We had hash and eggs this morning and I think I agree. Even if the kids did take all the leftover cabbage and carrots because Grandgirl liked them so much. And rutabagas. Son-in-law can't have potatoes, so I thought I'd try them. I also made some darn good gluten-free Irish soda bread muffins

I cooked the point in my Instant Pot. It was perfect. I corned a 10lb brisket, cut into two pieces. The flat is in the freezer...thinking I'll smoke it.

I brined mine for a couple of weeks. I'll never go back to storebought.

Can you corn a hunk of meat without using pink salt?
And has anyone ever tried to corn a cup other than brisket?
Thinkinga corned chuck might be very nice....or for very very lean, eye of the round.

Looks good! Those pesky leprechauns, so far no one has claimed to catch one, so I guess they will continue to create havoc and mayhem in the house.

I did my CB in the slow cooker and we were pleased. Dad ate more than I have seen him do in the last several weeks, so only a bit left over. Hash and eggs on the menu for Tuesday night.

I've only corned a fresh brisket once and my recipe took almost 14 days!! But it was really delicious. As far as I know you have to use the pink preg powder for the corning process. An eye of round roast sounds good!! Hope someone replies to your question, Linda!

Peppi, I don't know anyone who has actually caught a leprechaun, but we'll keep trying, the rascals sure can make a mess with glitter. (grin)

LindaC, you don't have to use the pink salt, you just won't get that really pink color that's usually associated with corned beef, it'll be more brown/gray, like uncured beef, but it tastes the same as far as I can tell. I've seen recipes that call for adding some beet juice to the brine if you want more color but I've not tried it. If you are comfortable leaving fresh beef in the refrigerator for 5 days, then you can brine without the pink salt, it wouldn't cause me to hesitate at all.

Marcy, I've seen recipes that call for anything from 5 days to 17 days. 5 days worked really well for me, I'm assuming that thicker cuts might require longer brining, but I could be wrong, I don't really know that.

Being a fan of "Charcuterie", that's the recipe I used, of course. And you can use any cut of beef you want, but the best cuts for corned beef, according to Ruhlman/Polsyn are the cheap and tougher cuts. I've tried it with flank steak (which is a bit too thin, IMO) and with round which works very nicely.

KatieC, I love rutabaga, and it would go well with the carrots/cabbage/potato mixture that's usual for my dinner, I'm going to have to remember that. Having fun with the grandkid? (Yeah, that was a silly question, LOL)

Annie

I have been corning tongue and brisket for many years and more recently making pancetta, and I never use the "pink salt". I don't want nitrates/nitrites in the food I eat and I certainly am not going to add it to my homemade stuff. The color is not quite so pink, but it's all been delicious.

I don't worry a lot about it, but I avoid adding them when possible. I made the canadian bacon and the peameal bacon without it, as they were only brined two and three days, respectively. The salt brine for corned beef is going to keep the meat fine for five days in the fridge without an issue, but if I were leaving it for a couple of weeks, I might have second thoughts.

Then again, those fancy steakhouses dry age beef for 40 days or more, so there's that, everyone has to make their own choices about what they are comfortable with.

I know that 90% of the nitrates in our bodies come from vegetables, and 10% from processed meats, but there's a difference in nitrates. According to the University of Minnesota:

"Normally, sodium nitrate in vegetables does not pose the same health risk as nitrites found in processed meat. The nitrites added to processed meats as preservatives and color enhancers can combine with proteins called amines to form compounds called nitrosamines. Nitrosamines have shown cancer-causing potential in animal studies. Nitrates and nitrites themselves do not have cancer-causing potential. Vegetables contain ascorbic acid, a form of vitamin C and an antioxidant which helps prevent nitrosamine formation, although it might not completely prevent it. Store fresh cooked vegetables high in nitrates for no more than one to two days in the refrigerator or cook only as much as you plan to eat at one time."

So, are you more concerned about the food safety issues with leaving beef in brine alone, or with the nitrates added to your diet? It's strictly your call, the flavor will be there no matter what.

Laceyvail, I never thought of corning the tongue, that's a good idea! Do you take the skin off it first, or brine with the skin on?

Annie

Annie, I grew up on corned tongue, and it's the gourmet New York deli meat for sandwiches. You corn it with the skin on, then bring to a boil, pour off water, bring to a boil again and cook until tender. The skin slips right off. I've never cooked or eaten a non corned tongue!

All looks great - and fun! Madison is too cute!

I cured my own corned beef one year using Alton Brown's recipe. He called for saltpeter which I ordered from he pharmacist who looked at me weird. Anyway it was bad. I've been tempted to try it again with another recipe but the two things stopping me is that brisket is always way more expensive than already cured, and I can get it homemade from the barrel at my supermarket. (Just around St, P's Day.) Jimster (IIRC) told me to make smoke bombs with the rest of the saltpeter. That was fun for me and the kids. :)

FOAS, here corned beef finally went on sale, but it is $8.99 a pound any time except during St. Pat's, that's what brisket usually is too. Now I know that a steer only has just so much brisket, just like a pig only has so many ribs, but still...

I've corned beef before and thought it was too much time and took too much refrigerator space, but this one was only 5 days. I'm going to try it again, probably with round, or maybe rolled rump. It was really good, but be sure to rinse it well or it'll be salty.

If I were going to brine it for 17 days, like some recipes say, I'd definitely use the pink salt for preservation but for five days? Nope, next batch is without it, the only benefit I really see is that it makes that nice pink color. Put it in hash and you don't notice the color anyway...

I just got pink salt from Butcher-Packer online, and no druggist to look at me weirdly, LOL. That's what Ruhlman/Polsyn said to use, so Elery bought some a couple of years ago to use in something else. We still have some left, it was $3.50 a pound, and a pound is a LOT!

Annie

What fun!!! I love the way you're up for anything, with the kids. I really like Maddy's hair cut. It suits her perfectly.