Corn Beef Brined at Room Temp

[JTpellets]

Anybody have experience brining corned beef at room temp? I have a 16 lb brisket thst I was think of turning into corned beef. I don't have a container large enough or room in my fridge to brine it. When I bought my hoyse there was a 5 gallon pickling ceramic container in the basement. I was thinking about trying to brine it in the basement but I'm worried of spoiling the brisket. Anybody have any advice? Thanks.

[Powersmoke_80]

Cut it into 2 or three pcs if necessary and put in zip loc bags You must keep the meat between 34 and 38°F which is ideal refrigerator temp per This;

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/curing_meats.html

[kmhfive]

The key to that pickling container is dropping the pH quickly to below 4.0 through lactic-acid fermentation. That’s not what we’re going for with corned beef.

[JCGrill]

An alternative to the refrigerator is to buy a cooler and put ice in your brine. If you do, I recommend that you only use the cooler for brining and you get it very clean between uses. Or you can keep the brine and brisket in a bag and the ice in the cooler sitting the bag on the ice. Be sure to check your ice frequently.

[JCGrill]

By the way, if you have an electronic thermometer you can use it to monitor your cooler temp.

[jgreen]

I agree with the above. Meat is not safe if kept at room temperature for very long.

[aarontbell]

Do some outside research. refrigeration is new, salted meat is not.

[kmhfive]

Salted meat AND lactic acid fermentation will work, just not with the recipe proposed. The key is to create an environment where harmful bacteria can’t multiply. That’s a really high salt or higher Nitrates, nitrites, really low pH, etc.

Refrigeration is our friend and slows the bacterial multiplication while we get a certain flavor profile.

[JTpellets]

Thanks. The research I've done says you just don't brine it long if doing so at room temp. I wanted to get others opinions because I can't find a recipe online for brining at room temp. Im not sure what ingredients/ratios I should use to keep the meat from spoiling.

[JCGrill]

I think liability is going to prevent you from finding something from a guy like MH, so likely if you find it the post will be from someone like the rest of us. In other words, someone you don't really know, with whom you have no recourse if things go wrong. I'm sure it can be done safely if you follow the right steps, but it can go very wrong. Just sayin'...

[Spinaker]

Do not brine or cure at room temp. There is no need for it, when you have refrigeration. Do as Powersmoke suggests, cut it into pieces or use a container like this. This is what I use. It will fit in the fridge, you just have to get creative. Brining at room temp can be dangerous.

Please check out this article, before curing anything.

[ecowper]

I have brined whole hams in my cooler. What I do is get the cooler filled with brine, get the ham in it, and then add bags of ice on top (ziplock bags, I don’t want ice melting and diluting my brine). I run a freezer thermometer inside the cooler and check it every 10-12 hours to make sure my temp is 34-38 F.

Like this

[Cheef]

I guess my question would be WHY risk it?
Next question would be what exactly is room temperature?
I do lacto ferments and have never had a problem--this would scare the crap out of me though and I definitely wouldn't serve the results to ANYONE.
Just a side note and I don't know if it bears any relevance. My grandparents would preserve meat in their root cellar by suspending it in in a crock in lard that they had made. It would be good all winter. I don't know the process or the whys and hows--just know they did it and the meat (beef) was edible but not enjoyable to me. They loved it though. It was fried very well for serving.

[gcdmd]

How cold was the root cellar?

The lard probably acted to exclude oxygen, which would eliminate much bacterial growth but not anaerobic or microaerophilic organisms.

Jerod Broussard What do you think?

[Cheef]

Not sure on the temp in the root cellar. It was built under a BIG old limestone house out in the middle of Kansas. It was always cool down there when we'd have to go down and fetch things up. That root cellar held some pretty cool things to get them through winters. All the canned goods on shelves. Pears and apples wrapped in newspaper and stored in a single layer on wooden pallets. All the smoked/salted hams and fish wrapped up in burlap hung down there. I'd love to be able to go in there one more time on a shopping trip and stroll down memory lane.
Christmas time they would always pull out a box of dried salted fish they kept down there. Rehydrate it with a vinegar solution and add onions--it was always my own personal favorite at the Christmas table.