Irish Spiced Beef

[ecowper]

I've done this a couple times now and it is pretty darn good!

Description

Spiced Beef originates in County Cork in Ireland. It's a salted/cured beef that is traditional for the holidays in Ireland. I got the original recipe from The Irish Post, so it must be authentic! It's great for a holiday gathering or St. Patrick's Day

Ingredients

1 brisket hunk of flat (4-6 lbs)
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3-1/2 tablespoons allspice berries
2-1/2 tablespoons black peppercorns
3-1/2 tablespoons juniper berries
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2-1/2 tablespoons cloves
1 tablespoon Prague Powder #1 or saltpeter
1/3 cup sea salt
1 turnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 onion, cut in quarters
3 carrots, peeled, cut in quarters
3 celery stalks, cut in half
3 bay leaf

Directions

First prepare the beef: Trim the meat of any excess fat.

Rub the sugar well into the beef, then place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 12 hours.

The following day, using a mortar and pestle, grind together the spices, saltpeter, and salt.

Rub the spice and salt mix over the meat, re-cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 7 days, turning daily.

Transfer the beef to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the turnip, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, and cover with cold water.

Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 2 hours until probe tender, but not falling apart.

Lift out into a serving dish and let cool to room temp, then chill in refrigerator

Carve across the grain into pencil thick slices

Serve cold with a spicy mustard or creamy horseradish

Notes

Alternatively, desalinate for an hour in cold water and then smoke the flat until probe tender at 250F like you would pastrami, cool to room temp, then chill in refrigerator

[Oak Smoke]

When you apply the spices, saltpeter, and salt is that a dry cure? That would be so much easier to find space in the fridge for as opposed to a 5 gallon bucket.

[ecowper]

glad I could give you a new ideer!

[realdocBBQ]

I like vacuum sealing for a dry cure - BUT... even doing a wet cure, you don't need a huge bucket. You can do it in 1 gallon ziploc bags, OR get the larger Ziploc bags. Can be a lot easier to fit them into a space than a big bucket. The larger Ziplocs are also really durable and the seals are quite strong - I've used them several times and never had a problem with a seal giving or leaking. YMMV - try at your own risk! lol But overall, easier than a big bucket.

[jfmorris]

I will second doing a wet cure in zip lock bags. And I put those in a pan for safety (in case of leaks). I rarely do it in a bucket or pot anymore. I do keep some 2 gallon zip locks, for curing chunks of brisket in...

[FireMan]

Outstanding!!! I would make one change, since we know that the sugar is probably a version of a marinade which does nothing, I’d skip that to save a day. Pack it with sugar, then load it up with yer excellent concoction of spices & let’r rip. Gotta try this man, thanks!

[ecowper]

I agree with that change. I did it this way originally because it is how I got the base recipe from The Irish Post and I'm reluctant to change tradition :-)

[johnec00]

Saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and Prague Powder #1 (6.25% sodium nitrite and the rest salt) are not equivalent.

[ecowper]

I'm not curing this for the long term cured meat aspect. It's going straight from curing to cooking. The real purpose of the PP#1 or Saltpeter is to give it that "corned beef" color and flavor

[johnec00]

Yes, you are basically making dry cured corned beef. A tablespoon of Prague Powder #1 per 4-6 pounds beef yields from 360 to 540 ppm sodium nitrite. The main site article "The Science Of Curing Meats Safely" recommends 150ppm and says 200 is the highest recommended by "food safety experts" You will get the desired color and flavor with less nitrite.

Just my 2 cents worth, not trying to argue with anybody's recipe.

Can't speak to saltpeter at all.