CHEF JEFF — ONE BYTE AT A TIME: Basic Corned Beef

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the traditional favorite.

Basic Corned Beef

1 corned beef brisket (about 4 pounds), trimmed of fat

Water

12 ounces beer (optional)

Stovetop method: Remove corned beef from package. Rinse under cold water. Place brisket in large pot. If it came with spice packet, add that to pot if you like. Add beer and pour in enough cold water to cover brisket. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until it is fork- tender.

Oven method: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Rinse brisket and place in baking dish. Add enough water to come at least halfway up sides of dish. Add seasoning from the spice packet or your own seasoning. Cover with foil and bake until fork-tender.

Slow-cooker method: Rinse brisket. Place in slow cooker. If meat is too big to lie flat, cut it in half and stack it. Add water just to cover. Add spices from spice packet or add a bay leaf, a few peppercorns and whole allspice berries and some mustard seeds. Cover and cook on the low setting for 9 to 11 hours or on high setting for 4½ hours or until fork-tender.

Yield: Serves 8.

Grab more food tidbits at the Chef Jeff blog at GrandForksHerald.com.

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