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From our Food Goddess, TaMara:
Well look at that, it’s Friday and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations have already begun. I think that means we’ll revisit last year’s recipes, because I was at the store yesterday and briskets were half priced and I bought two, a tip and a flat. I’ll be doing the slow-cooker method first. Then I’ll think about grilling or pressure cooking the other. Corned beef is really one of the perfect foods to do in a pressure cooker. You get a nice, tender beef and instead of mushy, colorless vegetables, you get perfectly cooked vegetables infused with that great corned beef broth flavor.
Tonight’s featured recipe uses a bit of dill pickle juice in place of some of the water and a touch of spicy brown mustard. But I saw recipes that used chicken broth, sherry or beer in place of some of the water. I think you should experiment and use what sounds good to you. I really like dill pickle juice. And I have become a big fan of Napa cabbage with my corned beef.
A lot of recipes call for 3-4 lbs of corned beef. When I was shopping, 4 lbs was the smallest piece I could find, most were 5-6 lbs. You may have to cut a piece in half, but since both the pressure cooker and slow-cooker recipes are easy, you don’t need to save corned beef and cabbage for a special occasion. Just freeze the other half for another day.
And the best part of a corned beef and cabbage dinner? Making Reuben’s with the leftovers. My mom makes the best ones, but I one up her by grilling mine Panini-style. Yum.
Are you a corned beef and cabbage household? Reuben fans? What other recipes do you have for the leftovers? Any good hash recipes? Doing anything special to celebrate your Irish (adopted or otherwise) heritage this weekend?
Now for the recipes:
JeffreyW tackles corned beef leftovers – see his gallery of Corned Beef Sandwiches here. (lots of yummy pictures at those links)
My family weighs in on their favorite ways to fix corned beef, including grilling. (click here)
And, in case you missed it, my vacation plans now include cooking lessons in exchange for a nice place to stay: Have Frying Pan, Will Travel.
Now tonight’s featured recipes:
Pressure Cooker Corned Beef Dinner:
3 to 4 lbs corned beef, trim the fat to about 1/4 inch
Water
Spices included with corned beef or the following: 1 tbsp black peppercorns, 1 tbsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp fennel seeds,
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed – opt
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
4 – 6 medium to large potatoes, cut into four to eight pieces, peeling optional
4-6 carrots, sliced in half and cut into 2” lengths
Cabbage, cut into 4 to 6 pieces
pressure cooker and cooking rackRemove the corned beef from the brine (discarding the brine), rinse thoroughly and place in the bottom of the pressure cooker, fatty side up. [You don’t really want to brown this beef, because it’s been brined.] Sprinkle spices over the top of the beef. Add enough liquid (water or water and a combination of ONE of the following: pickle juice, chicken broth, beer or wine) to come to the top of beef, about 3-4 cups usually. Cover and bring to pressure and let cook for 1 hour. I use the cold water method to depressurize (that is when you run cold water over the pan in the sink, otherwise you can remove it from the heat and let slowly depressurize).
The key to getting the perfect corned beef and vegetables with the pressure cooker is to cook them separately. Prep the vegetables during the last 15 or so minutes of beef cooking time. Once the beef is done, put it on a cutting board, cover loosely in foil and put a towel over the whole deal.
Remove all but enough liquid to come to the bottom of the cooking rack when placed in the pressure cooker. Place potatoes first on the tray, then carrots and then cabbage, cover and bring to pressure. Cook for about 12 minutes. The vegetables will be fork tender, not mushy and the beef will be fully rested. Slice, plate and serve.
For the slow-cooker:
Place rinsed beef in the bottom of the slow-cooker, sprinkle spices, add liquid to come to the top of the beef, and cover. Cook on low for 4 hours. At the 4 hour mark, add potatoes and then carrots. Cook additional 4 hours, adding the cabbage during the last 30 minutes. With the exception of adding the vegetables, try to resist the temptation to open the lid. You need it to stay covered to properly cook. Let the meat rest, covered with foil for about 15 minutes before carving.There you go, some easy ways to put together a nice corned beef dinner.
