Salt beef recipe
Salt beef, brined with aromatic herbs and spices. Spicy, fermented cabbage and fresh, pickled vegetables are an excellent foil to the deep beefiness of the brisket.
This recipe requires brining time of between 24-36 hours on top of the prep time.
Ingredients
For the brine- 4 l water
- 450 g salt
- 100 g sugar
- 8 bay leaves, crushed
- 4 large cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp ground mace
- 6 allspice berries
- 6 juniper berries
- 6 black peppercorns
- 0.5 cinnamon stick, crushed
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger
- 0.5 tsp chilli flakes
- 3 cloves
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 4 stalks of celery
- 2 large carrots, quartered
- 1 head of garlic, halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 2.5 kg beef brisket
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 260 mins
- Serves: 8
Step-by-step
- Lightly toast the mustard seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns. Crush with the side of a knife or the bottom of a pan. Bring water, salt sugar and spices to a boil. Allow to cool completely.
- In a pot large enough to hold the brisket. Cover with the brine. Keep the meat submerged by using a large plate. Refrigerate and allow to brine for 24-36 hours.
- Remove from the liquid and discard the used brine. Rinse the beef well. Add the aromatics to your cooking pot. Add the brisket. Cover with water. Bring to a bare simmer. Cook gently for 3-4 hours or until fork tender.
- Remover the cooked beef and allow to rest before carving. Reduce the cooking liquor by 1/3 monitoring the salt levels, to intensify the flavours. Use the reduced cooking liquor to moisten the meat for serving.
- If you do not need to serve immediately, allow the brisket to cool in the liquor – it achieves a finer result.
This recipe was devised by Jeff Kipp, chef-owner of the Saltwood on the Green restaurant.
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