Corned Beef is a Family Favourite

One of my favorite meals is corned beef with vegetables and white sauce. As a kid, most of our meals involved corned beef in some way. We would butcher our own cattle, and after a week of enjoying fresh meat, the remaining beef was corned to preserve it. It was placed in large brine vats in the cellar and taken out as needed since we had no other way to store it.

There are many different ways to prepare and enjoy cooked corned beef, and I will explore more of those in future blogs. Below, I've included the recipe, so if you haven't been confident in cooking it, give this method a try.

Ingredients:

• 1 x 2kg piece of corned beef (Serves 8 People)

• ½ cup of malt vinegar

• ½ cup of loosely packed brown sugar

• One medium-sized brown onion

• 8 Cloves and 6 Bay leaves

Method:

1. Place all ingredients in a large pot.

2. Cover the meat with cold water and bring it to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat to a steady simmer and cook for 1 hour for each 1kg of meat.

4. Test the meat by inserting a sharp knife into the middle. If the juice is clear, turn off the pot and let the meat cool down.

5. Serve it hot after the meat has rested. Make sure you cut it against the grain.

Notes:

To get the most out of your corned beef, don't slice it until it's completely cold – it's best left overnight in the refrigerator. This allows for thinner slicing without it falling apart. Don’t discard the juice from the pot. I will give you a great recipe for a lovely sauce that you need this juice for. Don’t throw out the onion, recycle it into another meat dish – ie: a stew.