• In a small frying pan over medium heat, toast the allspice berries, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom pods until aromatic. Be aware that it is rather simple to burn spices; you only need a small amount of heat to bring out their characteristics.
• Take off the heat, then transfer to a small bowl. Crush the spices a tiny bit using a mortar and pestle (or the back of a spoon or the side of a knife on a flat surface). Add to a small bowl and mix in the crumbled bay leaves and ground ginger.

Make The Curing Brine,

• Combine a gallon of water, the kosher salt, the pink salt (if using), the brown sugar, and about 3 teaspoons of the spice mixture (save the rest for frying the corned beef once it has cured). Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate until fully cooled.
• Brine the brisket for 5 to 7 days:
• Put the brisket on a sizable, flat dish or skillet and pour the brine over it. The meat ought to be covered in brine. You might wish to weigh it down with a plate if the meat seems to be floating.
• As an alternative, you can place the brisket in a 2-gallon freezer bag with about 2 quarts of brine and set the bag in a container so it doesn't spill all over your refrigerator. Next, close the bag after pressing out the air.
• Put in the fridge and keep chilled for 5-7 days. To ensure that both sides of the brisket get equally brined, turn it over every day.

Cook the corned beef:

• After the cure is complete, take the brisket out of the brine and thoroughly rinse it with cold water. Put the brisket in a sizable pot that just fits it and add enough water to cover it by at least one inch. A further inch of water can be added to the saucepan to make the brisket less salty.
• To the pot, add one tablespoon of the pickling spices. After the corned beef is fork tender, cook it for 3–4 hours at a very low simmer (barely bubbling) after bringing it to a boil. (At this time, the food can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.)

Cut across the grain:

• Transfer the meat to a cutting board. (You can use the spiced cooking liquid to prepare vegetables for boiled supper or corned beef and cabbage.) The "grain" of the flesh, or the orientation of the muscle fibers, is shown by the lines that are clearly visible on the meat.
• Cut the meat in half first, going with the grain of the meat, to make it easier to cut. The meat should then be sliced into small slices across the grain for serving.