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Corned Beff

A method for preserving corned beef by canning and roasting with salt, pepper, and caramel.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Corned Beff

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

Precook the beef

  1. Place the corned beef in a kettle and cover with cold water.

  2. Bring slowly to a boil and cook gently for one hour.

  3. Remove the beef from the kettle and pack it solidly into cans.

  4. Cap the cans and process at 250°F (120°C) for the following times: 40 minutes for 1 lb. cans, 45 minutes for 2 lb. cans, 50 minutes for 3 lb. cans, 55 minutes for 4 lb. cans, 60 minutes for 5 lb. cans, 65 minutes for 6 lb. cans, 70 minutes for 7 lb. cans, and 90 minutes for 14 lb. cans.

Roast and make gravy

  1. For roasting, cut the beef into can‑sized pieces, allowing for 30% shrinkage.

  2. Wrap the pieces with string and place them upright in a roasting pan.

  3. Sprinkle the beef with 1 oz. ground black pepper and add 2 quarts of water mixed with ½ lb. coarse sea salt.

  4. Cook in a hot oven for 30 minutes for 2 lb. pieces and 40 minutes for 3 lb. pieces, turning the meat halfway through and basting to prevent burning.

  5. Remove the meat and make gravy from 1 quart of pan grease and 1 pint of flour, mixing smoothly.

  6. Add 2 gallons of boiling water and stir until it boils.

  7. Season with ½ lb. coarse sea salt, 1 oz. ground black pepper, and enough caramel for a rich brown color.

Can and process

  1. Place the roasted meat in cans, fill with gravy, solder on the lid, and process at 250°F (120°C) for 40 minutes for 1 lb. cans, 50 minutes for 2 lb. cans, and 60 minutes for 3 lb. cans.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together50,459 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Beef + flourtop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together10,677 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Beef and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,677 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Corned beef
Provides the main meat, which is firmed and set by cooking before canning.
Flour
Thickens the pan grease into a smooth gravy that coats the meat.
Caramel
Adds a rich brown color to the gravy.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the beef and gravy and adds savoury flavor.

The step that matters

Gravy thickening with flour. Flour must be mixed smoothly into the pan grease before the boiling water is added, otherwise lumps form that do not dissolve. Stirring until the mixture boils lets the starch swell and thicken the gravy.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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