Whichever approach you use, the cured brisket gets simmered in water to break down its abundant collagen, the connective tissue that converts to gelatin during cooking and coats the meat fibers so that they appear more tender and juicy. To expose all of the meat to the brine, the meat is flipped daily. As the meat sits, the salt draws water out of it, creating a superconcentrated brine. Dry curing works more like salting: The meat gets rubbed with the salt mixture and seasonings, wrapped in plastic wrap, and weighed down with a heavy plate or pot. Over time, the salt penetrates the meat, seasoning it and altering its proteins so that they retain moisture.

Wet curing works much like brining: You submerge the meat in a solution of table and curing, or “pink,” salt (more on that later) and water along with seasonings.

As for the curing method, I had two options: wet or dry. I knew I’d be using a flat-cut brisket, the most common cut for corned beef. The trick would be figuring out just the right curing formula and length of time to produce tender, well-seasoned meat. In addition to having an easy one-dish meal for serving a crowd, I could use the leftover corned beef in sandwiches and hash. I’d never corned beef but had always wanted to try.

And although the process takes several days, it’s almost entirely hands-off. It’s seasoned but balanced, with complex flavor thanks to the presence of aromatics and spices. (The Old English term refers to the “corns,” or kernels of salt, used to cure the meat for preservation.) When this curing process is done properly, the meat isn’t just generically salty (or overly salty, as commercial versions often are). But you can make a superb corned beef if you skip the commercially made stuff and “corn” the meat yourself. You can make a decent corned beef dinner by buying a corned beef brisket, simmering it in a big pot of water for a few hours, and adding carrots, potatoes, and cabbage at the end of cooking so they soak up some of the seasoned liquid.

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