Text 3190, 101 rader
Skriven 2008-03-01 07:59:00 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DALE SHIPP
Ärende: Re: Corned Beef
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DSac> Eye of round has so little fat and connective tissue that I would
DSac> never consider corning it.  Cooking corned beef requires long, slow
DSac> braising and with a cut that "dry" I'm not at all certain I'd be
DSac> happy with the results.
 
DSh>   Gail boils it, also with the vegetables.

Gah. I even treat my fatty brisket cuts more gently than that. [g]

I always used to boil corned beef as well, because that's the way my
mother and grandmother and off into the dim mists of the past used
to cook them, but I wanted a better way because I just don't care for
the way boiled beef dries out as it cooks.  I've tried moist roasting
(propped up in the crockpot at low heat, out of the liquid so it cooks
more like Kathy Pitts' pot roast) and the texture is good, but it comes
out too salty.

So now what I do is this: I choose a pot only slightly bigger than
the cut of beef.  I roughly chop some "soup veg" - celery, onion,
parsley, carrot, a turnip if I have one, a parsnip ditto - and sweat
them in the pot until the onions are translucent and just turning a
little amber.  Then I add the corned beef and a short handful of
mixed pickling spices (coriander, mustard seed, bay, dill seed, etc.)
Sometimes I tie the spices in a cheesecloth bag. There is usually JUST
enough room in the pot for a few cups of water, no more.  I bring the
water to a simmer (not even enough of a boil to make scummy meat foam)
and simmer it for about 4 hours, just like I would if I were making 
stock.)  I cook the serving vegetables (carrots, whole onion, spuds,
cabbage) in the corned beef stock when the meat is done and serve the
pot likker on the side as a seasoning for those that want it.  If the
spices were tied in a bag, I might use my Braun hand-held whipper to
pulverize the flavoring veg in the broth, making the broth thicker
and more flavorful, almost like a gravy.

DSh> As we have said -- different strokes for different folks:-}}

I fully intend to try your way, and corn an eye round when I can find
one on sale.  We eat corned beef year 'round, not just at St. Paddy's
Day.

DSac> The best thing  to do with an eye of round IMO is to make
DSac> dried beef (aka "chipping" beef) or jerky.  The wicked low
DSac> fat content makes it ideal for that.

DSh> I've never considered making jerky -- but can see how that might 
DSh> work well.   It seems to be getting harder to find the kind of 
DSh> chipped beef Gail likes to use for CB on toast.

For jerky you can use any kind of low- or no-fat beef; just cut it
thin (1/4-inch) and dry it until leathery.  Marinating it in flavorful
stuff like teriyaki sauce first (and then rinsing off the marinade
before jerking) makes it tastier.  And drying it in your smoker makes
it even better yet.

As for chipped beef, I find it almost impossible to find "real" i.e.
SLICED dried beef.  I brought just about the last of my supply to the
picnic at your place so people could experience what it was like before
it was all gone.  Dried beef today is a finely chopped, extruded-then-
sliced mutant meat that has little to do with what it was once like.

Or, you can always do this:

----- Now You're Cooking! v5.54 [Meal-Master Export Format]

      Title: Dried Eye
 Categories: beef
      Yield: 1 dry eye

    1/2 c  salt
    1/3 c  sugar
    1/2 ts saltpeter
      1    eye of round; 4 or 5 lbs

Mix together the salt, sugar, and saltpeter. Divide the mixture in half.
Rub half of the mixture well into the eye of round. Put the meat into a
glass dish or plastic bag and refrigerate for two days. Remove the meat and
rub in the rest of the cure mixture. Refrigerate for another two days. The
meat should cure for about one day per pound of meat in all. Remove the
meat from the cure, wash it and pat it dry with paper towels. You are now
ready to dry it. You can add a bit of smoked flavor by brushing it with a
little liquid smoke. Hang the meat in a cool, well-ventilated spot and
leave it alone. Don't handle it while it's drying because handling can
cause surface mold. You can use the meat any time after the surface is dry.
Give it at least one week, but it will keep for months hanging in a cool
dry spot (40 to 45 degrees F) If mold does develop - wipe the meat off with
a clean towel dipped in a vinegar/water solution.

Method by Merle Ellis
MM by Dave Sacerdote, posted to NCE 3/1/2008

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