Happy St. Patrick’s Day: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Most of you know that I am of Irish descent and I have been on a quest to find authentic Irish recipes to add to my repertoire. You can read more about that on my Colcannon post.

My husband, who is of Slovak descent, really pushed me to find these roots because his family held on to parts of their cuisine. These traditions really made him and his family feel unique and created strong ties between them. While I do have my Southern roots and am very adept at those flavors, he has helped me find traditional Irish-American recipes to further me on my journey.

What I understand from my research, corned beef is one of those recipes that has been adulterated a little since coming over the pond.  Corned Beef and Cabbage is an actual recipe that was served in Ireland a long time ago, but it has waned in popularity and is viewed more as an old person’s meal. However, it flourished here in the states almost as a snapshot of the Irish cuisine at the time that the Irish immigrants started coming over. There is a debate over the cut of meat that was used in traditional Irish corned beef. This Irish-American will use what is available, corned beef brisket.

When picking out a brisket, you have the option of a point cut and a flat cut. I prefer the flat cut, because as suggested, it is an even piece of meat, which in turn means even heat distribution and cooking times.  Anyway, this corned beef is delicious as is and will provide me with lots of yummy leftovers to play around with for a few days. Happy St. Patty’s Day, Everyone!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned Beef- preferably a flat cut

3 potatoes, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 head cabbage, chopped

1 onion, chopped

Seasoning Packet

1 tsp pickling spice

In a large dutch oven, place corned beef in enough water to cover the meat. Add seasoning packet and pickling spice. Bring water to a slight boil. Cover and turn temperature down to low. Simmer for 50 minutes per pound. We had a 4 1/2 lb corned beef brisket, so that took about 3 hours and 40 minutes of simmering. When two hours of cooking time is left, add the cabbage and onions. When one hour is left, add the potatoes and carrots. You could serve the meat at this point, but we like to take it out of the juice and brown it a little in a 375 degree F oven for about 30-40 minutes. Serve with cabbage and potato and broth mixture in a large bowl. Enjoy!