Crazy Easy Corned Beef
Let me just say that I have a serious relationship with corned beef (salt beef for my English friends). In Israel, you can (at least to the best of my knowledge) find corned beef of brisket, no other cut is corned. I just love the stuff and if nobody stopped me, could gladly eat it at every Shabbat/holiday meal.
I always used to boil my corned beef but decided to try something different since, I said to myself, it’s a brisket, why don’t you cook it like one? Since I feel I’ve found the best way to cook my brisket, remember you have to cook low and slow because of all the connective tissue, I rubbed my hands in glee and took a small little corned beef, enough for me, DH and my mom to make a Shabbat dinner of with leftovers for deli sandwiches. (There was far less leftover than I thought would be, c’est la vie).
I wanted to have a built in sauce on it so that we could eat it cold or hot and since the corned beef is already spiced with the pickling spices, it really doesn’t need very much else to give it depth of flavor. You just want something a bit juicy to go with.
So, I rinsed off the beef, since it was heavily coated with the spice mix and patted it dry.
I took out a heavy pan with a close fitting glass lid (the better to peek at you m’dear) and took 1/3 cup ketchup and 1/3 cup sweet chili sauce and brushed over the top and sides and then filled it a third or so of the way with hot water. For Passover, switch out the sweet chili sauce for KLP (Kosher L’Pesach) duck sauce, a decent approximation thereof.
I covered the pan with the heavy glass cover and put it in the preheated 350 degree oven for one hour, turned down the heat to 300 degrees and cooked it for another two hours. Remove it immediately, and let cool before slicing.
As you can see, it comes out as more like a glaze.
I know this seems almost too easy for words and you might think to yourself, that’s it? Two ingredients and that’s all folks? Yes, yes, I say. The combo of the sweet/acidic ketchup and the tangy/spicy sweet chili sauce (or duck sauce) combines with the pickling spices to make this a heady and swoonily good dish.
Even better, this year I found Kosher for Passover sweet chili sauce and you better believe that this corned beef dish is on the menu! (This year I didn’t, hence the duck sauce).
Crazy Easy Corned Beef
2.5 kilo or about 5 1/2 pound corned beef (raw but already pickled)
1/3 cup sweet chili sauce OR duck sauce, works for Passover as well
1/3 cup ketchup
water to cover 1/3 of the way of your pan
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Rinse the corned beef and pat dry. Take a heavy pan with a cover or alternatively you can use doubled aluminum sheets to cover. Put the corned beef into the pan.
Combine the chili sauce and the ketchup and brush all over the top and sides of the corned beef. Take hot water and pour in on the side (not over the top of the sauced corned beef) to about 1/3 up the sides of the meat. Cover tightly with cover or foil and put into the preheated oven at 350 for one hour (time it!!) and without opening the oven door, lower the temp to 300 degrees and cook for an additional 2 hours. Remove from oven. It should almost have a glazed look. Let cool, spill off excess liquid and slice. This can be served as is sliced on a platter, cold or hot or you can lightly brush with additional chili sauce before heating. Great in sandwiches too, bread or matzah 🙂
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing it on Facebook.
When I saw it, I knew I had to make it… I almost devoured the whole thing as I was cutting it. We are not big meat eaters, but this is gonna be a huge hit and is going into our make again and again repertoire!!
I’m still in awe at how unbelievably amazing this is!
Thanks so much Elisheva!! I’m glad you enjoyed and I appreciate your feedback.
Glad I saw this before I started to boil my poor piece of pre spiced beef for Shabbat! It’s spiced with mustard seeds, peppercorns and bay leaves- My hubby does not like mustard (LOL he should only know what it came with!) so I’m only going to put duck sauce or ketchup on top- Thanks so much for the idea!
Robin in Kfar Saba
So glad you like it, enjoy!
HI. Where can I get corned beef in Israel? I want to make this for Rosh Hashanah, but the butcher in Modiin had no idea what I meant when I asked for corned or salt beef. Google Translate calls it Basar Mishumar, which doesn’t sound right. What should I ask the butcher for in Hebrew?
Hi Lisa, corned or salt beef is called basar kavush in Hebrew. Both the Haker brand and Mataam Hafetz Haim make it and can be found in many stores, not the least of which is Osher Ad.
So I followed your recipes and here’s a few comments. First, I suggest lining the inside of the pot with foil or oil. The sauce cooked into the sides like barnicles on a ship! Such a cleaning job. Second, it was really spicy and salty so I’m thinking maybe a little soaking first? My brisket came packed with a little spice pack that I sprinkled on top and that may have been a mistake; don’t sprinkle, well, not so much. Over all, fantastic aroma and a nice flavor, but my tongue is still burning and feeling a bit pickled itself. It certainly was easy to make.
Hi Jeff, thanks for your comments. First thing in the recipe, I write to rinse off the corned beef and pat dry. This is specifically to rid the corned beef of the excess spices on it. Regarding it sticking to the sides, the liquid you pour on the sides of the meat should prevent that but you could always oil it or line with parchment paper if you found it stuck. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor!