Can you overcook corned Beef?

Cooking any type of protein food especially meat becomes tragic for sometimes and when it comes to new dishes especially then first time every one get panic.

Before we dig deep into the process of cooking of corned beef and its doneness first we would have to understand what actually the corned beef is?

Corned beef is a salt cured meat which is made through curing process from salty brine solution.

Corned beef is actually an Irish dish.

When it comes to doneness everyone has a preferred level of their taste but there is curiosity related to the fact that can you overcook corned beef?

The suggestion related to question of can you overcook corned beef is that:

Cooking corned beef for too longer period of time causes it to become tough, not tender as will cooking meat too hot.

Corned beef comes from the lower chest of the cow known as the brisket which holds up the 1200-1600 pound per animal. So, the meat is comprised of dense, tough muscle and mostly connective tissues already. Now that, we know where the meat comes from and how it becomes corned beef. We can identify the best cooking process for preparing it well.

How to Cook Corned Beef?

Cooking any type of beef food especially corned beef is relatively simple and you will get to know different methods of cooking it either by listening to someone or net surfing.

You will also listen different opinions of the best method from different experts in cooking field.

While all these methods could be accurate and quick to make it soon but you will find that most will tell you that choosing a moist method of cooking corned beef is the best.

Simmering the corned beef is the most simplistic, easiest and the most common or used style of cooking.

Take note that I said “simmering” not boiling because most of the people get confused with these two terminologies.

Steps to perfectly cook corned beef:

There are only 3 simple steps to perfectly cook corned beef.

• Rinse
• Cook
• Rest

After that you can slice and enjoy.

3 Easy Steps used for Cooking Perfect Corned beef

There are several methods for cooking perfect corned beef but there are 3 steps involved to encounter can you overcook corned beef?

Details are here:

1.Rinse:

Rinsing the corned beef before the actual cooking removes the excess salts found in animal sources food.

I always prefer and consider it important to rinse the corned beef to remove excess salt from it in order to make a healthy food.

 A good way of rinsing corned beef is in cold water and then drain it.

Do this for about 2-3 times to remove the useless salt. There are more than one kind of rinsing method used over worldwide but that is not our concern over here.

We are just dealing with the method which is most easy and simplest.

Some people also soak the meat in cold water and put it in the fridge overnight which also works quite well. Whichever the way you choose for rinsing the corned beef result is the same that is of removing excess salt.

2.Cook:

To directly cook corned beef simply place in big pot which should be enough to hold the meat and cover completely with water. It is quite difficult to cover the beef so when it is fully submerged in the water then add the spice packet or add your own prepared spice blend in it.

Cover the pot and bring temperature up to a gentle simmer. Remember do not boil, this will make the meat tough and chewy which would be difficult to digest.

You are cooking meet on a low simmer and the rule of thumb for preparing corned beef is 50-60 minutes per pound of meat.

Gently simmer the meet, do not boil it more then 50-60 minutes per pound.

 As per the cooking liquid you can use water or if you would like, beer works too as a simmer element. Keep checking the level of liquid throughout the cooking process and if it drops then add some more water in it.

3.Rest:

Corned beef like other meats benefits like getting more taste from a resting period after cooking.

Not because of anything unique in the corned beef, but it does benefit in the same way like other food dishes.

Resting allows the juices and liquid within the meat to relax and mix well into meat instead of rising or evaporating leaving behind the just meet pieces. This allows the moisture within to be even throughout the corned beef properly.

Also resting allows for a final cooking of meat because meat tends to continue to cook even after removing it from an oven or grill or kitchen stove.

How to Tell when Corned Beef Is Done?

If you are super curious about level of doneness and to know can you overcook corned beef?

There are two parts to being done for corned beef.

First, the meat should have an internal temperature of 145 degrees itself.

Second, corned beef needs to be fork tender.

The best way to check the tenderness is to take a fork and pull at meat, the meat fibers should easily pull apart if they are tendered well.

If after the proper time per pound of meat, the meat is not pulling apart then let it go and check after every 20 minutes until it is fork tender.

Do not turn the heat up during any part of this process because abrupt changes in temperature can disturb the cooking process.

When the corned beef is cooked then remove and let it rest for about 3-5 minutes.

You can reserve your cooking liquid with cook cabbage, onions and potatoes with while your beef is resting. This will add new look on the meat.

So for some time you forgot you had put meat on the stove and it went too long you didn’t remove it from stove, now it became tough because it is overcooked.

 Is there anything that can be done to save the overcooked corned beef?

Can You Fix Tough or overcooked Corned Beef?

The answer to the question like can you overcook corned beef or can you fix overcooked corned beef?

Yes,

       There are several methods that can work. Although,

 The best method is to set a timer to ensure you do not overcook corned beef.

But if you have overcooked, then you can preheat an oven to 350 degrees almost.

Place overcooked corned beef in a pan with a little bit of liquid whatever you are using already in the meat, then cover meat completely with foil or a lid.

Place pan in oven and cook meat for about 30 minutes.

The main thing over here is to get the meat to cook at 250 degrees for 30 minutes not more than that, this should result in a tender beef. 

Properly prepared corned beef can be enjoyed in both ways like hot or cold.

It is recommended that it should be sliced thin but if it is correctly made then it really shouldn’t matter all that much.

Enjoy your well corned beef colcannon or have it as a deli style cold corned beef special at home. 

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