Green Tea Brined Meat Recipe
We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with DIY corned beef this year. We added our premium sencha green tea to the brine solution to cure the beef. We have never cured meat on our own before. My first motivation to cure our own meat is so I can use locally sourced "natural" beef. As a green tea fanatic and explorer, I thought I would use green tea. I use "Matcha Salt/Rub" to season BBQ meat and steaks. I thought “why not green tea for corned beef.” Besides, the ‘green combo’ sounded like a good match for a celebration of the Emerald Isle.
I thought about which green tea I should use. My specialty is Japanese green tea, and there are many types of green tea to choose from. Each has its own character. I decided to use "Sencha" green tea instead of bay leaf in the recipe for two reasons:
- Sencha is pronounced "sen-cha", and it is one of the most popular types of green tea in Japan. The tea is made from the leaves of the green tea bush (Camellia sinensis) and is known for its fresh, grassy flavor.
- Sencha has a “bright, vegetal flavor with a subtle sweetness”, which enhances the overall taste of the brine, giving the meat a delicate yet distinctive green tea essence.
The curing process takes 4 to 5 days. Aworthwhile wait for the Umami tast of green tea. Umami is pronounced “ooh-ma-mee”, and it is meaty savory flavor. Green tea is one of the Umami rich foods.
This is how the meat looked soaking in the green tea bath.
On St. Patrick’s Day, I followed the recipe and cooked the meat. The meat was tender, flavorful, and delicious!!
In the recipe, I used 1 Tbsp. Sencha as a replacement for Bay Leaf. We savored the best corned beef ever - "grass-fed beef cured with green tea for green day." Somehow the cabbage, carrots, and sliced red potatoes I cooked with our special green tea cured corned beef tasted much better too.
Now that we know how delicious and easy it is, we know we will be making this again - soon. Won't wait for next St. Patrick's Day! Always use fresh, high quality teas for the best result.
Green Tea Brined Meat
Green tea brined beef offers a comforting twist on tradition, enveloping the meat in the soothing, light aroma of Japanese green tea. The tender beef, infused with the subtle sweetness and vibrant flavor of sencha, creates a warm, flavorful dish that delights the senses and feels like a cozy hug on a plate.
- Author
- Kiyomi Koike
- Prep Time
- 96.30 hours
- Cook Time
- 3 hours
- Servings
- 8
- Category
Dinner
- Cuisine
American
Ingredients
- ½ cup Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Pink Salt
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- 3 cloves Garlic, whole
- 2 Tbsp Pickling Spice
- 1 Tbsp Yu Sencha
- 1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1, 3 ½ - 4 pounds Bottom Round Roast, Sirloin Tip Roast, Chuck Roast, or Brisket
- 2 medium Onions, peeled and quartered
- 4 medium Carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch long rounds
Directions
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil over high heat in a small saucepan.
- Remove it from the heat, add the kosher salt, pink salt (if using) and sugar, and stir until they dissolve.
- Pour the salt mixture into a 4-quart or larger glass, ceramic, or plastic container.
- Add 4 cups ice-cold water along with the garlic, pickling spices, Yu Sencha, black pepper and cinnamon stick.
- Add 1 cup ice cubes and stir to chill the brine rapidly or put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Pierce the beef all over with a wooden skewer to help the brine penetrate, submerge the beef into the brine, and refrigerate for 4 to 5 days.
- Drain the beef along with the garlic and spices in a large strainer and rinse it briefly in cool running water, reserving the garlic and spices.
- Discard the brine. Put the beef in a pot that fits it snuggly and fill the pot with cool water to cover the beef by 1 inch. Add the reserved garlic and spices.
- Bring the water to a boil over medium heat then reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently, partially covered.
- After about 2½ hours, add the onions and carrots, and continue to simmer until a skewer slides in and out of the beef with ease, 3 to 3½ hours total.
- Serve the corned beef warm in thick slices moistened with some of the cooking liquid and with the vegetables on the side.
- To store, transfer the corned beef into a container, add enough cooking liquid to cover it, and refrigerate it for up to 4 days.