Is corned beef a tradition in your house for St. Patrick’s Day? We definitely enjoy it, although we haven’t had it in a few years because I’m not comfortable with some of the ingredients used to “corn” the beef, especially sodium nitrite.
I hadn’t set out to make corned beef. It all started with that beef tongue in my freezer. We generally buy a quarter of grass-fed beef at a time from a local farmer. We got the tongue with our quarter this year, and I’m committed to using all of what we get, including the offal.
That tongue. It’s been in my freezer for a few months, and the site of it was more than I could bear. But then I ran across a recipe to cure your own corned beef in Long Way on a Little by Shannon Hayes. She mentions that, in addition to brisket, you can use tongue for corned beef. Yes, for whatever reason, I thought I could handle that.
I can’t tell you how glad I am that I persevered. This meat was delicious! I brined it for a full week, and then cooked it in my crock pot for a full day.
Have you ever cooked beef tongue? How did you prepare it?
And yes, I get it. Not everyone wants to eat tongue, or cure their own corned beef. But if you love corned beef, give this smoked corned beef brisket recipe from Hilda’s Kitchen Blog a try.
Homemade Corned Beef Tongue or Brisket
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 12 ounces beer
- 1 1/2 cups sea salt
- 3 tablespoons pickling spices
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 beef tongue or brisket
- 1 large onion coarsely chopped
- 6 whole allspice berries
- 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 whole star anise
Instructions
- Place water, beer, salt, pickling spices, 3 bay leaves, and coconut sugar into a a soup pot.
- Bring to a boil and simmer until the coconut sugar and sea salt are dissolved.
- Cool, and then pour into a glass or stainless-steel container large enough to hold the meat.
- Add the tongue or brisket and cover. Refrigerate for 5 – 7 days, turning every other day.
- On the 5th – 7th day, drain the meat, and discard the brine.
- Set meat on the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Add the onion, 2 bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns, and star anise.
- Completely cover with water, and turn the heat on the slow cooker to low.
- Cook until the meat pierces easily with a fork, about 8-10 hours.
- Remove the meat from the slow cooker. If using tongue, allow to cool enough to peel away the skin before slicing and serving .
