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Corned Beef the Easy Way 1
R. L. Reddish2The preservation of beef by the use of salt is termed "corning." Directions listed here tell how to make small amounts of corned beef in the household refrigerator by sprinkling a lean cut of fresh, boneless beef with grains of salt, sugar and salt petre. Salt and sugar add flavor and aid in preservation. Salt petre aids in the curing process and gives a desirable color.
Materials Needed
Plastic bagString or rubber band
Lean cut of boneless beef
(7-bone chuck roast, brisket or arm roast)
Curing Ingredients
2 pounds of salt2 ounces of white cane sugar
1/2 ounce of salt petre
(Generally, about 1 1/4 ounce of cure is required per pound of beef.)
Spices (such as garlic and pickling spices), optional
Procedure
This publication replaces Circular 260.
- Weigh and mix curing ingredients thoroughly and be sure that all lumps are completely broken and properly mixed.
- Rub the curing mixture thoroughly and uniformly over all sides of the beef. If spiced corned beef is desired, then either place the spices in a cheesecloth bag inside the plastic bag or add them to the curing ingredients at this stage.
- Place the cut of beef, properly rubbed with the cure, into the plastic bag and secure the opening with string or a rubber band. Then mark the bag with the date the beef should come out of the cure.
- The plastic bag containing the beef ready for curing is now stored in the household refrigerator for two or three weeks. The curing process requires about eight to ten days per inch of thickness of beef: for example, a cut of beef approximately two inches thick will require about 16 to 20 days of curing time. After the beef has cured, it may remain in the cure for an additional week to ten days. To tell if the beef is properly cured, cut through the center and look for an even, red color.
- Remove part or all of the cured beef from the refrigerator and rinse off all of the curing ingredients on the outside.
- The cured corned beef is now ready for cooking. Corned beef cured in this manner may be packaged and frozen for one to two months. Be sure that the curing ingredients have been thoroughly rinsed off the outside of the corned beef before it is frozen.
Footnotes
1. This document is AS15, one of a series of the Animal Science Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date February 1981. Reviewed June 2003. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. R. L. Reddish, Professor and Extension Meats Specialist, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
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