Interestingly last year there seemed to be a green cabbage shortage. I went to three different grocery stores and they were completely sold out. I didn’t want to use red cabbage because I don’t really like it. I decided to use Napa cabbage and really liked it, much more than green cabbage, it’s sweeter and has a more delicate flavor and now it is my cabbage of choice.
Enjoy your weekend and watch out for leprechauns… – TaMara
StringOnAStick
I inherited a slow cooker corned beef recipe that uses a chopped whole orange, 2 cinnamon sticks, 12 whole cloves, a tablespoon of dill, a cup of celery leaves and a cup of wine, with water to cover. Sounds crazy with the cinnamon, cloves and orange, but my Jewish hubby says it is the best he’s ever tasted.
Betty Cracker
Here’s a link to my corned beef hash recipe.
RSR
(warning, nitrites ahead)
Gonna jump on the brine your own brisket (but too late for this weekend) train.
Technique originally learned from Alton Brown, but his suggestion to use saltpetre (potassium nitrate) is hard to follow, as that ingredient is hard to locate.
So google the AB recipe, check out the various spices, techniques, and so on, and then check this version using Morton’s Tender Quick: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-corned-beef-for-st-78650
I’ve got 20 lbs ready to cook tomorrow, and our homebrew club has another 50 lbs for our meeting next Friday, including about 12 lbs that will be stout cured, via this recipe from Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton:
http://www.homebrewchef.com/StoutCuredCornedBeefandCabbage.html
(that recipe is an example of using household salt – table/kosher/pickling – and pink salt/salt cure #1)
Remember, even if you don’t have time to cure your own for this holiday, it’s great deli all year long. And next year, buy your raw brisket by March 5!
PhoenixRising
Soda bread. It’s what’s for dinner. Raisins are the work of the devil. Use shortening, not butter, and the most authentic whole milk buttermilk you can find.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/irish-soda-bread/30720399-c19a-48c9-9798-a8185cd7f85a
muddy
Red flannel hash. Like regular but with beets as well.
trollhattan
I do not have a recipe. I do, however, have a link to this video of an apparently infinite source of basset puppies, a basset portal if you will.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG4CEr2aiSg
Mike in NC
For St Patrick’s Day my mom from Dorchester would serve a godawful thing called a Daisy Ham with carrots, cabbage, and potatoes. It was fatty and chewy and pretty much indigestible.
kathy a.
shit. i’ve got irish all over the family tree, and i need to go get some corned beef. and cabbage. and more potatoes. and carrots. and i guess guiness.
ruemara
Hmm . The mustard gives me an idea. Maybe pop the cheddar sauce with a good whole grain mustard.
Culture of Truth
Not much a rueben fan. Just regular old corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and horseradish.
RSR
re Guinness- Nothing wrong with it, but my favorite stout from Ireland is Beamish. In Eastern PA and surrounding areas, try the Sly Fox O’Reilly’s Dry Stout. A great version.
raven
I ain’t worth a shit on this holiday family from County Clare or not.
RSR
corned beef special sandwich–thinly sliced corned beef, (john) cole slaw, Russian dressing, on rye, not cooked.
My favorite corned beef sandwich. A bit messy, though so worth it.
tybee
ruebens here. cook the corned beef for multiple hours in the crock pot with a bag of zatarain’s crab boil. chill and then slice.
ruebens are damn fine shit.
unknown to us, for the last meal that we cooked for a friend, we did ruebens in the above manner.
he said that that if you imagined what a perfect rueben tasted like, that one tasted just like he imagined a rueben to taste.
he was dead ten days later.
sigh.
so this weekend it’s ruebens with a side of melancholy.
and i’ll hoist more than one to Pat D.
