Even if you don’t own a sous vide, you could make this in your slow cooker on low. And in either case, make the microwave creamy mustard sauce to serve on the side.
It seems that the only time of year I make a corned beef is in March, near to St. Patrick’s Day. Otherwise if they’re available in the markets I just don’t “see” them. I bought mine at Trader Joe’s. And if you haven’t noticed, corned beef is mighty pricey! I was shocked. My small 3-pound corned beef was nearly $17. And it would barely serve 6 people. But I wanted to try cooking it in my SousVide Supreme Sous Vide Water Oven
Consulting a variety of sources about the sous vide corned beef (2 cookbooks and about 3-4 online recipes, plus a phone call to my sous vide expert, Russ), I finally decided to cook it for 10 hours close to 180°. By the time I decided what to do, it had gone past the point that I could cook it for 48 hours. I was down to 24, so obviously I did the 10-hour cook. Actually I set the temp to 178°.
To say that I had some difficulty would be an understatement. I’m new enough to sous vide that I was in alien territory when I came into the kitchen, 3 hours into the 10 hour cooking and found the lid of the Supreme standing nearly upright, tipped up at about 75°. At 8 that morning I’d pressed the corned beef into the Supreme’s accompanying rack, and placed the rack in Supreme, with the meat on the bottom rung, put the lid on top and left the house. In the interim time, somehow, fluid had rendered out of the corned beef which creates a gas, so there was a whole lot of air in the pouch. The gas/air was a lot stronger than the rack in holding the roast underwater and it had actually turned the rack upside down, hence popping off the top of the machine. So, the beef was more or less floating on top. Not exactly what sous vide is all about.
I had to manhandle the darned thing to get it turned back down-under, on went the lid and I put a bunch of book on top of the lid. No more mishaps exactly. BUT, after 10 hours I dismantled everything and lo and behold, the roast had come loose again and had pushed itself toward the top. About an inch of the roast was up above water line. Sigh. But, since I cooked it at 178° I knew the meat was done. No fluid had leaked out of the bag – at all – and no water had leaked into the roast. It’s a chemistry thing, though, about the gas. Next time I will have to figure out a way to weight-down the meat – something heavy that will sit on top of the meat and not have enough room to roll over when the gas creates inside. I have one particular casserole dish in mind that will probably work. Or maybe I’ll need to put a real honest brick, wrapped in foil and put into a Ziploc bag to place on top – except that a brick might turn on its side, so that probably won’t work. It would have to a a big cement paver just the right size as the interior of the Supreme!
The roast rested a bit while I made the veggies and the delicious mustard cream sauce. The meat was sliced (easily) and served on heated plates, along with some simmered potatoes, cabbage and onions. The SAUCE: it was quick to make – in the microwave. It’s all the usual steps to make a cream sauce (half and half and chicken broth for the liquid), but just requires opening the door of the microwave through several steps. It took about 4-5 minutes to make it, though. Easy enough.
What I liked: perfect texture, still moist, sliced easily, good red meat color. I’ll probably try it again at long, slow cooking, but I liked this one just fine. The SAUCE: oh gosh. Delicious. I liked it a lot as an accompaniment to corned beef. It was also just fine on the left overs.
What I didn’t like: nothing, really. I’d make them both again.
CORNED BEEF printer-friendly PDF
MICROWAVE MUSTARD SAUCE printer-friendly PDF
CORNED BEEF MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
MICROWAVE MUSTARD SAUCE MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
Corned Beef Sous Vide 178°
Recipe By: From a combination of online recipes.
Serving Size: 6
Serving Ideas: Serve with mustard, or make a mustard cream sauce to spoon over the meat.
NOTES: This recipe assumes you’ll buy a ready-brined corned beef that’s already packaged with spices. No additional seasoning is necessary. If you prefer, buy a beef brisket and brine/season it yourself, allowing 3-5 days to do so.
3 pounds corned beef brisket — (brined by meat packer)
1 whole onion — peeled, sliced
VEGETABLES:
1 whole cabbage head — leave root intact
2 whole yellow onions — peeled, leave root end intact
4 whole carrots — peeled
6 whole russet potatoes — peeled
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth — use concentrate, diluted in water
salt and pepper to taste
1. Open and drain the corned beef. Wash under cold running water to remove all of the seasonings.
2. Place corned beef in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Add about a cup of ice to the water and allow to sit for 30 minutes (this purges some of the salt brine from the meat).
