperatures. I ended up going with this recipe which was 10 hours at 180°F, as was this one. At the other extreme was 48 hours at 135°F which seems like too low of a temperature to me.

• 2 to 3 lbs. brined corned beef (above)
• 6 oz. beef stock
• Vacuum seal with broth
• Sous vide 180°F/82°C 10 hours
• Sear on all sides in a sauté pan

Vacuum seal in a new bag with 6 oz. of beef stock. I used part of a container of Pacific beef stock, most of the rest was used for the vegetables.

Sous vide for 10 hours at 180°F (82°C).

Remove from the sous vide and let rest for 15 minutes. Discard the liquid.

Sear the beef on all sides in a hot sauté pan.

Vegetables

I also cooked:

• Yukon gold potatoes, diced (20 min) (peeling optional)
• Carrot, peeled and diced (20 min)
• Green cabbage (10 min)

I just boiled these in 16 oz. beef stock.

Serving

Slice and serve. I had a 3.2 oz. serving for dinner with half of the the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, and some of the broth from the vegetables.

Saved another 3.2 oz. serving with the rest of the vegetables for another dinner (refrigerated).

Packaging

After that I had 3x 2.8 oz. servings for Homemade Reuben sandwich](../../2016/12/reuben-sandwich.html), vacuum sealed and frozen.

Reheating

I reheated it from refrigerated in the microwave for 50 seconds to remove the chill, then transferred it to a pan to gently reheat the rest of the way. It was really good!