Cookin again

[prabe]

As an addendum, if you see any recipes for “nitrate free” corned beef which use regular salt in the brine, it won’t work. Sodium nitrate effects a chemical change in the meat - making it delicious. If you’re going to use a regular brine it will just taste like salty pot roast.

I know "uncured" meats (like bacon and sausage) end up using celery and/or celery salt to bring the relevant chemicals, and "uncured" is a term with legal meaning that the makers of those products need to use. I wouldn't be shocked if someone had worked out a recipe for corned beef that did similar things, but labeling such a recipe "nitrate-free" would be misleading, if not actually incorrect.

This is not me arguing about whether the nitrates are necessary--I'm completely willing to agree they are.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I actually do have some pink pickling salt, as well as some brand new, commercial grade plastic food bins to do the pickling in. Got them at my favorite restaurant supply store.

I’m doing 15-20lbs total (using the commercial CB) for St. Patrick’s Day, to be divided between 5 households. After that, I’ll start experimenting with the brines. The only thing I don’t have is a decent gin.

They don’t know it yet, but I’m going to ask my north side neighbors to be part of my taste-testing team. The father is a big fan of my CB, the mother recently launched her commercial pie baking company, and they have 2 growing boys to feed.

The one thing I’m doing for certain in the recipe development process is I’m going to use Shiner Bock as the braising beer for each test. While I’ve found that I get great results regardless of the beers I’ve used, there’s always noticeable differences. My Kirin, Shiner Blonde and Blue Moon ones have a lighter, more herbal overall flavor, while the darker beers tend to elevate the beefy flavors.

After I settle on a brine recipe, I might do a secondary round of tests with one of the lighter flavored beers.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

The only thing I don’t have is a decent gin.

You probably want something very juniper-forward.

I imagine The Botanist would be amazing in a brine, but I don’t think I could bring myself to use it that way.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You probably want something very juniper-forward.

I imagine The Botanist would be amazing in a brine, but I don’t think I could bring myself to use it that way.

Whenever I use alcoholic beverages in cooking, I use something I would normally drink. Odds are favorable that you’ll get better results.

Thing is, even though I like a G&T, I don’t make them at home, so I don’t have a feel for what would work. Hell- the last time I bought gin was for a gift, and I had the good fortune of standing next to another customer who was a gin aficionado and was all to happy to flex his knowledge to help out.

The Botanist would definitely qualify as one I’d drink, but its selling points in THAT realm might be overkill in a recipe like this.

 

[prabe]

You probably want something very juniper-forward.

I imagine The Botanist would be amazing in a brine, but I don’t think I could bring myself to use it that way.

I'm not a gin guy, but that seems awfully ... extravagant. What I might do as a beer-nerd is consider something beerwise for the brine that I know plays well with juniper-forward meats (such as a doppelbock or a dubbel or even a wee heavy) and bring the juniper in as an actual spice ingredient. I have a mental note making some noise, trying to tell me that Danny has tried a range of beers and has a sense of what goes, there.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm not a gin guy, but that seems awfully ... extravagant. What I might do as a beer-nerd is consider something beerwise for the brine that I know plays well with juniper-forward meats (such as a doppelbock or a dubbel or even a wee heavy) and bring the juniper in as an actual spice ingredient. I have a mental note making some noise, trying to tell me that Danny has tried a range of beers and has a sense of what goes, there.

I’ve definitely gotten my hands on my juniper berries, courtesy of Pensey’s. But I had the insight about using gin as a substitute when it looked like I wouldn’t be able to. And when I looked up that swap online, I found that gin had indeed been used that way.

Because I regularly cook with alcohol, that appeals to me on a certain level. My mind says it could elevate the dish significantly.

Of course, it also runs the risk of ruining the dish in other ways- overwhelming other flavors or excessively tenderizing the CB spring to mind. Which is kinda why I want my final recipe to blend berries AND gin, if at all possible.

(Also, while I have tried a variety of beers, I’m in not even close to being able to rightfully wear a hipster beer nerd beard- it would be stolen valor!)

 

[prabe]

I’ve definitely gotten my hands on my juniper berries, courtesy of Pensey’s. But I had the insight about using gin as a substitute when it looked like I wouldn’t be able to. And when I looked up that swap online, I found that gin had indeed been used that way.

Because I regularly cook with alcohol, that appeals to me on a certain level. My mind says it could elevate the dish significantly.

Of course, it also runs the risk of ruining the dish in other ways- overwhelming other flavors or excessively tenderizing the CB spring to mind. Which is kinda why I want my final recipe to blend berries AND gin, if at all possible.

(Also, while I have tried a variety of beers, I’m in not even close to being able to rightfully wear a hipster beer nerd beard- it would be stolen valor!)

I meant that you'd tried a variety of beers in the dish. I'd never slander you by calling you a beer nerd.

I'd missed that you were pondering gin as the alcohol. It's not my thing, but I gather there is a vast range as far as how juniper-forward gins are--there are styles kinda like beer styles.

Then again, corned beef isn't really my thing. I'm sure you'll find good recipes, pick and choose, and end up with something you're happy and proud to give to your friends and family. (This is what I'd do, if I were doing something similar.)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I meant that you'd tried a variety of beers in the dish. I'd never slander you by calling you a beer nerd.

Gotcha!

I'd missed that you were pondering gin as the alcohol. It's not my thing, but I gather there is a vast range as far as how juniper-forward gins are--there are styles kinda like beer styles.

As I found out…ish.

Then again, corned beef isn't really my thing. I'm sure you'll find good recipes, pick and choose, and end up with something you're happy and proud to give to your friends and family. (This is what I'd do, if I were doing something similar.)

ICYMI, I’m not a corned beef guy. As a rule, I don’t eat it, except mine. How did I get here?

Well, Mom LOVES CB. And since I took over household cooking duties 15+ years ago, I’ve been making it for her when her local places ran out on St. Patrick’s. I didn’t have any clue, so I tried all kinds of techniques: baked, steamed, whatever. Then one day I tried beer braising on a whim. I have to say, from the first cut, it was the most visually appetizing version I’d made.

When I served it to her, she stopped after her first bite and told me to try it. I responded that she should know by now I don’t…

She interrupted, using her MOM voice: “Son, you have to try this.”

I did…and then served up a plate for myself. I’ve been eating my CB- and nobody else’s- ever since.

I’ve been saying for decades now that a good cook can make you enjoy even things you deeply dislike. I’ve been given culinary revelations about arugula, strawberries, pumpkin, and other stuff in restaurants all over D/FW. My beer-braised CB* is a fluky illustration of that.

(Not trying to evangelize beer braised CB, though. More like I’m just trying to illustrate the benefits of keeping an open mind.)




* I have a similar story about my meatloaf, too.