Corned beef recipe

One of The Accountant’s favourite meals is corned beef.

It’s far from my favourite, largely due to the smell that permeates the house while it cooks, regardless of how powerful the extractor fan is. A selling point of the extractor fan we purchased when renovating our kitchen was that it “removes that nasty fish smell when you fry fish”.

That is not a lie.

However it does not remove the corned beef smell.

Sigh.

I only cook corned beef once or twice a year, and only because it comes with the beef we purchase from Hand Sourced. (If you live in/near Brisbane and you like to know where your meat comes from, check them out. And please tell Shirley I said hi).

And usually just before I’m going away so The Accountant has something for sandwiches or dinner.

I know. I’m awesome.

Corned beef
By Mel Kettle, The Cook’s Notebook

What you need

• 1.5kg-ish corned silverside or brisket
• 1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6-8 whole peppercorns

What you do

Put the meat into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove the meat from the pot, tip out the water, and wash the pot. This will get rid of the nasty scum residue.

Then, place the corned beef back into the pot and cover with water again. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 90 minutes. Remove the meat, leave to cool then slice.

I don’t mind it on a bread roll with a load of salad, The Accountant likes it with white sauce and mash. However if he wants to eat it that way, he will need to learn how to make the accompaniments. Because one of the foods I like less than corned beef is white sauce.

Sorry babe.

Do you like corned beef? Or does the smell also turn you off?