The briskets are cured. I hope! I was surprised to see that despite one being cured with pink salt and the other made Nitrite free, they both look very similar coming out of the brine.
They’ve been rinsed, topped off with fresh pickling spices, a rough mirepoix
of carrots, onion and celery.
Now they simmer for 3 hours… chill and we wait!
If you missed the beginning of the corned beef story and recipes they can be found here.
Can’t wait to see how these turn out! After making a successful batch of bacon from Ruhlman’s Charcuterie book, I’ve been dying to cure some corned beef. Interested to see how much of a difference you detect between the standard and nitrite free versions.
So, my husband says he preferred the one with the pink salt (Nitrites). I don’t really notice a difference on that front. What I do notice is that I love the flavour of the caraway seeds that are stronger in the nitrite-free version because I coated the meat in it. Next time I might coat the whole brisket and leave it overnight wrapped in the caraway before I do the cooking. As for the color they are both pretty pink, with a little grey in the middle so I don’t notice a big difference aesthetically but maybe in the next few days one will turn more grey. Lastly, Since I cut the brisket in half one side is leaner and the other is more fatty and marbled. Of course, the fatty side is the most flavourful and delectable!