Homemade corned beef gone bad?

Several weeks ago I brined a small brisket, using the recipe in Charcuterie. I vacuumed packed it and have kept it in the refrigerator since then. I took it out last night and noticed it has developed several unattractive greyish-brown areas. I am almost afraid to open it up.

I was careful with the brine measurements and left it in the brine for the full time recommended in the recipe. It was a flat cut (?) only about two inches thick and looked fine when I took it out of the brine.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

HI,

Did you freeze it after brining or simply refrigerated it?

If you refrigerated it, then you may have meat that is spoiling. Eliminating most of the air doesn't mean it can be preserved for extended periods in the refrigerator.

Still hoping for the best.

Regards,

Several weeks ago I brined a small brisket... have kept it in the refrigerator since then.

That's your problem right there. A wet cure will retard spoilage; it won't preserve it like Lenin. You have to use or freeze within a week or two, max, of curing (depending on type of meat, cure, etc. etc.) If it looks like rot to you now, your instincts are telling you right.

Thanks for the quick response. I user a Food Saver, which for me has kept fresh meat in good condition longer than this in my refrigerator. I expected, perhaps wrongly, that a corned beef would hold up well for two weeks.

Two weeks, perhaps. Several, no. If it's really only two weeks, then you should do the sniff test-- it could just be discoloration from air contact or whatever.

The smell will definitely tell you if it is bad or not.

I always follow the adage "If in doubt throw it out!"

Bruce wrote:The smell will definitely tell you if it is bad or not.

I always follow the adage "If in doubt throw it out!"

Or "The nose knows".

Does the charcuterie recipe contain sodium/potassium nitrate/Prague powder or whatever? It's possible to do corned beef without (and I've done a 3-week brine), but the meat will brown/gray over time. Give it a whiff. I'm guessing it's fine.

The nose doesn't always know.

The toxin of Botulism spores can be odorless with no sign of contamination. Low acidity, anaerobic conditions, and a temperature over 40F (and under 140F) are ideal for this very serious form of food poisoning. Just because it smells OK does not mean it is OK.

Knowing the temperature of your refrigerator is important. Actually knowing the temperature of the portion that contains the corned beef is important since temperatures can vary widely thought the compartment. As mentioned above, 40F is the start of the danger zone. Also, below around 35F the curing action can be slowed or halted.

The recipe in Charcuterie calls for curing salts. You did use them in the concentration specified?

Bill/SFNM

Bill/SFNM wrote:The nose doesn't always know.
Bill/SFNM

Very true, Bill. I jokingly posted that stale old kitchen saying to be a "funny" response to Bruce's post on "When in doubt"..., and as you know, odor is often the first clue to food spoilage or contamination. Improperly used cryovac machines may create hazardous food environments which are completely colorless and odorless.

The City of Chicago/State of Illinois now require any foodservice operation using this equipment to be HAACP certified. I imagine some chefs are using it under the radar. Our machine has very reluctantly been exiled to the club's sub-basement.

Bill/SFNM wrote:The recipe in Charcuterie calls for curing salts. You did use them in the concentration specified?

Bill/SFNM

That's true, but I'm not entirely certain sodium/potassium nitrate is necessary. As I said, I've made a corned beef without the nitrate over a 3 week brine (following the recipe from a forgotten, but trusted printed source) and had no problems. The source I read said the salt provided the preserving properties, and the nitrate kept the beef its lovely pink color.

So was I playing with death, or is the nitrate necessary? It was the same with homemade sausages in Poland and Hungary, by the way. We used to just stuff 'em and cold smoke them over a day or two in a shed, then leave them out to dry in a cool place before eating them, a month or two later. Once again, no nitrates. Just salt, meat, spices, and a cold smoke.

Binko wrote:
So was I playing with death, or is the nitrate necessary?

One very important consideration is the freshness of the meat before you start curing it. You know exactly how fresh meat you slaughter yourself is. Meat you buy at the supermarket - who knows?

Meats have been cured for centuries and longer using nitrates/nitrites found in naturally-occurring salts. But people have been getting sick and even dying from tainted meat at the same time. Perhaps the majority of meats cured without nitrate/nitrites are safe - I'm just not interested in risking the health of my family friends so I always use curing salts.

Bill/SFNM

You need to use saltpeter(potassium nitrate) to preserve the color and retard spoilage. What you observed is the results of not using saltpeter, your beef is probably OK to use.
BTW, I corn a number of briskets each year and brine many other products using saltpeter that I obtained from a pharmacy many years ago. I have never had a failure or a casualty! -Dick

budrichard wrote:You need to use saltpeter(potassium nitrate) to preserve the color and retard spoilage. What you observed is the results of not using saltpeter, your beef is probably OK to use.
BTW, I corn a number of briskets each year and brine many other products using saltpeter that I obtained from a pharmacy many years ago. I have never had a failure or a casualty! -Dick

Well, you don't have to add the pink salt/prague powder no. 1/sodium nitrate when employing a heavily-salted quick cure; there are traditonal preps where the meat *is* brown/grey. However, sodium nitrate is what preserves the meat's lovely rose color and catalyzes the flavors of the pickling spices.

I use sodium nitrate.

: when I remove my beef from the Charcuterie brine after 5-7 days(Charcuterie recommends 5) it's an unappetizing slimy beige(pink on the inside 'natch). Upon cooking, the entire brisket takes on it's characterisic hue.

Potassium and sodium are very similar chemically and I assume that thier is really no difference between the two as far as the effect when corning. -Dick

budrichard wrote:Potassium and sodium are very similar chemically and I assume that thier is really no difference between the two as far as the effect when corning. -Dick

Exactly what are you elucidating, here? Saltpetre is a term used to reference both potassium and sodium nitrate. The names for the same product listed in my post above are those found in the Ruhlman/Polcyn Charcuterie(of which there are several threads available on site); they do not use *potassium* nitrate. They *do* go into detail on the specific purposes for sodium nitrate *and* nitrite.