Homemade Corned Beef

Ingredients

for the brine:

• 4 quarts water
• 2 cups kosher salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons coriander seed
• 2 teaspoons mustard seed
• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 2 cinnamon sticks, smashed
• 8 bay leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
• 1 1/4 teaspoon juniper berries
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 teaspoons pink curing salt
• 10 lbs beef brisket

for cooking:

• 3 cans of Guinness
• 2 onions, halved
• 2 carrots, halved
• 4 celery stalks

for serving:

• grainy dijon mustard
• horseradish

Instructions

1. Add all of the brine ingredients except the meat into a large pot on the stove and heat on high until all of the salt and sugar has dissolved. Place in the refrigerator overnight or until cold.
2. Add the meat and put a plate or two on top of it so it stays submerged. Turn the meat over daily and stir brine for 2-3 weeks. (Time can be shortened to 10 days if you inject brine into meat with meat injector.)
3. After the meat has brined, take out and rinse in cold water.
4. Place brisket in large lidded pot and add Guinness and enough water to cover the meat.
5. Add the vegetables and place pot in a 225 degree F  oven for 7-10 hours. Cook the brisket until it's extremely tender, soft and stringy. In this case, it is much better over-cooked than under-cooked!
6. Serve with dijon mustard and horseradish on the side for guests to choose.