Corned Beef & Cabbage My Way
April 23rd, 2014 · No Comments · Posted in Recipes
I don’t normally make a St. Patrick’s day meal in April, but our local food co-op was giving away to working members several packages of Wellshire Farms corned beef that went unsold and I couldn’t resist. I took this as an opportunity to try my revised method for making traditional corned beef and cabbage. As you can see, there are a number of other vegetables involved.
The object is to avoid vegetables that get terribly overdone in the two hours plus it takes for the meat to cook. So I cooked the vegetables first, and in large part individually to get them all done just the way I like them: firm and flavorful. Call it corned beef and cabbage deconstructed.
Start with 1 quart chicken broth. You could even use 2 quarts, since much of it cooks off by the time you get around to adding the meat. Start with vegetables that take the longest, such as carrots. They’re peeled and sliced on an angle, along with a few parsnips. Cook these in the broth until just done, then remove with a slotted spoon. Next add wedges of cabbage and cook until they are easily pierced with a trussing skewer. Remove the cabbage and cook a large leek, cleaned and cut into 1-inch, angled slices. Remove the leeks and cook a few (or three) medium white potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces with the skin on.
I displayed all the vegetables on a ceramic platter and covered with plastic wrap. Set aside while you cook the meat. By all means use the same pot you cooked the vegetables in, as well as the leftover broth. The meat will need to be covered with liquid to a depth of about 2 inches, so add more broth or water as need. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat as low as possible, cover and simmer gently until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees, as measured with an instant read thermometer.
Place the finished meat on a cutting board to rest for a few minutes. All of this can be done ahead. Before serving, place the platter in a 180-degree oven to come up to temperature. You can drizzle hot broth over everything and bring to the table with your favorite horse radish.
And there you have it: corned beef and cabbage perfectly cooked, not mushy. Yes, it is quite a bit more work that just throwing ingredients in a pot of water. But this is one dish that needs all the help it can get.
Bon appetit!
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