Home Made Corned Beef Sf Bay Atra
Roberts corned beef for St. Patrick's Day
TASTER'S CHOICE
It's been corned beef on parade in The Chronicle's test kitchen lately, with Taster's Choice celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a cornucopia of packaged corned beef.
An Irish American tradition, corned beef features a large cut of meat, usually brisket, brined in a salt and spice solution. Some of the packaged briskets come with a separate seasoning packet containing spices like mustard seeds and bay leaves, while others have spices as part of the brine.
Cooking-wise, corned beef couldn't be easier. You simply simmer the meat in water for about three hours on the stovetop - which means that if you head to the market now you can still have it for a holiday dinner tonight. However, we cooked all the corned beef the day before, and then sliced the meat the morning of the tasting.
And what a lineup it was. The corned beef ranged from overly salty to bland, from pink to gray. But we're happy to report that the winning brand came from our own backyard.
Roberts Shamrock Brand ($5.79 per pound at Mollie Stone's) is from Roberts Corned Meats, the San Francisco company started by George Henry Roberts in 1910. This "tender" corned beef had "flavorful meat with a good blend of salt and spices" and just "the right amount of fat." A few tasters found it on the "salty" side, but three would buy it and two might.
Second place went to Shenson, specifically the Old-Fashioned Style brisket sold at Costco that comes in a spiced brine ($3.39 per pound at Costco). From another company with deep Bay Area roots, this brisket packed a punch. "Very salty and very fatty," one taster thought it had "way too much coriander," while another felt the "pepper was overpowering." Still, all five might buy this corned beef.
Tying for third place was the all-natural brand Wellshire Farms and Andronico's house brand.
Wellshire Farms ($7.50 per pound at Whole Foods) was a classic example of not judging a book by its cover. Brownish rather than pink because it is nitrate-free, this "scary-looking" corned beef actually had "very good flavor and texture." "Highly spiced, but the beef flavor comes through and the meat is moist." One would buy, two might and two would not.
Meanwhile, Andronico's corned beef ($6.29 per pound at Andronico's) split the panel. Some liked its "traditional taste" and "marbled and succulent meat." Others found it "very salty" and "covered with a layer of rancid-tasting fat." Again, one would buy, two might and two would not.
Rounding out the top five was a second Shenson entry, the flat-cut corned beef brisket with a spice packet included ($3.99 per pound at Costco). Two panelists thought the corned meat had "decent beef flavor," while others called it "mild" and "nearly tasteless." Nearly everyone took issue with the texture, however, describing it as "crumbly" and "dry," "which is strange considering the marbling." Yet one would buy, two might and two wouldn't.
Corned beef
Roberts Shamrock Brand 75
Shenson Old-Fashioned Style 67
Wellshire Farms 57
Andronico's 57
Shenson Flat Cut 49
Safeway 42
Draeger's 31
Trader Joe's 7
Panelists were Linda Anusasananan, food writer and consultant, San Mateo; John Carroll, cookbook author, San Francisco; Marc Halperin, culinary director, Center for Culinary Development, San Francisco; Shelley Handler, food consultant, San Francisco; Roland Passot, chef/owner of La Folie in San Francisco and three Left Banks. All products are tasted blind; a perfect score would be 100. Prices listed are the lowest found, but products may be available at other stores.
Source: https://www.sfgate.com/food/tasterschoice/article/Roberts-corned-beef-for-St-Patrick-s-Day-4358602.php
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