Post by Kate on Mar 14, 2014 0:19:00 GMT -5
St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef & Cabbage
Ingredients
3 pounds of corned beef, preferably homemade, but store-bought is OK
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1" segments
2 pounds of potatoes, cleaned and cut into 2" chunks
1 small head of cabbage, outer leaves removed, cut in quarters
Optional. You can add an onion and in Eastern Europe, caraway seeds are popular.
Whether the corned beef is homemade or store bought, pour off the curing liquid and place the meat in a large pot along with enough hot water to cover it by at least 1" and put the lid on. Turn the heat to medium, bring to a low simmer and keep it simmering for 30 minutes. If you boil it, it will get tough and shrink. Beware that the meat is cold, so when it warms the water will slowly move from simmer to boil. Keep an eye on it and try not to let it boil.
After 30 minutes, dump out the water and cover 1" over the meat with fresh hot water. Bring to a low simmer again, this time for 3 hours or until fork tender. Keep the meat submerged even if you have to weight it down with a small plate. It is now ready for slicing across the grain for sandwiches or for adding cabbage and the other goodies. The water will now not be too salty to be used as a soup. If you wish, refrigerate it and eat it cold.
Cooking
( 1) Follow the steps above for desalinating and cooking corned beef. The extra step of changing the water after 30 minutes will mean that the broth will not be too salty to be served like with the meat and veggies like a stew.
(2) After the corned beef has been cooking a little over 2 hours and is close to fork-tender, add the carrots and potatoes. After 30 minutes, add the cabbage. After 15 to 25 minutes the cabbage will be done and so should everything else.
(3) Remove the meat and place it on a carving board. If you got the point section, there are often two horizontal muscles with a thick layer of fat between them. Separate them by sliding a knife through the fat. Carve and/or scrape off the fat layer. Carve the meat by cutting across the grain about the thickness of a pencil. Any thinner and it will fall apart, any thicker and it will be chewy. Carve with the grain and you will have difficulty chewing.
(4) Lift out the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots and divide them into serving bowls. Place the meat in the bowl. Spoon some of the cooking liquid over them and serve.
