Here's How Long It Takes To Properly Home Cure Corned Beef

If you've ever celebrated St. Patrick's Day, enjoyed a New Year's Day feast, or ordered the occasional Reuben sandwich, then you've probably had corned beef at least once. This salty, tender meat is often paired with cabbage, whether it's boiled, fermented for sauerkraut, or tossed with mayonnaise for coleslaw. Corned beef is made with brisket in the United States, and you can certainly make it at home, though you'll have to give yourself plenty of time. In order to properly cure the beef, it needs between five and seven days covered in salty brine.

Making corned beef at home actually isn't too hard, but there is definitely a technique here; unlike certain cured meats that can sit at room temperature as they cure, you should always refrigerate your brisket during the curing process to ensure it's safe to eat. And a salty brine is necessary here for moisture, which is made with a mixture of salt, water, and sugar, plus some seasonings to help infuse flavor. Don't use a dry brine for this type of meat.

For the brine, you'll need plenty of water, given that brisket is often a large cut of meat. If you're using a standard-sized cut of brisket, which usually falls somewhere around 8 pounds, then you'll need about 10 cups of water. For that amount of water, plan to use around 1 ½ cups of kosher salt; the type of salt you use here is important. Kosher salt will help give the brisket good flavor in addition to properly curing it, but you should also add a little bit of curing salt, which takes safety a step further by better preventing bacterial growth. Add about 1 cup of sugar, too, to balance out the salt and make the brine more flavorful.

Before submerging the brisket in the brine, trim any fat to be no more than ½ inch thick. Once the brisket is covered in water, weigh down the beef to make sure it remains fully covered (you can use a heavy dish to do this). From there, refrigerate the brisket, and check it every day to stir up the brine. You can also flip the beef daily to ensure it cures evenly.