Okay so I have played with this recipe for the past 2 years and this version is the best ever!
Brine:
- 1 gallon water, divided
- 2 cups salt
- 5 tsp instacure*
- 3 tbl pickling spices
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 5 bay leaves crumbled
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves sliced
Pickling Spices:
- 1 tbl whole allspice
- 1 tbl whole mustard seed
- 1 tbl coriander seeds
- 1 tbl red pepper flakes
- 1 tbl whole cloves
- 1 tbl whole peppercorns
To prepare:
- Bring 4 cups of the water to a simmer and add the remainder of the brine ingredients. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Using either a large stockpot or a cooler, place your roasts in the bottom. I have successfully brined as many as 5 roast with just 1 recipe.
- Pour the brine solution on your roasts and add the remaining water.
- Make sure your roasts are completely covered by the brine. I usually use a big plate and set it on top to make sure the roasts are submerged fully.
- Store your pot in a fridge or if using a cooler you can use large resealable bags for your roast to brine in and pack them with ice.
- Now let them sit for 5-14 days but make sure you check them occasionally to keep them submerged and to mix up the brine spices.
- When ready to cook or freeze your roasts make sure you rinse them off first.
Cooking your roasts:
- Rinse off your roast if you did not already
- I love using my crockpot for this because I can let it cook all day and not worry about a thing.
- Place your potatoes, carrots, cabbage and onions in the bottom of your crockpot.
- Place your roast on top of all the veggies.
- Add enough chicken, beef broth or water to just cover the veggies. Don’t cover the meat, the steam will rise up and keep it plenty moist.
- Now set your crockpot on low for 8-9 hrs.
- Your meat should be really tender and just fall apart.
- Now scoop up plenty of veggies with your yummy corned venison!
*instacure can be left out but your roast will be grey in color rather than pink like a corned beef is.