Use dry sugar at a ratio of 100 grams per gallon of water. Measuring in grams is more ideal as 1/2 cup of granulated sugar is quite a bit different from say, turbinado because of the cut of the granules (same concept as above with the salt). For the liquid sweeteners, you
can still use the same ratio, though we recommend 50-75 grams of honey or syrup per gallon of water. For the vinegar, you can still add it at the same ratio, but consider adding 50 grams of sugar in addition to the vinegar.
The Herbs & Spices
The expected flavors for corned beef are savory and a little green.
Savory
The list of spices you could choose for your savory element could go on and on, but we recommend a combination of the following:
- garlic cloves (nearly essential)
- whole nutmeg and/or whole allspice berries
- whole coriander seed
- juniper berries
- fennel seed and/or anise seed
- whole cloves and/or cinnamon sticks and/or star anise
- ginger root and/or mace
How to use spices in your brine:
There is really no "correct" ratio to adding these spices to your brine. If you need guidance, try 5 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of whichever seeds or berries you choose, a half teaspoon of whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks or 3 star anise and a couple coins of ginger or half teaspoon of mace, for a gallon brine. Any ratio will work, to taste of course, but steer clear of going over a tablespoon of any of the above (for a 5 lb brisket/1 gallon brine). Note that cloves, cinnamon, star anise, ginger and mace are all really striking flavors, so you don't want to go overboard on any of those. The seeds and berries will make the base of your flavor, the others are accents.
Green
For the 'green' element, our favorite is
dill seed. Dill seed will contribute a familiar corned beef flavor that will tell those eating your homemade corned beef that they are in fact eating corned beef. But it's not the end-all be-all. You could go about this two ways:
1. Substitute another green for dill seed
2. Use dill seed and enhance with another herb as well.
Here are our recommendations:
- basil
- thyme
- rosemary
- oregano
In addition to dill seed,
bay leaves are a corned beef
essential that help to add both the green and savory notes needed.
How to use herbs in your brine:
We like to use a tablespoon of dill seed for a gallon brine. You probably won't want to go much higher as it's fairly potent, but you may want to go lower, so give it a taste. If you're using one of the herbs listed above, a teaspoon of the basil or rosemary should do ya (be careful with those two, they can overpower the corned beef). You can go up to a tablespoon on the thyme and oregano. If you're using a blend of herbs, we recommend that the blend equal a tablespoon at most.
For bay leaves, we like to use one bay leaf for every quart of water, so for a gallon brine, you're at 4 bay leaves. It won't hurt to add more. It will hurt to add less.
Spice
Corned beef isn't typically 'spicy' per say, but it does usually incorporate black peppercorns & mustard seeds in its brine. There's nothing wrong with substituting other spices or enhancing the spice notes by adding to it. Mustard seeds are nearly essential to a corned beef flavor, but there are other ways.
Good, spicy notes can be accomplished with the following:
- Black peppercorns (traditional)
- Mustard seeds (traditional)
- Horseradish
- Smoked paprika (this will bring the corned beef closer to pastrami, but hey pastrami is delicious too, right?)
- Cracked black pepper (brings more pungency than whole peppercorns)
- Red pepper flakes
How to add pungency to your brine:
Since spice isn't typical of corned beef, directing you on how much to add is tricky. Your standard black peppercorn/mustard seed brine could use about a tablespoon of each. For the additional variations, a teaspoon of any of them should be plenty. Starting with a half teaspoon is probably safe.
Phew! That was a lot of information. Let's summarize:
Corned Beef Brine Must-Haves:
- Salt
- Cure
- Sweetener
- Spices that contribute a mix of savory (garlic is key) and green (bay leaves are key) notes
Optional
- The types of herbs & spices you select to accomplish savory & green notes
- Spices that contribute, well, spice
If you're not quite ready yet to make your own brine recipe from scratch, we do have a master recipe to get you started:
Weston Corned Beef Recipe
