Prepare yourself for a 2 day cooking adventure! Trust me though, it is worth the wait. This particular recipe was a family secret. I say was because, well, now the whole world can read it! I was surprised when my grandfather (Pop) gave me permission to post his recipe here, but when I told him that anyone in the world could read it, he said, “Wow, that’s pretty cool!” So here you have it, Pop’s famous (at least in our house) corned beef recipe that he’s been making for almost 60 years. I hope you enjoy it!

A little bit you should know before diving into this recipe:

• You’ll need to purchase a flat cut corned beef brisket at your local grocery store (flat cut is the bottom part of the brisket)
• Corned beef shrinks about 50% throughout the cooking process.
• 4 oz. portion/person (cooked)
  • 2 lbs. (uncooked) > 1 lb. (cooked) = 4 oz. portion/ 4 people
  • For every 4 oz. of edible portion, you will need 8 oz. of uncooked
• You will need a large pot where the diameter of the pot is larger than the piece of meat when placed horizontally in the pot. (we used a 15 quart pot)
• The boiling and roasting process takes about 4 hours, so plan ahead.
• Corned beef has 2 parts: the deckel (fat part) and the 1st cut/point cut (bottom of the corned beef)

  

  

Method of Preparation

1. Prepare the spice bag – In a reusable sachet, place inside the following ingredients:
   • 3 tbsp. pickling spice (dried) [can be found in the spice aisle of your local grocery store]
   • the whole pickling spice packet [comes inside the package of meat]
   • 8 black peppercorn balls [whole, NOT crushed pepper]
   • 4 medium cloves garlic [peeled, NOT crushed]

*Side note: What is in pickling spice? It is a mixture of ground and whole spices typically mustard seed, allspice, coriander, cloves, ginger, black peppercorns, bay leaves and cinnamon. You can make your own pickling spice at home or buy it already packaged in the store in the spice aisle.

2. Use twine to make a loop knot and tie around the spice bag to hold the spices in. Tie the other end of the twine to the handle of the pot. Cut off any excess twine. See picture below. Using a loop knot allows you to reuse the spice bag. Place the spice bag in the water.

3. Place the piece of meat gently into the pot with cold water (fill with 9-10 quarts water for a 15 quart pot). The meat should be fully submerged in the water.  

4. Turn to high heat and wait until the water is boiling. Lower to rapid simmer (just below a full bubbling boil) and THEN set the timer for 3 hours. ***Wait until you have lowered the heat a bit before putting the timer on. Remove any scum that has accumulated on the top of water with a large slotted skimmer (spoon).

5. Time to make the glaze!

Honey-Pineapple glaze ingredients 

• 1 pt. water
• 4 oz. honey
• 4 oz. dark* brown sugar (*must be dark brown sugar)
• 1 heaping tablespoon of molasses
• 8 oz. crushed pineapple

Blend all ingredients together in a blender or with electric beaters. Set aside while you wait for the meat to boil.

6. After the 3 hours of boiling, turn off the heat and wait until the water is slightly cool. Drain off any excess water into the sink with a ladle. With a large slotted skimmer (spoon), VERY CAREFULLY remove the meat from the pot and place into a glass baking dish. You’ll notice that the meat has shrunk considerably at this point.

7. Pour the glaze over the corned beef and bake for 45 minutes at 325F. Remove from the oven and let cool COMPLETELY. (About 1 hour) If you place the meat into the refrigerator too soon, the meat will sour. 

8. Chill overnight and slice thinly across the grain. It is important that you slice the meat ACROSS the grain, otherwise, it will be tough. Place the meat on a cutting board and look at the grain on the 1st cut/point cut side (the non-fatty side) and look to see which way the lines (grain) are running through the meat. You will want to cut across the lines (grain) rather than parallel to the lines. Remove any excess fat before slicing the meat. Slice as thinly as possible with a slicing knife that is longer than the piece of meat and place the sliced meat back into the glaze. 

9. You can finally enjoy! 🙂

**Side note: The cooked meat can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days before slicing. Meaning, you can prepare this dish ahead of time.