How to Boil Corned Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Cover the corned beef with cold water.
Bring the water slowly to a boil.
Let the water bubble slowly on one side of the kettle until the meat is tender.
Return any uneaten meat to the kettle and let it cool in the liquid.
Cook for at least 5 hours for a 4-5 pound piece, or longer for finer cuts.
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
What each ingredient does
- Corned beef
- The main cut, which becomes tender through long, gentle simmering in liquid.
The step that matters
Keep the water at a gentle bubble. Vigorous boiling toughens meat fibres and can leave the outside tight and dry. A slow simmer lets the connective tissue break down gradually, so the meat becomes tender.
“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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