The luck o’ the Irish is pickling spice and peppercorns!
The well-filled belly has little understanding of the empty. ~ Irish proverb
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Even if I weren’t Irish, I would love this day for the corned beef alone! I’m prepping a corned beef brisket for a day of soaking in a steamy meat hot tub with a mix of spices that will have the beef super tender and amazingly flavorful later today. This is going to be a two-part blog: the first part will focus on the brisket spices and the second will share how to make the perfect Reuben sandwich…Mmmmm! My mouth is watering as I type!
Corned beef gets it’s unique flavor from a mix of spices that are typically used in the pickling process. The mix can vary, but usually includes bay leaves, cloves, garlic, coriander, mustard seed and ginger. Some recipes also have nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice. Peppercorns are also used. Most of the spices used are whole or roughly crushed.
In the mix I am using today, I am leaving a couple of the bay leaves whole and crushing one. Because I love the flavor of the black, green, white and pink peppercorn mix, I am using a couple of tablespoons and just rough crushing them in my spice grinder to really let out the essence. I always keep whole ginger and nutmeg in my freezer so it is quick and easy to just pull them out and grate them with a micro-plane.
Corned beef spice mix: 2T mustard seeds, 2t coriander seeds, 2t whole cloves, 1t ground ginger, 1t ground nutmeg and 2T mixed peppercorns whole & roughly ground, 2-3 bay leaves whole & crushed and one whole clove of garlic.
Place the corned beef brisket in a crock pot with all of the packaged juices. Add an additional cup of water. Sprinkle the spices over the brisket. Cook in the crock pot for at least 5-6 hours (6-7 hours if frozen) until the beef is fork tender. In the meantime, enjoy some Jameson or Guinness or both!! Later we’ll use the perfectly cooked corned beef to assemble a tasty (and not really Irish) Reuben sandwich.
Crock Pot Corned Beef Brisket
Author: Changing Seasonings
Recipe type: Main Dish
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8 servings
Perfectly seasoned and tender corned beef brisket
Ingredients
- Corned beef spice mix: 2T mustard seeds, 2t coriander seeds, 2t whole cloves, 1t ground ginger, 1t ground nutmeg and 2T mixed peppercorns whole & roughly ground, 2-3 bay leaves whole & crushed and one whole clove of garlic.
Instructions
- Place the corned beef brisket in a crock pot with all of the packaged juices. Add an additional cup of water. Sprinkle the spices over the brisket. Cook in the crock pot for at least 5-6 hours (6-7 hours if frozen) until the beef is fork tender. In the meantime, enjoy some Jameson or Guinness or both!! Later we'll use the perfectly cooked corned beef to assemble a tasty (and not really Irish) Reuben sandwich.