The Winter Menu

For this simple brine, mix all the ingredients together and bring water to the boil. Stir every now and then to make sure sugar and salt is dissolved. You can add other things like ginger and bay leaves (I usually do). Leave until very cool, then put brine into a zip-lock bag, big enough to take the meat.

Add the beef, zip it up, double bag it, then roll the top of the bags down and tape (different ways to do it). this is so the beef remains submerged in the brine. Some people use a container and a rock to submerge the meat. Put in in the fridge and turn every couple of days. It's ready in 8-10 days. Boil for 2-3 hours depending on size.

# Hints. Before cooking, thoroughly wash the corned beef or it will be too salty. Also, before putting the cut in brine, get a chopstick and poke a dozen holes into the center. This will help let the brine soak into the meat.

My personal opinion is that silverside is best (part of the rump), but not all butchers understand this cut, so a piece of rump roast will be as good.
Many people prefer brisket, and that can be bought at Costco, apparently. I was given one years ago, but it was way too fatty. You need to make sure the cut is lean (ish).

Currently, I'm using a top round/rump. My wife bought a 2 kg piece on Coupang. I slow roasted half (a little dry, but great for sandwiches), and the other piece, bar some for a pie, is now in brine. I'll let you know how it tastes. i've never used this particular cut before, but it has similar colors and texture to silverside.

As for saltpetre, you don't need it, but it gives the meat a good color...takes the grey out. Can get this on Coupang.

Good luck August. The whole process takes 15 minutes, excluding waiting for the brine to cool.

Oh yeah, pickling spice can be bought at most supermarkets. Often comes in a biggish container.

Edit; If you want some pickling spice and some saltpetr, I've got plenty. Just let me know if you want some, and I'll sent a bit up to you.

Pickling is fun. I do beets as well and make a mean tomato relish. The relish is good for a few years.

Thanks Jethro for taking the time to write all that out. I will definitely try it. Probably after I get back from vacation.  I do have the pickling spices that smart sells.  Thanks for the offer, though.

No problem August. Enjoy your weekend. BTW, I got an official warning...trolling apparently. Who'd of thought! 

Well, today is prep day for seollal. Tomorrow is cooking. My job is to put together the skewers...ham, mushroom, pepper, capsicum, spring onion, (and crab for everyone but me).
My wife has just made a huge tub of sikhae this morning and is currently putting together different sauces. She's a fantastic cook of all things korean.

Anyone making traditional food for the weekend? What are you making? What do you enjoy?

Sounds good Jethro.
I'm not doing anything in terms of cooking for the Korean holidays. It's a pretty low-key event at my wife's folks. Wife is cooking a big pot of 소갈비찜 that we will bring over to the in-laws'. I'm looking forward to that one as I haven't eaten it for a few years I guess.
Since I have nothing to do, I might bake a cake or something.  Otherwise the dessert front would look rather disappointing.

소갈비찜...so good!
Yeah, dessert! I hadn't thought about that until you mentioned it. I promised to bake a chocolate cake on Tuesday with my granddaughter, so I guess BR ice cream will have to do as the dessert on the day 

I guess BR ice cream will have to do as the dessert on the day 

Almond bon-bon!

Or that "Twinberry"?.... some multi-berry flavor. You can't go wrong with berries. Make that my epitaph.

I'm just sitting here having a drink with my wife and she has just produced a container of dried whole garlic and ginkgo berries. What great tasting snacks. I've never tried this style before.

The season of regifting. If the stars align you can get away with just a couple of gift purchases...the rest being hand arounds. This year fruit boxes dominated. We kept one box of apples and recycled the rest. Sounds mean, but we just can't eat that much fruit. Same with the laver.

I got a box set of Andong soju. 500ml bottles...the white one is 21% and the black one is 40%. Anyone tried it before? Or is it also a gift for someone else, come Chuseok?

What did you score this year? Anyone with some good steaks, meat packs? I missed out 

The season of regifting. If the stars align you can get away with just a couple of gift purchases...the rest being hand arounds. This year fruit boxes dominated. We kept one box of apples and recycled the rest. Sounds mean, but we just can't eat that much fruit. Same with the laver.

I got a box set of Andong soju. 500ml bottles...the white one is 21% and the black one is 40%. Anyone tried it before? Or is it also a gift for someone else, come Chuseok?

What did you score this year? Anyone with some good steaks, meat packs? I missed out 

The only thing worth note was a box of apples. The other (spam, laver, tuna) gift sets will be given away. Or maybe thrown up on 당근 if I can be bothered.

