On Tue 17 Mar 2009 02:03:50p, Pete C. told us...

>
> Theron wrote:
>>
>> "Pete C." > wrote in message
>> ster.com...
>> >
>> > Theron wrote:
>> >>
>> >> "FERRANTE" > wrote in message
>> >> ...
>> >> >I am going to start cooking my two corned beef briskets tonight in
>> >> >my
>> >> > new crock pot and I have a question: should I cover the briskets
>> >> > with water and not use that much? I was thinking that since it
>> >> > would be slow cooking all night that the steam (heat) would cook
>> >> > them thoroughly without needing so much water, but I am not sure.
>> >> > That is where you seasoned cooks come in.
>> >> >
>> >> > How much water is needed?
>> >> >
>> >> > Thanks,
>> >> > Mark
>> >>
>> >> I've been wondering about baking, or steaming a mildly cured bottom
>> >> round. If you seared the brisket first[I recommend regardless of
>> >> what you do], and used a small amount of water, you'd be steaming.
>> >> You could raise the brisket slightly off the bottom. I'd cover
>> >> tightly.
>> >>
>> >> I just thought. If you did this and the end result was too much salt
>> >> and/or "too tough" you could just continue on and braise in the
>> >> usual fashion. The best St. Patrick's day to you,
>> >> Ed
>> >
>> > I always bake my corned beef briskets, I think they come out much
>> > better than boiling / braising. They bake on a rack in a deep pan
>> > with a bit of water in the bottom. Oddly enough those directions are
>> > on the package of the brisket I currently have in the oven. I started
>> > baking them years ago though.
>>
>> Thanks Pete. The Safeway corned beef package I'm about to cook says the
>> same thing. I've never tried it. Do you brown the brisket first? I've
>> been browning when I braise and it makes quite a difference. You could
>> also use beer in your steaming liquid, though I doubt that it would
>> make any difference.
>>
>> Ed,
>
> I just take it out of the package, put it on a rack in the pan and
> sprinkle the seasoning stuff on top. The relatively long time in the
> oven browns the outside just fine. Leaving the corning / pickling gook
> also helps glaze it a bit. Water in the bottom of the pan mostly keeps
> the drippings from burning.
>
> I made some very tasty corned beef has this morning with a bit of the
> brisket I baked last night along with the potatoes and onions I boiled
> along with some cabbage (I left the cabbage out of the hash).
>

IMO, how you cook corned beef is directly releated on how you plan to use
it. I have roasted it with great success and enjoyed it. However, if I
want a boiled corned beef and cabbage dinner, I want sufficient liquid to
boil the potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and turnips. Roasting simply
doesn't provide for that. Of course, the vegetables could be cooked
separately, but would not be infused with the flavor from the cooking
liquid of the corned beef.

I doubt there's any really bad way to cook corned beef. It just depends on
what you want. A couple of times when I roasted it, near the end of
cooking I coated it liberally with a mixture of brown sugar and mustard to
give it a good spicy/sweet glaze.

--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.