Lake Elsinore’s Secret To The Best Corned Beef

The annual . office on East Lakeshore Drive saw about 150 people trickle through its doors Friday night. Business owners, city officials and others turned out for the annual St. Patrick’s Day bash that raises money for local scholarships.

The shindig was a veritable Who’s Who in Lake Elsinore. But as it happens every year, the corned beef was the real life of the party.

Madelynn Mikkelsen, a native New Yorker who now calls the Valley home, is in her 70s. She has a little trouble getting about now, but that hasn’t stopped her from making corned beef for the annual Century 21 gala. She’s been doing it for the last 20 years, but this time around she figured she could use some assistance. So she tapped students enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at Lakeside High School to lend a hand.

“I can teach them to make the best corned beef,” she thought to herself. So on Wednesday the septagenarian and her aspiring young chefs began a collaboration to perfect 100 pounds of the party’s main dish.

Mikkelsen, a feisty silver-haired lady with a lingering and loud East Coast accent, said she brought to the students legitimate Irish culinary experience.

“I’m from New York – every bar serves corned beef on Third Avenue!” she testified.

So what are her secret cooking tips?

Start off with the right meat.

“Don’t get point cut, that’s crap. Only buy brisket,” she said.

Second, don’t boil it.

“There are only two ways to ruin corned beef: boiling it or cutting it while it’s still hot,” she explained.

Instead, Mikkelsen recommends simmering the brisket over about four hours. When it's done, pull the meat from the water and let it rest for 30 to 40 minutes on a cookie sheet, then slice it against the grain.

“It shreds if you cut it hot,” she said.

Once the meat has been chilled, Mikkelsen said it’s best used in sandwiches.

In return for their services, all money raised during the Century 21 fundraiser will be awarded to several Culinary Arts students, said Gail Williams, Realtor and administrator of the brokerage.

As of Friday at 6:30 p.m., Williams said she expected about $700 to $800 will go to the high school’s program.