I got a box set of Andong soju. 500ml bottles...the white one is 21% and the black one is 40%. Anyone tried it before?

I got some of this for my brother as a souvenir once.

He says it does NOT go down smooth haha

But he also said it doesn't taste bad and that it's still fun to drink as long as you're not drinking it alone. Maybe that's the point. Probably also goes well with some bbq?

Thanks Chinguetti. The 21% would be ok, but I'm not willing to drink the 40%...bad memories of high % soju when I first came here, rather, no memories 
I can't split them up, so I'll put them away for regifting.

The only thing worth note was a box of apples. The other (spam, laver, tuna) gift sets will be given away. Or maybe thrown up on 당근 if I can be bothered.

Throw the spam my way. A family favorite.

I got a 5kg box of hallabong, which I love.
Also got some spam which we will use well in fried rice, kimbap and such.

I got squat myself, but my ex works a job where a lot of patients give her gifts.  She goes through and takes the good stuff and throws the rest my way.  I have already been sent a photo of a briefcase of Spam and a collection of cooking oils that have my name on them. 

That cooking oil is nice. Especially if you get sunflower oil.

I also got a box of hallabong. Super happy with it, I love hallabong.

I think I saw a post on FB a little while ago where someone's boss gifted them a bunch of those fish on strings, lol. Apparently they're super expensive and are a very meaningful gift. I personally love fish and wouldn't have minded if I'd received them, but someone said you're supposed to deep fry them head and all, and you're not even supposed to gut them beforehand, and I have no idea why.

Just asked why they didn't get gutted before being fried and got told you should gut them otherwise they would taste pretty bad. Might just be a personal thing though.
Leaving the heads on seems normal...probably for presentation's sake. Not sure, though. I avoid fish.

Lucky you and Lazio! Hallabong is one fruit box we didn't get. Me too, I love them!

Edit: Sorry, I'm wrong. Yes they are cooked with guts, but the guts aren't normally consumed. Why...no idea was the answer. Just the way it is! 

Maybe it's just easier. xD

These days, with it being Winter, I like to generally get a pot of soup going and finish it over the course of 3-4 days and maybe freeze a bowl or two's worth for some random time. Also, make it cheap so if I get tired of it, it's easy to throw out.

My general target is $20-25 so this works out to about $5-$7 per serving.

Some soups I'd recommend for this

1) Senate Bean Soup. Get a Schweinhaxe hock from Coupang, some dried beans, and onion and carrot to taste and you're basically there. Really simple. Really tasty. The key is to butter the onions separately.
2) Linsensuppe. Get dried lentils, celery+your standard veggie mix and then some "German-style" weiners and a bit of bacon/pancetta and you can get a nice soup that is filling.  The celery is really important as is the bacon.
3) Minestrone. Best whenever you've made something else and have extra veggies lying around. It's also a good one to break up the routine of stocky soups.
4) I'm going to try and get some sort of hot and sour soup going, but something tells me this would be more expensive.

Dried beans/lentils do require some planning, but once you get used to it, it becomes pretty easy. The big pain is peeling potatoes. Sometimes I just say eff it and buy the pre-peeled ones. 1000 won more to more easily get off your duff and start cooking.

These are also great if you host and people are dithering over whether to potluck/eatout/order delivery/etc. Get a soup going and it fulfills your host obligations with some quality while not holding the bill for the cheese board that one guy demolishes half of in 15 minutes or the inevitable price creep of a deli meat spread platter where some ham, some cheese and some bread suddenly turns into "Ham+salami+smoked salmon+turkey+tomatoes+lettuce+red onion+cream cheese+4 kinds of cheese+bruschetta+mustard+3 kinds of bread+crackers+pickles+capers+seasonal fruit selection+veggie sticks+dip

the cheese board that one guy demolishes half of in 15 minutes

Guilty as charged

making pulled pork tomorrow. 

2.2kg of pork shoulder cut into 4 pieces. 
marinate overnight in;
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika
oregano
salt
pepper
cumin
brown sugar.

brown outsides in a pan
put in instant pot with 1 cup beef stock, 1 cup sweet baby rays bbq sauce, dash of liquid smoke, whole pieces of onion, minced garlic,
cook on high pressure for 50 minutes
let pressure release naturally,
pull out pork and shred,
put pork back in with 1/2 cup bbq sauce, mix well.

put on dinner rolls with coleslaw and shredded cheese (fry shredded cheese in pan then put sliced dinner roll on the shredded cheese to make it crisp)

voila.