I’ve been sick for the last few days, like run over by a tank after 2-a-day football practice sick, so I haven’t been doing much eating and certainly nothing related to St. Patrick’s Day.
The thought of green beer kinda makes me want to hurl — current illness aside — although when in college I thought it was pretty cool. Green beer! Yeah! That lasted just one St. Patrick’s Day night on the town and, like a college basketball player at Duke or Kentucky, I was one-and-done. Everyone has to learn, though.
While laying on the couch trying to rest last weekend, though, I thought about St. Patty’s day and corned beef. Mmmm. That’s good stuff with some nice bread, cheese, maybe a little saucy mustard. Although all I could handle was a few oranges and Pop-Tarts, corned beef sounded pretty darn good.
I figured the good folks at Weston Supply would have a recipe for Corned Beef, but with some kind of venison, and doggone if I wasn’t right. They used an elk roast but I’m pretty sure you could use a deer roast and be just fine. This sounds pretty great.
For more photos of the brining and slicing process check out this blog.westonproducts.com entry, and visit their main site for more recipes and tips.
Corned Venison
5 lbs elk (or beef or venison, if you prefer)
2 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 oz Morton Tenderquick
1/4 cup brown sugar
12 bay leaves, crushed
4 whole garlic cloves, smashed
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon juniper berries
1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
-Tools-
Weston 10 Piece Game Processing Knife Set
Weston Vacuum Sealer + Vacuum Bags
Roma Stainless Steel Colander
Large pot
Weston Meat Slicer
Use the Weston Knife Set to remove all silverskin from your elk roast, fat is okay. Place the roast into a largeWeston Vacuum Sealer bag. Mix together all remaining ingredients, then pour into the Vacuum Sealer Bag. Seal your bag by placing a folded paper towel into the bag, holding the bag below the sealer, pulsing the vacuum until the liquid gets close to the paper towel, then pressing seal. Be sure to keep all liquids out of the sealing chamber. Place in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. The longer you leave it in, the saltier it will taste.
After your elk meat is finished brining, thoroughly rinse the roast with cold water over a Roma Stainless Steel Colander for five minutes, to remove excess salt. Place the roast into a large pot, big enough to hold it, then cover it with water completely. Thoroughly rinse the ingredients left over in the colander (some smaller pieces will get through, but for the most part, you’ll be left with a good mixture of seasonings without the salts). Drop these leftover seasonings into the pot with the elk.
Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and allow it to simmer, covered for three hours. After three hours, take the corned elk out, and set it on a plate to rest for 30 minutes. Using a Weston Meat Slicer, slice the elk as thick or thin as you like.
Serve the Corned Elk just as you would Corned Beef. We served ours between two slices of Jewish Rye with sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, horseradish mustard, and swiss – with a homemade pickle on the side.
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