Corned Beef Our Favorite Way Recipe

"I've been making corned beef this way for years. It's Portuguese inspired. I used to make this often for a friend who was Irish and he would always brag that it was one of the best he's had. It is essential to simmer your beef slowly, because the brisket is a tough meat, simmering will encourage a tender corned beef. The lower the simmer, the less moisture is lost from your beef and the more tender it will be."

Step by Step Method

Step 1

Rinse the corned beef, place in a large pot. Fill with water to fully cover. Add enough salt to the water. The water should taste slightly salty (sort of like what water should taste when cooking rice).

Step 2

Add onions, garlic, hot sauce, and bay leaves. If your corned beef comes with a seasoning packet; add that too.

Step 3

Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, immediately reduce it to a low simmer. Cover and simmer for about 3-4 hours or until fork tender (should easily pierce through the meat, but should not be falling apart).

Step 4

If using the Portuguese chourico, add it whole to the last 15-20 or so minutes.

Step 5

While the corned beef is cooking and if your pot is large enough, you may want to add your vegetables into the water along with the corned beef. Take in mind that each veggie will take a certain amount of time and should not all be added at the same time. For example: collard greens (depending on how mature they are) can take up to 45ish minutes to come to tender, so they can be added 45ish minutes just before the corned beef is done. Therefore, each veggie should be added to the water at proportionate times, that's if you wish everything to cook together. OR:

Step 6

Once corned beef is done, remove it from the pot and place in a strainer and remove any aromatics that may be stuck to the meat. Place on a platter (if you haven't removed a lot of the fat, here's were you want to remove any big fat chunks); cover the beef with aluminum foil. Proceed cooking your veggies in the corned beef flavored water (they're so good cooked in that luscious water).