New York Jewish Deli Corned Beef

New York Jewish Deli Corned Beef

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Jewish corned beef from Ben’s Best Kosher Deli in New York.

 As the United States gears up to celebrate their independence from Britain on 4th of July, it is peak summer. Barbecues are being fired up, huge joints of meat are being slowly smoked, watery beer is being chilled and car speakers are bleeding Van Halen (It is also the mid 80s and people are wearing leg warmers with tights and all the guys have mullets and white Reeboks but that is just how our imagination works).

Here in Australia, however, it is cold and miserable and not really the time to appreciate a good barbecue recipe. With that in mind here is our version of another American classic, straight from the cold and frosty concrete jungle of New York.

This recipe, for thinly shaved mounds of New York Deli corned beef, requires a good quantity of time, but very little effort, and it’s the perfect food for hiding in doors and watching Netflix in the warm. Ask your butcher for a brisket cut of beef, but you can also use silverside, which is a slightly different cut more commonly used in Australia.

Ingredients

  • 2.5 kilo piece of beef brisket (ask your butcher for the ‘point end’ cut rather than the ‘flat end’)

FOR THE BRINE

  • 4 litres of water
  • 2 cups of kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2 TBS pickling spice*
  • 1 tsp nitrate salt (this is optional, it will keep your brisket pink, but can be hard to find)

FOR THE PICKING SPICE

  • 20 g black peppercorns
  • 20g mustard seeds
  • 20g coriander seeds
  • 10g chilli flakes
  • 15g allspice berries
  • 10g mace
  • 2 cinnamon sticks, broken up
  • 6g cloves
  • 10g ground ginger

Combine all the brine ingredients in a pot large enough to hold the brisket, yet also fit in your fridge. Bring to a simmer and allow to cool to room temp. Place in the fridge until completely chilled.

Submerge the brisket in the brine and weigh down with a plate. Refrigerate for 5 days.

After this time, remove the brisket from the brine and rinse under cold water.

Submerge the brisket in cold water for ½ an hour, drain the water and repeat. This will leach impurities and excess salt from the brisket.

To cook, place the brisket place in a pot of cold water so it is submerged, add a few tablespoons of the pickling spice, a few bay leaves and a whole head of garlic cut in half.

Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer and cook for about 2 ½ to 3 hours. I like to let the corned beef cool in the liquid, it makes it much more tender.

Once cold, slice thinly and serve on good bread with pickles and a strong mustard, or go bananas with your very own Ruben Sandwich.

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