The (nearly) lost art of corned beef lives on in Syracuse

02-03-10-fo-cornedbeef.JPGChuck Madonna of Liehs & Steigerwald holds a cut of brisket that will become corned beef after it's cured in a brine.
03-03-10-fo-cornbeef2.JPGSpices and herbs are added to the brine for corned beef at Liehs & Steigerwald.

Syracuse, NY -- There was a time when most every butcher shop or meat counter in town would spend the weeks leading up to St. Patrick's Day marinating beef briskets in a salt-and-spice solution.

Then they'd set them out for sale as the centerpiece of the Irish-American corned-beef-and-cabbage feast.

Today, most people buy prepackaged corned beef from the supermarket. (Even most of Central New York's many Irish pubs and restaurants don't bother to "corn" their own beef anymore.)

"It's a lost art," said Bernie Rivers, whose Galeville Grocery near Liverpool has a full-service meat department that used to do its own corned beef, back in the day. "A lot of places stopped doing it."

But the art of corned beef is not lost at Liehs & Steigerwald meat markets, where they've been preparing it themselves since opening in 1936.

"It's one of the many things we still do the old-fashioned way, like making our own sausages and our sauerbraten," said Chuck Madonna. He is the co-owner, with Jeff Steigerwald, of the two Liehs & Steigerwald markets, one at 1857 Grant Blvd. in Syracuse and the other at 4130 state Route 31 in Clay. (All meat production takes place in the Syracuse shop; the Clay store is a retail outlet and deli.)

Madonna, an Italian-American who started working at the traditionally German butcher shop when he was 15, is now an expert on Irish-American corned beef. The process and ingredients, he says, are similar to that for the German sauerbraten, except there's no vinegar in corned beef.

"Every ethnicity seems to have a type of brined meat," he said.

Brisket to brine: Madonna starts with beef brisket, though a small number of customers prefer eye of round (used in sauerbraten). Brisket is cut from the lower, front part of the animal.

"Brisket is a tasty piece of meat, but it's very tough unless you cook it for a long time - - and you cook corned beef for a long time," Madonna said.

Each brisket weighs about 10 to 12 pounds before it's trimmed of fat. The brisket has a flat end, which is usually the part found in supermarket packages, and the larger tip, which contains more fat.

"The tip is more flavorful, but it has more fat, so that's why people like the flat end," he said. "But I cut a lot of that fat out."

Once the briskets are trimmed, Madonna ties them up in a roll. That helps them hold a shape that is easier to carve, he said.

Next comes the brine The brine is a combination of water, salt and sodium nitrate, which he buys from a commercial supplier. The sodium nitrate is what gives the finished corned beef its characteristic pinkish color. (At one time, the now hard-to-find substance known as saltpeter was used).

"Without the nitrate, it's going come out a dull gray, instead of pink," Madonna said.

Madonna also adds his pickling spice to the brine. His mix comes from a company called All Seasonings in Oneida and contains such spices as coriander, bay leaves, red pepper, mustard seed and ginger.

He uses about 2 pounds of pickling spice in a 30-gallon barrel holding about 25 briskets, with enough brine to cover.

Since his briskets marinate in the spices, there's no need to add more spices when you're cooking it at home.

Worth the wait: It takes about three weeks for the brine and spices to sink in completely, developing flavor and turning the meat pink.

Prepackaged corned beef from the supermarket is often made by injecting the brine into the brisket, to speed up the process, Madonna said.

"What it takes me about three weeks to do they can do in 24 hours," Madonna said. But the injections also add water to the brisket, which adds weight to the corned beef you buy.

"Our way takes more time and makes it more expensive, but it's worth it," he said. "And you're paying for water weight when you buy the injected corned beef."

Madonna is selling corned beef at $4.69 a pound; prepackaged store corned beef sells for about half that.

Because the corned beef at Liehs & Steigerwald marinates in its pickling spices, customers don't need to add spices when they cook it. Many prepackaged corned beef varieties contain a packet of spice to add while cooking.

Liehs & Steigerwald cuts the briskets to size at customer's request. Madonna expects to sell about 150 briskets - - which could be more than 300 separate orders - - by St. Patrick's Day.

Is it Irish? In the run-up to St. Patrick's Day, millions of Irish-Americans will chow down on the "traditional" corned beef and cabbage dinner.

But is it really Irish? "I can only speak for myself, but when I first came to (the United States), corned beef and cabbage was foreign to me," said David Hoyne, the owner of Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub in Armory Square and a native of County Kilkenny. "But I've come to appreciate that it is a great Irish-American tradition."

Hoyne says ham or a bacon joint, a roasting cut that is tender like ham, was a more typical spring dish in Ireland than anything with beef. Still, he serves corned beef and cabbage at his restaurant.

In her 1992 book, "The Festive Foods of Ireland," author Darina Allen has this to say: "Although this dish is rarely eaten nowadays in Ireland, for Irish-Americans it conjures up powerful nostalgic images of a rural Irish past."

Allen's book offers a recipe that calls for either corned beef or bacon. This dish, she writes, was traditional for Easter dinner.

"The beef killed before the winter would have been salted and could now be eaten after the long Lenten fast with fresh green cabbage and floury potatoes."

A corned beef recipe that can be made in a week

Making your own corned beef (for corned beef and cabbage) may be more trouble than it's worth. Many recipes calls for at least two or three weeks brining time. Since St. Patrick's Day is just a week away, here's one that says it can be done in one week:

Corned beef (from brisket)
From Recipezaar.com

1 (8- to 10-pound) beef brisket
4 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in thirds
For the brine:
2 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
A1/2 cup white vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon peppercorn
A1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 pinch ground cloves

For the simmering liquid:
water, to come up A3/4 to side of brisket
1 teaspoon peppercorn
A1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
A1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
A1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
4 garlic cloves, sliced

Combine all of the brine ingredients and bring to a boil, then let it cool. In a huge plastic roasting bag (not a garbage bag), place the beef brisket, the cooled brine, and the 4 garlic cloves. Make sure that all of the meat is covered by the brine (cutting the brisket in pieces if you need to), tie off tightly, place in a pot large enough to hold it all, and refrigerate for 6 to 7 days, turning occasionally.
After the 6 to 7 days, remove brisket from the brine and discard the brine. Rinse the meat thoroughly, then place in a Dutch oven or other large pot and add enough water to come A3/4 of the way up the side of the meat. Add the rest of the simmering liquid ingredients (peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice, cloves and garlic), bring to a boil and skim off any foam. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook, covered, for at least 3 hours, but 4 hours doesn't hurt anything.

Corned Beef and Cabbage
From "The Festive Foods of Ireland," by Darina Allen

4 pounds corned beef (or boiled Irish bacon)
3 large carrots, cut into large chunks
6 to 8 small onions, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon dry English mustard
large sprig of thyme and some parsley stalks
1 cabbage
salt and fresh ground pepper

Put the corned beef or boiled bacon into a saucepan with the carrots, onions, mustard and herbs. Add enough cold water to immerse the meat, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut into quarters and add to the pot. Cook for a further 1 to 2 hours, or until the meat and vegetables are tender. Serve meat surrounded by vegetables.

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