Proper Corned Beef

Now I'm not talking about the stuff in tins!! Once you've made this, I promise you will never ever buy a tin of corned beef again!

This recipe is a great way of using cheap cuts of beef, I'm using shin, brisket and fore flank, with the addition of a pigs trotter, this helps to set the corned beef

Now there seems like a lot of meat, but this recipe will serve 8-10 people and it's not really worth making a small amount

SHOPPING LIST

600g piece of boneless shin

600g piece of brisket

600g piece of fore flank

1 pigs trotter

1 marrow bone, ask your butcher to saw it in half

4 carrots peeled

2 large onions, peeled and studded with some cloves, about 6 in each

2 bay leaves

Good pinch of nutmeg

Good pinch of cayenne pepper

Good pinch of ginger

METHOD

Now you are going to need a really large pan

Put your meat, trotter, marrow bone, carrots, onions and bay leaves into the pan

Cover with cold water and slowly bring to the simmer

Simmer for 4 hours, occasionally skim off any foam which forms on the top

Once the meat is completely tender, remove and cool

Strain the stock, discard the vegetables and bones

Put the stock, once cool, into the fridge

Remove the fat that will have set on top and discard

Boil the stock until it has reduced by about half and has a fantastic beefy flavour

Carefully shred up all the meats, you can if you have one, put them through a course mincer, but I prefer to shred the meat

Now mix all the spices through the meat and season well

Transfer the meat to a terrine or baking tray

Pour over the stock just enough to cover the meat

Place into the fridge until nicely set

Turn out onto a wooden board and serve with chutney, pickles and some fantastic crusty breads