I'm experimenting with a homemade/brined corned beef this year. ☘️

Back story… for many many years there has been a meat manager at a locally owned grocery store who would corn 400-500 pounds of beef per year, using his Irish born grandmother‘s recipe. People stand in line for his corn beef. It’s just that good. I would buy three of his roasts every year…One for St. Patrick’s Day, one for September to welcome the first frost and one for December just because.

Fast forward… The meat manager retired in 2022 and word was out that there would be no more Butte America corn beef! The end of an era for sure. I decided to try my hand at corning/brining my own this year. I bought grass fed beef roast from a friend who has a local cattle ranch and corned a second one…and elk roast from the elk my husband got last fall. I used a recipe that included allspice berries, juniper berries, cloves, mustard seeds, cinnamon stick and whole red chiles.

Turns out that the meat manager came out of retirement to make his corned beef again because the demand was so high. I found out too late and had already bought the ingredients to make my own. Oh well.

Here’s a pic of the roast going into the instant pot…it’s nestled in Cold Smoke Scotch ale. My hopes are high!