# Crockpot corned beef **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2004, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704 "2004-03-22T08:46:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704/21 "2004-03-23T22:11:33Z")
> [@Anonymous Coward](#): > > My family used to get the _best_ corned beef from a small meat shop who used their own special brine recipe. Store bought corned beef can’t even come close so I don’t even bother anymore. It’s not that hard to make your own, either…just takes three weeks. Get four pounds of brisket (or more), 1/2 cup of salt, two quarts of water, half a head to a head of garlic, two tablespoons of pickling spices (usu. coriander, mustard, black pepper, etc.), and about 1/2 teaspoon of saltpeter (to make it pink–it’s entirely optionally). Boil the water, dissolve the salt let it cool. Then slosh everything together in a bucket or big ol’ ziplock bag, and let it sit for 3 weeks in a cool place (or fridge). Voila! Homemade corned beef. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704/22 "2004-03-25T22:15:14Z")
As promised: [How do you corn beef?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcornedbeef.html) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704/23 "2004-03-25T22:20:58Z")
There’s a little neighborhood cafe whose owner makes her own corned beef. She sells it to me out the back. I’ll never reveal where it is. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704/24 "2004-03-25T22:26:19Z")
–and where the heck do you get saltpeter? ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704/25 "2004-03-25T22:35:08Z")
You took the words out of my mouth, **lissener**. Well, off my keyboard anyway. I’ve been kicking around the idea of corning my own beef the way my Grampa used to do it, but I’ve had no luck finding saltpeter. I’ve looked on the internet, but I’m a little loathe to buy something that I will eat, that is also used for gunpowder, and apparently, [Hoo Doo](http://www.luckymojo.com/mojocatherbs.html). Anyone have a **reliable** , food-quality source? ---
**Author:** ![International\_Playboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/48db29/32.png) [@International\_Playboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/International_Playboy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704/26 "2004-03-27T14:58:11Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > –and where the heck do you get saltpeter? Back in my mad chemist days as a kid, I bought saltpeter at the drugstore. You had to ask for it at the pharmacy counter. In today’s climate, I suspect you’d have to sign for it as it is a componet in gunpowder. It is also used to cut the sex drive in animals. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704/27 "2004-03-27T15:20:46Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > –and where the heck do you get saltpeter? Either a drugstore or a sausage maker supply house. Also, Morton sells a variety of cures (Morton Tender Quick, Morton Sugar Cure, etc) which include salt, sugar, and saltpeter in their ingredients. There’s also Prague Powder (a combination of salt and saltpeter) as well as Instacure. Look here: [http://www.sausagemaker.com](http://www.sausagemaker.com) It seems that sodium nitrate and not potassium nitrate is the standard saltpeter used these days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crockpot-corned-beef/235704.md?page=1)