You’re planning a dinner party. Why rely on the luck of the Irish when you can bet on science? Level up any St. Patrick's Day celebration with perfectly-cooked mashed potatoes, classic shepherd’s pie, and roasted cabbage and onions.
Go all out with corned beef brisket from scratch as the star of your meal. A five-day brine with spices, salt, sugar, and curing salt not only adds flavor, but also extends its shelf life and weakens its muscle fibers to transform the texture from shreddy and soft to firm and sliceable. The wet brine pulls salty liquid back into the meat for extra moisture while preventing microbial growth, and the nitrate in curing salt reddens meat in color.
Set the Anova Precision™ Oven in sous vide mode and cook the meat at 180°F for sliceable tenderness in 10 hours. Full steam keeps moisture inside for a similar, yet far more moist, result than conventional boiling methods.