Homemade Corned Venison Brined Recipes

HOMEMADE CORNED VENISON - BRINED

Steps:

• Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the dry ingredients and stir until dissolved. Recipe for Homemade Pickling Spice.
• Pour the 6 cups of water into a large container and then stir in the pickling mixture. Place the venison into the the brine. Cover and refrigerate.
• The length of time needed for the venison to brine all the way through, depends on the thickness of the cut. Morton's® suggests 5 days for every 2 inches of thickness. So, if your roast is 4" thick, it will take 10 days to brine all of the way through! I brined the bottom butts for about 14 days to achieve the entire thickness was cured. The largest top rounds took about 21 days.
• For instructions to cook the venison, see here.
• Here is where to find the Morton's® Tender Quick®
• Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Rub all over the surface of the roasts. Place roasts in a container or a sealable bag and place in the refrigerator. Cure for 5 days per 2 inches of meat thickness. Turn meat over once per day. Takes at least 5-7 days, for small roasts. Up to 21 days for larger roasts.
• Once corned, meat must be rinsed off and cooked thoroughly.
• For instructions to cook the venison, see here.

CORNED VENISON

Steps:

• Add everything but the roast to a pot and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and cover, then let it cool to room temperature while covered. This will take a few hours. Meanwhile, trim any silverskin you find off the roast. Leave the fat. Once the brine is cool, find a container just about large enough to hold the roast, place the meat inside and cover with the brine. You might have extra, which you can discard.
• Make sure the roast is completely submerged in the brine; I use a clean stone to weigh the meat down. You can also just flip the meat every day. Cover and put in the fridge for 5 to 7 days, depending on the roast's size. A 2-pound roast might only need 4 days. The longer you soak, the saltier it will get -- but you want the salt and nitrate to work its way to the center of the roast, and that takes time. Err on extra days, not fewer days.
• After the alloted time has passed, you have corned venison. To cook and eat, rinse off the meat, then put the roast in a pot just large enough to hold it and cover with fresh water. You don't want too large a pot or the fresh water will leach out too much flavor from the meat -- it's an osmosis thing. partially cover the pot and simmer gently -- don't boil -- for at least 3 hours and up to 5 hours. The meat itself will be cooked in an hour or less, but you want the sinews and connective tissue in the roast to soften and that takes time.
• Eat hot or cold. It is absolutely fantastic with good mustard and some sauerkraut on a sandwich.

CORNED BEEF

Steps:

• Place the water into a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the ice. Stir until the ice has melted. If necessary, place the brine into the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees F. Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine.
• After 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water. Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cover with water by 1-inch. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Remove from the pot and thinly slice across the grain.

HOMEMADE CORNED BEEF

Steps:

• Brine the brisket: In a medium pot set over high heat, combine about a gallon of water, the salt, the sugar, the garlic, 3 tablespoons pickling spices and the pink curing salt. Stir mixture as it heats until sugar and salt are dissolved, about 1 minute. Transfer liquid to a container large enough for the brine and the brisket, then refrigerate until liquid is cool.
• Place brisket in the cooled liquid and weigh the meat down with a plate so it is submerged. Cover container and place in the refrigerator for 5 days, or up to 7 days, turning every day or so.
• To cook brisket, remove it from the brine and rinse under cool water. Place in a pot just large enough to hold it and cover with one of the beers and one of the ginger beers. If you need more liquid to cover the meat, add enough of the other beer, and the other ginger beer, to do so. Add remaining 2 tablespoons pickling spices. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat to low so liquid is barely simmering. Cover and let cook until you can easily insert a fork into the meat, about 3 hours, adding water along the way if needed to cover the brisket.
• Keep warm until serving, or let cool in the liquid and reheat when ready to eat, up to three or four days. Slice thinly and serve on sandwiches, in Irish tacos (see recipe) or with carrots and cabbage simmered until tender in the cooking liquid.