3. Drain and dry the corned beef with paper towels. Place in a vacuum bag and add the sliced onions, half on each side or along edges. Vacuum seal.
4. Meanwhile, preheat Sous Vide to 178°. Place sealed corned beef in the sous vide machine, making sure it’s held under the water securely.
5. Cook for 10 hours, remove and cut open pouch. Place on cutting board, lightly tent with foil (if you’re not serving it immediately). Use a knife to remove some of the more visible fat, if desired.
6. During last 30 minutes prepare the vegetables. Heat a large pot of chicken stock. When boiling, add vegetables. Cut the cabbage into 8ths, leaving part of the core attached so each piece will remain intact. Peel potatoes and half of quarter them. Peel and chop carrots into 1-inch pieces. Cut onions into quarters, leaving part of the root end intact as well. Add vegetables and cook until all are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Test potatoes with a fork. Remove vegetables and drain for about 30 seconds in a colander. Serve on heated plates with corned beef, sliced across the grain about 1/4 inch.
Per Serving: 609 Calories; 36g Fat (50.4% calories from fat); 47g Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 121mg Cholesterol; 358mg Sodium.
. . .
Microwave Mustard Sauce
Recipe By: From Sumptuous Sauces in the Microwave, by Patricia Tennison
Serving Size: 6
NOTES: Ideally, I’ve learned, that when cooking a roux, it’s better to have just a little bit more butter than flour – that way you won’t have any lumps.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I use a tiny bit more)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard — smooth, not grainy
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper — preferably white, but black is fine too
Note: all the timing mentioned here is a guess-timate – it all depends on your own microwave oven’s power.
1. In a 4-cup glass or microwave-safe container melt the butter for 30-60 seconds until it’s melted and bubbly.
2. Remove from microwave and whisk in the flour – making sure you see no visible white flour. Return to microwave and cook for about a minute, stopping twice to whisk again and break up any possible lumps, as the roux is bubbling furiously.
3. Remove from microwave again and thoroughly whisk in the chicken broth and cream. Return to microwave and cook for about 2 minutes until there are solid bubbles all around the edge of the sauce. Whisk again.
4. Continue cooking (you could lower the power level at this point, if you can) and watch the sauce very carefully until it’s boiling and thickens enough to coat a spoon. Taste the sauce for texture and thickness – continue cooking if needed, until it’s thick enough to your liking.
5. Remove from microwave and add the mustard, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve.
Per Serving: 122 Calories; 12g Fat (84.5% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 38mg Cholesterol; 287mg Sodium.
rachel
said on March 31st, 2012:
Isn’t the sous vide awesome? We found corned beef was much better made the old-fashioned way. I think the connective tissue doesn’t break down enough in the low heat of sous vide.
What is fantastic: ribeye (my #1 favorite) and tri-tip. Chicken is also excellent, although it’s so easy to roast a chicken I find it a hassle. However, my second favorite is brined thick-cut pork chops. It’s nearly impossible to make thick-cut pork chops without them turning out dry, but the sous vide makes it trivial. So good.
Thank you, Rachel, for your suggestions. I’m still so new at using this that I’m happy to hear anybody else’s recommendations. I made thick brined pork chops just last night in the sous vide and was really, REALLY pleased with the results. I did ribeyes recently too and thought they were very good. Both recipes will be up on my blog in the next couple of weeks. . .carolyn t
julie g
said on April 1st, 2012:
I suspect the raw onions for the “gas” inside the vac sealed package with the corned beef. My Sous Vide Supreme recommends saute the onion until translucent to avoid that problem. I am encouraged by your experience. I think I may try some orange zest in with the corned beef, spices and garlic. I have liked oven slow cooking tough beef with little or no liquid at very low temp and for very long times.
Since I bought several packages of corned beef when it was cheap, I shall be able to experiment. But mine are bigger, 4 to 6 pounds apiece.
I do understand that cooked corned beef can last in the freezer for a couple of months. I might end up keeping it a bit longer, but it will be good to fall back on.
I never thought about the raw onion being the cause! Interesting thought. I think, though, I did read that some kinds of meat do give off a lot of water which turns to a gas. I don’t understand the biological chemistry of that. I wish I had another corned beef – I’d try it again. . . carolyn t