On Tue 17 Mar 2009 07:26:24p, Pete C. told us...

>
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>
>> 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.
>
> If you want the flavor in the separate vegetables, just add some
> pickling spice mix to the water.

It would still be missing the flavor of the meat and a bit of fat dispersed
in the liquid. Just not the same.

Don't get me wrong, I do like roasted corned beef, but if I'm making a full
boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage and other root vegetables, I would
never roast the meat. Roasted corned beef is an entirely different meal.

>> 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.
>



--
Wayne Boatwright

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