Ahh yes, St. Pattys day is just around the corner, and we are already planning our party. Since the holiday is landing on a Monday this year, we are throwing the party on Sunday the 16th as probably most of you are. After our big hit party last year, we can’t wait until this St. Pattys day.

We will be making pretty much the same menu this year, but it will have one important difference. We are brining the brisket from scratch to make a truly home made dish. Our test batch last month came out wonderful so today we picked up about twenty pounds of beef brisket and got our corned beef brine going. For those of you who have never done it, you should know it requires eight days of brining so you better hurry!

Here is the recipe we use for turning 4-6 pounds of beef brisket into corned beef:

• 6 cups of water
• 2 cups beer
• 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
• 1 packed cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pickling spice

Stir all the ingredients together in a large wide pot and make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the meat and weigh down with a heavy plate and then cover. Refrigerate for 4 days, stir the brine and turn the meat, and refrigerate for another 4 days.

You can multiply this recipe if you are using more than 6 pounds.

Now all you have to do is cook your corned beef with your favorite recipe or mine.