Silverside beef - help!

carrie2, Mar 2, 2:49am
I have just made silverside in my slow cooker and it came out with an over powering salt taste which I was not expecting! Is this normal, or did I do something wrong? I did not add any salt or pepper, I cooked the outside slightly before it went into the slow cooker, as I was told this would keep the flavour of the beef in, maybe I shouldn't have done that?!

aj.2., Mar 2, 2:55am
Did you wash the meat first, that removes the pickling stuff off the outside.
One way to remove the salt taste is to place the meat in a pot of water, add some potatoes and cook till the spuds are done.
The potatoes will take up some of that salt.
Must add we always cook our silverside in a pot of water, never done it in slow cooker.

rainrain1, Mar 2, 3:28am
Some corned beef is saltier than others, Changing the water halfway through cooking helps. Did you cover it with water? I wouldn't have bothered cooking the outside, that may have contributed to the saltiness.
Maybe boil it up again in fresh water for a while

kay141, Mar 2, 3:31am
I always rinse it, then cook in the slow cooker. Never had a problem but I'm wondering why and how the outside was cooked. I would only do that with uncured meat such as a roast or a stew.

terraalba, Mar 2, 3:42am
I use my slow cooker to cook corned silverside. I've never noted any over-saltiness. I would tend to think that you might have just got a batch of the product that had a bit too much salting.

My husband loves corned silverside and likes it better when I add stuff to the liquor.
I wash the silverside first to remove all the stuff it is packed in. In the water I put a little vinegar, a little brown sugar (or golden syrup) a chopped onion, about a teaspoon of whole cloves (If I have time, I stick these into the side of the meat, a bay leaf or two, a spoonful of whole pickling spices or whole peppers and also if I have some left over older carrots and celery in the water. I know that seems a lot of extras but it is worth it. I would think the vinegar, onion and vegetables would counter excessive saltiness however there is that chance that the meat salter was having an off day.

awoftam, Mar 2, 4:35am
Yip I do something similar - wash all the goop off the meat, add vinegar, cloves, brown sugar or golden s, an onion (unpeeled) and a carrot (unpeeled). Nice. Never heard about browning the meat - this seems weird to me and the reason for doing it doesn't make sense. Re the saltiness sounds like whoever did it had an off day.

terraalba, Mar 2, 6:34am
Would browning seal saltiness in it I wonder. If boiled without browning the saltiness might leach out into the liquor which is thrown away untasted.

davidt4, Mar 2, 6:36am
Browning meat doesn't seal anything in, it just adds flavour.

fifie, Mar 2, 7:48am
Sounds like it was a the brine the meat came in made it salty. Before cooking any silverside/corn beef rinse it well under cold running water to remove that salty brine, then cook in the slowcooker with whatever you choose, bay leaves few peppercorns water and drizzle golden syrup is nice no need to brown it first.

terraalba, Mar 2, 7:56am
Yes, I recall that is the case. It used to be thought that it sealed flavour but it adds it.

karlymouse, Mar 2, 8:15am
I read somewhere about roasting corned beef and tried that in the oven. what a disaster. its disgusting and salty. there is a reason everyone simmers it :)

awoftam, Mar 2, 8:46am
Yip, and also add to the aesthetic of the dish.

petal1955, Mar 2, 10:13am
I soak the silverside in water overnight changing the water a few times. it helps to remove the salt. my mum always said if its not salty enough you can add salt. but its hard to take the salt out once its cook. Cook slowly in the slow cooker. should be fork tender

sue1955, Mar 2, 10:59pm
I too wash the 'goop' off & cut off any thick fat. Nobody here has mentioned that they remove the fat so is it not necessary? I just don't like the fat globules floating in the water.

rainrain1, Jan 23, 12:06am
No goop on our corned beef. We like to eat a lot of the fat