On 11/16/2013 12:43 PM, Ophelia wrote:
>
>
> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 11/16/2013 12:02 PM, Ophelia wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> "Gary" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> Ophelia wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I just read that corned beef comes from cattle raised on maize. I
>>>>> always
>>>>> though it referred to the corns of salt which was used to help
>>>>> preserve
>>>>> it.
>>>>> Can anyone elucidate please?
>>>>
>>>> Corned beef, fish....corned anything refers to soaking it in a
>>>> super-saturated salt brine before putting away.
>>>
>>> Is it first salted and then dried?
>>>
>>> Has nothing to do with
>>>> the vegetable corn.
>>>
>>> Thanks, Gary. That is how I understood it too but I wasn't sure. I've
>>> never seen that here, the only corned beef we get is canned and is very
>>> salty.
>>>
>> You can make your own, if you've a mind to. Here's a step-by-step
>> with
>> pictures of the process for a 5 lb. brisket:
>>
>> http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes...d_corned_beef/
>
> Thank you very much for that! We might just give it a try! Can I ask
> ... later in
> the recipe it says 'cover' with one inch of water ??? Does that literally
> mean cover it completely with water, with one inch extra water extra
> over the
> top of the meat ...

That's how I interpret cover with water.

Also, all that pickling spices, does it make it very
> spicy?
>
Caveat: I've never corned a brisket, myself.

The ones I buy aren't spicy as in hot. I know you don't like spicy
food. Corned beef is salty. But not overly much for my tastebuds.
(It's not as if I eat it every day.) Aside from for dinner, thinly
sliced hot corned beef makes for great sandwiches.

Looking again at the recipe, I would say you can leave out pretty much
anything that would make it too spicy for you. Do you ever make
pickles? If you do, I'd say use the combination of pickling spices
you're comfortable with. The salt seems to be the important component.

Jill