R-Jud
My friend from Cork tells me boxty and beer were the mainstays on St. Pat’s when he was growing up. We’ll be having boxty and lamb stew here.
mainmata
Being of the Irish persuasion from a MA family, I am very partial to this dinner and this pressure cooker version sounds awesome and i will certainly be trying it. Thanks TaMara, BJ Food Goddess for another good session.
muddy
@raven: We don’t celebrate it because we hate St.Patrick for the evil Roman version of Christianity.
raven
@muddy: I don’t celebrate it because I don’t drink and I don’t eat meat.
muddy
@raven: I rarely drink, and never green beer. A young relative wouldn’t eat meat for a while and wanted us to have red flannel hash with chunks of turkey “pastrami” from the deli. I said no, no fake food. Just have something else that’s enjoyable for what it is, ffs.
raven
@efgoldman: The local BBQ sells a Vegneck Rueben. Thick toast, collards and pimento cheese!
raven
@muddy: I have no patience for drinking holidays, New Years Eve, Cinco de Fucking Mayo, and St Patty’s don’t mean nuttin.
NotMax
What muddy said above. Red Flannel Hash is a cool weather delight. Besides that classic preparation:
Corned Beef Kickers
6 pieces thick-sliced cooked corned beef
Spicy brown or Dijon mustard
Prepared horseradish
1 egg
butter
cracker, bread or panko crumbs
Mix mustard and horseradish in equal parts.
Spread mixture on corned beef slices.
Beat the egg well with 2 tsp. water.
Dip coated corned beef into egg and then coat thoroughly with crumbs.
Fry in butter.
==================
Ye Olde Corned Beef Hashe
2 cups cold boiled potatoes, diced
1½ cups chopped corned beef
3/8 cup cream (or half-and-half)
3 tbl. butter
6 eggs
1 small onion, minced
salt, pepper, paprika
Mix together corned beef, potatoes and onions. Melt 1 tbl, butter. Add ¼ cup cream and melted butter to the mix. Season to taste with salt, pepper and paprika.
Pack the mixture into a well-greased oblong pan. With bottom of a cup or glass, make 6 shallow indentations on top of the mixture, and divide up 1 tbl. butter to put a dot in each indentation
Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and lower heat to 350.
Break 1 egg into each indentation. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle each egg with remaining cream and a dot of remaining butter.
Bake at 350 until eggs are set – whites firmly cooked.
Cassidy
Great fights tonight, more tomorrow….who needs an excuse to drink.
raven
@efgoldman: It’s a sandwich, the name don’t mean diddly.
muddy
@raven: I have no patience with holidays for drinking either. What, is there not enough drinking on all the other days?
raven
@muddy: Yea, I didn’t like that shit when I did drink.
Anne Laurie
@StringOnAStick:
Well, the Irish-(Americans) picked up their taste for corned beef from the German-(American) Jews in NYC during the first Gilded Age, so I’d take his advice!
Cinnamon/cloves/orange is commonly used for ham glazes, another very salty meat, so I think I can understand the flavor contrast.
muddy
Speaking of Reubens, I had occasion to go to an Aldi’s for the first time recently, and they had a really nice sauerkraut in a jar, made in Germany. Their own brand, Deutsche Kuche. It even had a reasonable amount of sodium, and gave the amount for a cup, and not 2 Tbsp like the canned does. Same brand had a nice whole rye bread too. Nice short ingredient lists, no chemicals and country of origin.
Of course there was lots of snacky foods, and prepared dinners that are basically snacky foods with a little protein. But there are some real gems there. I didn’t expect it.
rikyrah
Man, I love this dinner. You got all, including the carrots…it’s DELICIOUS!!
infinitefreetime
The best corned beef sandwich I’ve ever had: http://infinitefreetime.com/2013/09/23/i-had-a-busy-day-heres-a-sandwich/
Pogonip
Glenn McDuffie, the sailor shown exchanging a celebratory kiss with a woman in an iconic WW II photo, has died at 86.
ruemara
Any recommends for a low sodium corned beef? I miss reubens, but not enough to risk another blowout.
muddy
@ruemara: I used to get a lower sodium kind, but of course it was never on sale. I now get a regular one and soak it a little and wash it off thoroughly (you can feel a kind of slime on it) and it’s not that salty. I have gone overboard with the length of time in the water and had to add salt.
