Home-Corned Beef Brisket & Cabbage, New England-Style - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked
3/4 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon paprika
2 bay leaves, crumbled
4 -6 lbs fresh beef brisket, preferrably point cut trimmed of excess fat,rinse & pat dry
7 -8 lbs prepared vegetables, of your choice

Preparation

Mix salt and seasonings in a small bowl.
Spear brisket about 30 times per side with meat fork or metal skewers.
Rub each side evenly with salt mixture; place in a 2-gallon-size zipper-lock bag, forcing out as much air as possible.
Place in a pan large enough to hold it (a jelly-roll pan works well), cover with second or similar sized pan, and weight with two bricks or heavy cans of similar weight.
Refrigerate 5 to 7 days, turning once a day.
Rinse meat and pat dry.
Bring brisket to a boil with water to cover by 1/2 to 1 inch in a large soup kettle or stockpot (at least eight quarts), skimming any scum that rises to surface.
Cover and simmer until skewer inserted in thickest part of briskest slides out with ease, 2 to 3 hours.
Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
Transfer meat to a large platter, ladling about 1 cup cooking liquid over it to keep it moist.
Cover with foil and set in oven.
Add vegetables from category 1 to kettle (see below) and bring to a boil; cover and simmer until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes.
Add vegetables from category 2 and bring to a boil; cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, remove the meat from oven and cut across the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices.
Transfer vegetables to meat platter, moisten with additional broth and serve.
VEGETABLES-CATEGORY 1: Carrots-peeled& halved crosswise; thin end halved lengthwise; Rutabagas-peeled& halved crosswise; each half cut into 6 chunks; White turnips-peeled and quartered; New potatoes-scrubbed and left whole.
VEGETABLES-CATEGORY 2: Boiling onions-peeled and left whole; Green cabbage-uncored (small head), blemished leaves removed& cut into 6 to 8 wedges; Parsnips-peeled& halved crosswise; thin ends halved lengthwise, thick end quartered lengthwise; Brussel sprouts-blemished leaves removed, stems trimmed and left whole.