I’m a sucker for holidays. I’ll take any excuse to have a themed meal, not that I normally need one. St. Patrick’s Day is no exception for me, but I’m not one for turning things green just for the sake of it. I really don’t want to eat anything that is not naturally green. That’s not to say that I’m against food coloring (I love it for cakes and cookies), but do I really need to eat a green bagel? Probably not. Every year however, I will make a classic corned beef and cabbage like this one and serve it with some homemade soda bread. It just seems like the right thing to do. I developed this recipe for my friends over at Food.com, and so I wanted to share it on here as well, just in case you want to join me in getting festive next week. It’s easy because the supermarket corned beef package has done all the work for you essentially, but with a few tips, you can really make it even better.
Place the corned beef in a large dutch oven, along with the contents of the spice packet included in the corned beef, brown sugar, bay leaves, onion, and garlic.
**Note: I like to rinse off the brisket to remove that slimy marinade, plus to eliminates some of the excess salt.**
Fill with enough cold water to cover the beef. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the flame, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beef is tender.
**Tip: If you want to add even more flavor, you can sub out the water for low sodium stock of your choice. Just make sure it’s low-sodium because you don’t want to have an overly salted dish in the end.**
After the 2 hours, use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the onions, garlic and bay leaves (they’ve done their job and have given all their flavor already).
**Note: I know it might seem a bit wasteful and you could most certainly eat the onions if you’d like, but you’ll find that they don’t really have much flavor and are way overcooked at that point.**
Place the potatoes and carrots into the pot with the brisket. Return to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat and simmer until fork tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. It depends on how big your potatoes are.
**Note: Peel the potatoes and carrots before adding. I use red potatoes and peel only the center because I like the look of it, but feel free to peel all of it or don’t peel at all. Cut the carrots into large chunks but leave the potatoes whole.**
Transfer the potatoes and carrots to a platter and keep warm. Add in the sliced cabbage, I like to keep the core in the cabbage so that the sliced wedges stay in tact, making it easier to move later. Bring back up to a boil over high heat. Lower the flame and simmer for 15 minutes until the cabbage is tender as well.
Transfer the cabbage to the platter along with the potatoes and carrots and move the brisket to a cutting board. Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain.
While the corned beef rests, you can make the horseradish dipping sauce. It’s completely optional but I think it’s a nice accompaniment to the dish. Set a medium saucepan over moderate heat with the butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds or so. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the liquid that the beef cooked inches Cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, horseradish, salt and pepper.
Arrange the sliced beef along with the vegetables on a very large platter. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve with grainy mustard and/or the horseradish sauce for dipping. Don’t forget some crusty bread and of course a few pints of Guinness to make things just right.
If you feel like getting a bit festive next week for St. Patrick’s Day, aside from wearing green of course, then I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. I make it every year and I can’t recommend it enough. Let me know if you have any questions or comments below and as always, stay safe out there my friends.
Classic Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 corned beef brisket about 4 lbs
- 1 corned beef spice packet
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 medium brown onion sliced
- 4 garlic cloves peeled
- 4 lbs small red or yellow potatoes
- 8 large carrots peeled
- 1 medium head of cabbage cut into wedges
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 ⁄2 cup grainy mustard for serving
Horseradish Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup reserved corned beef cooking liquid
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 ⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place the corned beef in a large dutch oven, along with the contents of the spice packet included in the corned beef, brown sugar, bay leaves, onion, and garlic. Fill with enough cold water to cover the beef. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the flame, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beef is tender.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the onions and garlic (they’ve done their job and have given all their flavor already).
- Peel the potatoes, I use red potatoes and peel only the center because I like the look of it, but feel free to peel all of it or don’t peel at all. Cut the carrots into large chunks. Place the potatoes and carrots into the pot with the brisket. Return to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat and simmer until fork tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. It depends on how big your potatoes are.
- Transfer the potatoes and carrots to a platter and keep warm. Add in the sliced cabbage, I like to keep the core in the cabbage so that the sliced wedges stay in tact, making it easier to move later. Bring back up to a boil over high heat. Lower the flame and simmer for 15 minutes until the cabbage is tender as well.
- Transfer the cabbage to the platter along with the potatoes and carrots and move the brisket to a cutting board. Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain. Arrange the sliced beef along with the vegetables on the platter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with grainy mustard and horseradish sauce (recipe follows).
- To make the sauce, set a medium saucepan over moderate heat with the butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds or so. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the liquid that the beef cooked inches Cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, horseradish, salt and pepper. Enjoy!
