Corned Beef Recipes

What is Corned Beef?

Corned beef recipes evolved from a specific process to preserve meat. In the days before refrigeration, some meat was smoked or dried, some was brined in a mixture of water, salt, and spices, and some was rubbed with a dry mixture of salt and spices. The brisket of beef, a fairly cheap cut, could be preserved using any of these techniques. Since the large grains of salt used in the brining and dry-curing processes were referred to as "corns" (the word "corn" in this context is an old-fashioned term to describe something that comes in large grains), beef preserved by these two methods came to be called "corned beef". These days, it is most common to see beef cured in brine rather than with a dry rub, and although fine salt is used more often than larger salt grains, the name "corned beef" has persisted.

How to Cook Corned Beef Recipes

To prepare corned beef recipes in the traditional way, rinse the beef before letting it cook in a pot of simmering water for several hours. It is common to add pickling spices to the water in order to enhance the flavor and also to throw in some hearty vegetables, such as cabbage and potatoes, towards the end of cooking. The vegetables take on some of the salty flavor from the meat, and are excellent augmented by a pat of butter and a few grinds of black pepper. The meat, on the other hand, is commonly paired with a heady horseradish sauce or with spicy mustard.

Leftovers

The corned beef recipe for hash is a delicious way to use up both leftover corned beef and boiled potatoes (see the recipes above for some ideas). The famous hot Reuben sandwich calls for a combination of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing on rye bread.