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Homemade Corned Beef
Homemade Corned Beef
Corned beef is one of my favorites. But I’m sick of low quality corned beef that you get at the grocery store. It is very expensive; the way the briskets are cut are shitty; and they’re overly salty. I’m also sick of seeing people boil corned beef. I know that’s one way to prepare it, but it’s very underwhelming. So I decided to brine my own and smoke it.I purchased a whole untrimmed brisket that was about 15lbs. I trimmed it down to about 8lbs. The brine is simply salt, sugar, curing salts, and pickling spices. For a piece of meat this size, it will need to brine for 10 days to penetrate the center of the brisket. Once brined, the brisket will need to dry out in the refrigerator for a day.Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Allow the brisket to sit at room temp for an hour. Place the brisket in the smoker and wait…and wait…and some more waiting. Depending on the size of your brisket, it will take 8-12 hours to reach an internal temperature of 200 degrees. I started mine at 6AM and it was done at 6PM.
Equipment
- large bin for brining
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 flat cut beef brisket 5-10 lbs
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp pink curing salt
- 8 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 4 bay leaves
Wood Chips
- hickory
Instructions
- Mix all of the brining ingredients together.
- Put the brisket in a large bin. Pour the brine over the brisket. Weigh the brisket down with a plate to keep it completely submerged. Brine for 10 days.
- Take the brisket out of the brine. Pat dry and allow the brisket to dry out in the refrigerator on a rack for 1 day. When ready to smoke, allow the brisket to sit at room temperature for an hour.
- Preheat your smoker at 250 degrees. Place the brisket in the smoker.
- Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. This can take anywhere from 8-12 hours.
- Allow the corned beef to rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
Colorado Pork Green Chili
Colorado Pork Green Chili
If you’ve ever been to the state of Colorado, you’ll notice how many restaurants make pork green chili. You notice even more that they drown everything in it: burgers, burritos, hotdogs, nachos, fries, enchiladas, eggs, etc. If you can think it, green chili will smother it. This pork green chili is different from green chilis of New Mexico. Colorado-style is beanless and the broth is more of a green chile gravy than a soup like the ones in NM.Colorado-style pork green chili starts with large green chilies roasted until the flesh is charred. The chile’s skins are peeled, then chopped. The chilies get add to a pot of cubed pork shoulder, potatoes, seasonings, and stock. It gets simmered force hours until the pork is tender. Then a roux made from masa flour is whisked in to thicken. It’s cooked for a few more minutes, then it’s ready to eat.
Ingredients
- 12 large green anaheim chilies
- 3 serrano peppers
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 lb boneless pork shoulder cubed
- 3 tsp salt
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 10 cups pork or chicken stock
- 1 large russet potato peeled; cut into small cubes
- 1 cup masa flour
- 1 cup butter
- 1 lime juiced
Toppings
- cilantro
- sour cream
- green onions chopped
- red onion finely chopped
Instructions
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the chilies on a rack on a baking sheet.
- Broil for 6-7 minutes a side until the chilies are charred. Peel off the skin, chop, and set aside.
- Heat up the oil in a stock pot over medium high heat. Add in the pork. Season with salt. Brown for 10 minutes. Remove from the pot.
- Add in the onion. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the pork back in along with the chilies, potato, and seasonings.
- Pour in the stock. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 3 hours.
- In another pan, whisk together the masa flour and butter over medium heat until a roux forms. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Whisk the roux into the pork green chili. Squeeze in the lime juice. Cook for 10 more minutes.
Spam and Egg Fried Rice
Spam and Egg Fried Rice
SPAM and egg fried rice is commonly eaten in many Asian cultures. It’s inexpensive and quick and easy to make; giving you your bang for your buck.
Ingredients
- 2 cups day old cooked white rice
- 1/2 can SPAM diced into small cubes
- 4 large eggs beaten
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 green onions chopped
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- sesame oil
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of the cooking oil in a large sauté pan or wok over medium high heat. Add the beaten eggs to the pan. Allow to set for a minute.
- Scramble the eggs. Cook for another minute and remove from the pan.
- Add the rest of the cooking oil to the pan. Add in the spam and onion. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Add in the rice. Break up all of the clumps. Fry for 4 minutes.
- Season the rice with soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar.
- Add the eggs back into the rice along with the green onions. Cook for 2 more minutes.
