Ingredients

  • One 8-pound corned beef brisket, raw
  • 3 cups sauerkraut
  • 3 pounds cream cheese
  • 2 pounds Swiss cheese, shredded or diced small
  • Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
  • Flour, for coating
  • Buttermilk, for dredging
  • Panko breadcrumbs, for coating
  • Chopped fresh parsley, for coating
  • Whole-Grain Honey Mustard Horseradish Dipping Sauce, recipe follows
  • Special equipment: a deep-frying thermometer
  • 4 cups mayonnaise
  • 1 pound honey
  • 8 ounces Dijon mustard
  • 6 ounces horseradish (fresh if possible)
  • 4 ounces whole-grain mustard with stout
  • 4 ounces rice vinegar
  • 1 1/2 ounces dry mustard
  • 1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Place the brisket in a large pan with the pickling seasoning and enough water to fill the pan halfway.
  • Cover and cook for 3 hours.
  • Let cool partially, and then refrigerate to cool completely (for at least 3 hours total if you cut the brisket into pieces, or overnight if cooling it whole).
  • Dice the brisket and puree in a food processor until a paste forms (some chunks are fine).
  • Add the sauerkraut, cream cheese and Swiss cheese and mix well.
  • Shape the mixture into little spheres the size of golf balls; set aside.
  • In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough vegetable oil to fill the pan about a third of the way.
  • Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F.
  • In three separate containers put the flour, buttermilk and panko breadcrumbs mixed with fresh parsley.
  • Take a sphere and coat in the flour, dredge in the buttermilk and then coat in the breadcrumbs.
  • Repeat with the remaining spheres.
  • Fry in batches--making sure all the fritters are submerged--until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Serve the fritters with the Whole-Grain Honey Mustard Horseradish Dipping Sauce on the side.
  • Mix together the mayonnaise, honey, Dijon mustard, horseradish, whole-grain mustard, rice vinegar, dry mustard and granulated garlic in a large bowl.