Mike E
Just finished chicken BBQ batch #two thousand and ninety thr…sorry. No grillin’ allowed at the new apartment complex so I crock pot cooked the leg quarters instead. Turned out pretty good, but I’m gonna miss the falling apart goodness that dry charcoal cooking brings out of the legs (and crispy skin!). Just means I have to nail the sauce, which of course I did ;-)
NotMax
No special Pi Day treats?
Or Ides of March recipes?
Mike in NC
@efgoldman: My dad enlisted a few months after Pearl Harbor, age 25 or 26. Of course he was called “Old Man” by the others in boot camp.
Pogonip
@trollhattan: Oh my gosh! Captain Cisco brought Infinite Puppies through the wormhole and defeated the Dominion with the Secret Cuteness Bomb! We’re saved!
Pogonip
@raven: I once read an interview with a highway patrolman who said the worst drunk-driving holidays were, in order: Memorial Day, Labor Day, 4th of July, and New Year’s Eve. All the others were clustered together at the end of the list.
Yog-Sothoth
Y’all need to try making your own corned beef. Get a brisket (or 2 or 3), rub them with spices (look for Cook’s Illustrated recipe if you have access; I’m sure there are others), put them in Ziplocs, and turn them every day. In a week they’re ready and far better than anything you normally could buy.
Caution: if you make more than one, be sure and wash it off before you freeze it for later – if you don’t it will be far too salty.
Otherwise, highly recommended.
NotMax
@Pogonip
No knock intended, but see that spelling used a lot and wonder when and how it mutated from Trek‘s Sisko to being spelled the same way as The Cisco Kid.
MikeJ
@NotMax: I assumed the doghouse had a bug in its border gateway protocol programing.
NotMax
@MikeJ
Now I’m stuck in a singularity loop of hearing Odo saying “Oh, Ceeeeesco!” in an exaggerated Mexican accent.
trollhattan
@Pogonip:
Bassets to the rescue, with Squeee rays set to “stun.”
Look at those doggies and tell me how they even work, from a design standpoint.
trollhattan
@NotMax:
There’s an app for that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YllP22mVZQg
MoeLarryAndJesus
Gray corned beef is, by far, superior to the red variety.
First generation Harpo-American here, son of Rosmuc and Leenane…
LayedBackGuy
I bought a Weber smokey mountain cooker a couple years ago, and I’ve been having fun learning about Real slow cooked BBQ. My fave corned beef recipe is actually turning it into pastrami via the magic of smoke n spice. Here’s a nice link: http://amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/close_to_katzs_home_made_pastrami.html
NotMax
@trollhattan
The classic (about 3:05 in).
SCTV’s take (about 25:15 in)
Mnemosyne
I’m making these Beef and Stout Pies for SPD dinner, but will probably make the filling on Sunday and then bake them on Monday since the filling has to simmer for an hour and a half. Plus I’ll have to go to Sur La Table and see if I can get some 13-ounce ramekins to bake them in.
Then it’s a meat pie, a bottle of Magner’s, and a few episodes of “Father Ted” for the perfect St. Patty’s Day.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
The “corned” part of corned beef refers to the “corns” of salt used to cure it, so you’re pretty much hosed as far as a low-sodium version goes.
@efgoldman:
I’m guessing that’s also because the official Drinking Holidays (which I’m claiming are St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo) get lots and lots of anti-drunk driving publicity, lots of bars offering free rides home, etc. so there’s a lot of social support for admitting you’re too drunk to drive. Admitting that you’re too drunk to drive home from your uncle’s Memorial Day picnic, not so much.
Mnemosyne
I posted this in the open thread above as well, but if nondrinkers are looking for something fun to have at a party, we got a Virgil’s Root Beer Party Keg at work for our St. Patrick’s Day party because people go nuts for it.