Easy steps to perfectly cooked corned meat
Step 1 – Rinse the corned silverside in cold water before cooking to remove any surface brine. Place the silverside in a large, heavy based pot. A pot large enough for the meat to be totally submersed in water. Cover the silverside with cold water.
Step 2 – Place over a low heat. Skim away scum that rises to the surface. Keep the heat at simmering point; small bubbles will occasionally rise to the surface. Adjust the heat throughout the cooking time. 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 aromatics like bay leaf, brown sugar, onion and cloves. You can also add vegetables such carrot, celery and onion at this point. 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. Cook until silverside is tender. As a guide, corned meat takes about 25 to 30 minutes per 500g. A fork should easily penetrate to the centre of the meat. If serving the silverside warm or cold allow it to cool in the cooking liquid.
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.