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March and St. Patrick's Day brings corned beef to mind for many folks doing the meal planning. Corning, the old time method of preserving meat before refrigeration came along is done for us and the product is readily available in the markets.

The method is not difficult but our modern standards require refrigeration and 10 days of curing time. Most of us don’t want to sacrifice the refrigerator space, but the end result is worth doing at least once in your lifetime. There are a number of seasoning variations possible, but the following recipe is my general guideline, based mostly on how my mother did it.

How to make corned beef

5-pound beef brisket, well marbled with fat

4 quarts spring water or non-chlorinated water

1 cup kosher or pickling salt

1/2 cup granulated or brown sugar

1/3 cup pickling spice blend

2 tsp to 1/3 cup pink curing salt (it has to contain sodium nitrate)

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

In a large kettle or stockpot, combine water, kosher salt, sugar, pickling spice, pink curing salt and garlic. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until salt and sugar have dissolved. Turn off heat and let brining liquid cool to room temperature.

Place the beef brisket in a large container with a tight fitting lid or a 2-gallon zip-closure bag. Pour in the cooled brining liquid. Cover or seal tightly. Store in refrigerator for 10 days. Turn the brisket on day five. Cover tightly and continue to refrigerate.

On day 10, remove brisket from the brining liquid and follow desired cooking directions. Discard the brining liquid.

Note: I prefer to use brown sugar and the larger amount of the pink salt.

Cooking corned beef

4-5 pound corned beef brisket, home-brined or purchased

4 cups beef broth or water

1 Tbsp pickling spice blend

3 large carrots, peeled and cut in 2 inch pieces

1 pound small red potatoes, cut in half

1 head cabbage, core removed and cut in quarters

Place the corned beef brisket in a large Dutch oven or heavy kettle. Sprinkle with the pickling spice and pour in the beef broth. Bring mixture to a boil on high heat. Add vegetables and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for about 3 1/2 hours until meat is tender and vegetables cooked. Remove meat to serving platter, tent and let rest 10 minutes. Slice across the grain to serve. Yield: 8 servings.

The above recipe may also be cooked in a slow-cooker. Cook on low 8 hours. Add potatoes and carrots and turn temperature to high for 4 hours adding the cabbage the last two hours.

The website “Kevin is Cooking” offers instruction for cooking in an Instant Pot. I haven’t tried it, but I find this site to have reliable instructions for other recipes.

Instant Pot Corned Beef

Place the corned beef brisket, fat side up on rack in Instant Pot. Sprinkle with the spice blend and pour in the beef broth. Lock the lid in place and close vent. Select High Pressure and set for 90 minutes, with a natural pressure release, NOT a quick pressure release.

Remove the corned beef and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add the vegetables to the broth in the pot. Lock the lid in place and set to High Pressure for 3 minutes. Do a quick pressure release. Slice corned beef across grain to serve with the vegetables.

Irish Soda Bread is often served with the traditional corned beef, but Irish Potato Bread is another alternative. Irish Potato Bread is a fast-rising yeast bread that goes well with corned beef, any soup or stew or as the foundation for corned beef sandwiches.

Irish Potato Bread

3 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour

2/3 cup plain mashed potato, cooled to room temperature

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 package quick-rise yeast

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 egg white

1 Tbsp cold water

3 tsp cornmeal

Set aside 1 cup of the flour. In a large bowl, mix remaining flour, mashed potato, sugar, salt and yeast.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, combine milk, water and butter, stirring until hot (125 to 130 degrees). Stir into the dry mixture. Mix in only enough of the reserved flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 4 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Roll dough into an 8x16-inch rectangle. Roll up from the long edge as for a jellyroll; seal the seam and ends. Place on a greased baking sheet that has been sprinkled with the cornmeal. Cover with a clean dishtowel.

Place a shallow pan on the counter and fill halfway with boiling water. Place the loaf on the baking sheet over the pan and let dough rise 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut 3 slashes in the top of the loaf. Beat egg white with the cold water and brush onto the entire surface of the loaf. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. of cornmeal if desired. Bake for 25 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from baking sheet to cool slightly before serving. Yield: 8-10 slices.

Vicki Knapp of Harrington sent a nice card and note. She commented on the tip for opening refrigerator biscuit containers without having to listen to the “pop” and also wondered where to find the cook-and-serve butterscotch pudding mix for the Monkey Bread recipe. I have had to order online, but we are wondering if any readers know of an in-store source around inland northeast Washington.

– Send in any suggestions of where to buy the cook-and-serve butterscotch pudding mix, recipes you would like to share with your fellow readers and, because we are in the planning stages, recipe ideas for what kids would like to learn to cook in the GoOdessa Summer Rec program. Use any of the following addresses to submit information and recipes. Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Planning to start some tomato and hot pepper seeds this week. Follow Welcome to My Kitchen on Facebook for tips on repurposing common kitchen discards into mini greenhouses for seedlings.