How to cook corned meats

There are few things better during winter than a meal of hot corned beef served with carrots, potato and cabbage…not convinced? Follow these easy steps, the secret is to cook the corned meat slowly and serve it with lightly cooked vegies and a creamy sauce or mustard.

Easy steps to perfectly cooked corned meat

Step 1 – Use a heavy-based pot large enough to submerse the meat in the water. Start with cold water.

Step 2 – When the meat begins simmering a greyish foam or scum appears over the surface of the liquid, use a spoon or ladle to skim this off the surface.

Step 3 – Once the scum has been removed, add the herbs and carrot, celery and onion. These will delicately flavour the meat.

Step 4 – Keep the heat at simmering point; small bubbles will occasionally rise to the surface. Adjust the heat throughout the cooking time.

Cooking corned meat tips

• Rinse the corned meat before cooking. In most supermarkets corned meat is sold in vacuum sealed bags that contain some of the brining liquid. It’s best to rinse the corned meat in cold running water before cooking to remove any surface brine, which can give an overly salty taste.
• You can soak corned meat in a bowl of cold water overnight to draw out excess salt. Place the corned meat in a large bowl and cover with water. Refrigerate the meat until you are ready to cook it. 
• Do not let the meat boil or it will become dry and stringy. Adjust the heat throughout the cooking time so it remains at simmering point. 
• To test if the meat is tender. A fork should easily penetrate to the centre of the meat when it’s ready to serve. As a guide corned meat takes about 25 to 30 minutes per 500g. 
• Corned meat can be served cold. Once the meat is cooked to tender, remove the pot from the heat and let the meat stand for a short while. Once the steam from the liquid has evaporated the meat should be removed and placed on a plate. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate immediately. Do not leave it to cool completely on the bench.

Best cuts for corned meat:

Beef

Corned brisket, corned silverside and corned girella/ eye of silverside

Lamb 

Corned leg

How to carve corned silverside

• Place the meat, fat side up, on the carving board, with the tip to the right of the carver.
• Begin at the tip slicing across the grain (if you’re not sure how the grain runs cut off a thin slice to be sure).
• As the grain changes turn the meat so that you are always cutting across the grain to ensure tenderness.

Enjoy this delicious corned meat recipe

Corned silverside with mustard pumpkin sauce

Also, read more on:

• How to slow simmer
• How to defrost meat using the microwave
• How to freeze and defrost meat
• How to keep meat fresh and foods safe when barbecuing, picknicking and camping
• How to make your own beef or veal stock
• How to match red meat cuts with best cooking methods
• How to purchase and store fresh meat
• How to reheat meat dishes in the microwave