1kg rock/sea salt, table salt will not do!
500g brown sugar
4 tbsp saltpetar [optional]
1 tbsp black pepper corns
1 tbsp allspice berries
1 tbsp brown mustard seeds
5-6 cloves
blade of mace
parsley stalks to taste [i love loads]
3 bay leaves
a chilli pepper
a few springs of thyme or 1 tsp dried.
5 liters water
bring this to just about boiling in a big stainless steel pot [if you use other metal pots it will attack them!] let the first bubbles come to the surface stir a few times to get the salt and sugar to dissolve. when stirring be careful of any hot splash back as gas can form under the sugar and salt to start with. take it off the heat and allow to cool completely. this is enough brine to do about 3-4kg of brisket. make sure there is something heavy like a bowl on the meat to make sure it is totally submerged in the brine. i leave mine for about 10 day myself but it is just about how pickled you like it. during the pickle stage disturb the meat everyday to make sure the whole cut gets the treatment. remove from the solution and leave in fresh water after a quick rinse for 24 hours changing the water at least twice. i put mine in a plastic tub as this brine will even attack stainless steel over this time scale
fill a large stock pot with the soaked beef, 1 large onion chopped, 2 sticks of celery sliced, 2 carrots sliced, 2 turnips sliced, 1 head of garlic sliced in 2, 2 bay leaves, another chilli, some parsley stalks, fresh thyme and a heaped tbsp of dry mustard powder. cover and bring to the boil and simmer gently for 2-4 hours depending how well done you like to eat ya beef. i do about 3 hours and then take it off the heat and allow the meat to sit in the gruel for 24 hours. you can take it out whenever and slice a sandwich or 2 but put it back in the gruel when finished. then remove and keep it in a tupperware in the fridge. it will keep for up to a fortnight with no worries if in the fridge.
best served with, toasted bread [the Jews use rye but any thing will do] a slice of swiss cheese of choice, a good tbsp of squeezed sauerkraut, 1,000 island dressing. YUM YUM!
1,000 island dressing
4 tbsp mayo,
1 tbsp tomato ketchup,
1 tsp horseraddish cream,
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce,
a few drops of your fav chilli sauce
freshly ground black or white pepper and salt to taste.
Topic: NYC style salt beef, (Read 4531 times)
