Corned Beef and Cabbage, a popular dish here in the U.S. on St. Patrick's Day, is not actually Irish but rather Irish-American in origin. New England Boiled Dinner, essentially the same dish, incorporates other veggies such as carrots, onions, potatoes, in addition to the cabbage. My fav veggies to use are cabbage, small (mini) Yukon or Klondike gold and/or red potatoes, carrots and several whole cloves of garlic. After experimenting with several methods of cooking this dish (slow cooker, braising in the oven, and just plain ol' boiling over the stove), I've found that the best way is low and slow (3 hours) in a Dutch oven or enameled cast iron pot on the cooktop. To reduce the sodium content of the broth so that you can actually drink it, I first cook the corned beef in water for 30 minutes, discard the water, then add fresh hot water to continue the cooking process. The beef comes out super tender and any leftovers can be used to make corned beef hash for breakfast the next day. Yum!
Ingredients:
5 lbs. (use 2 pcs. if needed) corned beef with spice packets*
6 cloves garlic
1 1/2 lbs. whole small Yukon gold, red, and/or purple potatoes
5 large or 10 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large dice
1 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
Optional Condiments:
Mustard (I like stone ground or Country Dijon)
Prepared horseradish
*If you're up to making your own corned beef, give this a try http://thegrubfiles.blogspot.com/2016/11/home-cured-corned-beef.html
1. Rinse the corned beef, pat dry, and place into a large Dutch oven or enameled cast iron pot.
2. Add water to the pan until the beef is covered by 1" of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Drain water from pot and refill with fresh hot water until 1" over the meat. Add the garlic and spice packets. Bring back up to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 3 hours or until the meat is very tender.
4. Add the potatoes and carrots and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes. Add the cabbage wedges and cook another 10 minutes or until all the veggies are just tender.
5. Remove the corned beef to a chopping board and cut just enough slices to serve (put the remaining brisket back into the broth to keep warm. Plate and serve in individual serving bowls or plates along with veggies and a ladle of broth.
6. Serve with your fav mustard and/or prepared horseradish on the side.
5 lbs. (use 2 pcs. if needed) corned beef with spice packets*
6 cloves garlic
1 1/2 lbs. whole small Yukon gold, red, and/or purple potatoes
5 large or 10 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large dice
1 head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
Optional Condiments:
Mustard (I like stone ground or Country Dijon)
Prepared horseradish
*If you're up to making your own corned beef, give this a try http://thegrubfiles.blogspot.com/2016/11/home-cured-corned-beef.html
1. Rinse the corned beef, pat dry, and place into a large Dutch oven or enameled cast iron pot.
2. Add water to the pan until the beef is covered by 1" of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Drain water from pot and refill with fresh hot water until 1" over the meat. Add the garlic and spice packets. Bring back up to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 3 hours or until the meat is very tender.
4. Add the potatoes and carrots and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes. Add the cabbage wedges and cook another 10 minutes or until all the veggies are just tender.
5. Remove the corned beef to a chopping board and cut just enough slices to serve (put the remaining brisket back into the broth to keep warm. Plate and serve in individual serving bowls or plates along with veggies and a ladle of broth.
6. Serve with your fav mustard and/or prepared horseradish on the side.
Point Cut brisket is a bit more expensive than the flat cut, but I personally prefer the flat cut.
This is the flat cut.
Simmer the corned beef for 30 minutes.
Drain the water.
Add fresh hot water to the pot, to cover 1" over the corned beef.
Add the garlic and spice packets. Bring up to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 3 hours.
Our Albertson's market carries these mini Klondike potatoes (gold and madly of gold, red and purple potatoes) which are great for this recipe. If you can't find these, just use your fav combo of small potatoes.
After 3 hours of cooking, add the potatoes and diced carrots. Cook for 10-15 minutes.
Add the cabbage wedges and continue cooking another 10 minutes or until the veggies are just tender.
Slice the beef and plate. Serve with veggies and a ladle of the broth, if desired. Serve with mustard and/or prepared mustard on the side.
Ah, ok -- replacing the water is probably key. Can't wait to try; have one in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteYes, Karin - I love stock/broth, but the stuff from cooking corned beef was always inedibly salty. So this was the solution.
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