Corned Beef Day

I have a few annual food traditions. One of my favorites is St. Patrick's Day. Here in the U.S. (and not, I learned, in Ireland), the traditional dinner is corned beef and cabbage. Hearty, hot, and steamy, iit's perfect for the time of year, the last coughs of winter. 

But for a foodie, the problem is the corned beef. The grocery store's normal variety, in the vacuum-wrapped bag, is — well, it's pink. As in, day-glo. To get the vibrant pink color, they cure the beef with nitrites and nitrates. I'm not worried about the chemicals (especially since this is generally just once a year), but the heavy handed curing leaves the beef tasting salty, metallic, and not like beef.  

Years ago, I made my own. It's not difficult but it takes a couple of weeks. The good news is that it tastes like beef!! But without any nitrates at all, it's decidedly not pink. It looks rather gray. Tastes great but not much to look at.

A couple of years ago, I happened to be at Los Gatos Meats (or, as I call it, meat heaven) and saw corned beef. They make it there!

Long story short, it is wonderful. Somehow, they manage to get it to be pink without making it taste like a chemistry set. 

For those who don't live near here, I spied some corned beef at Trader Joe's that said it was made without nitrates. I don't know if it's good — but it looked like a better alternative thanthe neon briskets at the grocery store. If you try it, or know another source for the Good Stuff, please leave a comment.

Once you find a good source, cooking it is not tricky — just allow enough time. 

Corned Beef and Cabbage

No quantities are shown here because it doesn't matter. Allow a pound of beef per person, maybe two to guarantee lots of leftovers (you will want leftovers). For 4 servings, use 2-4 carrots and potatoes and one or two of each of the other vegetables and one head of cabbage.

Corned beef
Potatoes (yukon gold or red)
Rutabaga
Carrots
Parsnips
Turnips
One head cabbage 
Spicy mustard and horseradish

Note: In most recipes, the beef and vegetables are cooked together. The vegetables will be less salty and less greasy if you cook them in a separate pot.

Start 4-5 hours before the time you want to serve dinner.

Remove the corned beef from the package and place in a pot. Cover with water plus an inch. Add the spice packet that comes with the beef. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3-5 hours. The meat is ready when a skewer slides in easily and you can remove it without it sticking enough to lift the meat from the water. If the meat is done early, no worries, just turn off the heat and keep it warm.

Prepare the vegetable. Trim and clean or peel the root vegetables. Remove the outer layers of cabbage and cut the head in four to six wedges, cutting through the root. Each wedge will have a section of the root which holds the leaves together.

Place the root vegetables in a second pot with a few inches of water. Bring it to a boil, cover, and simmer, to steam the vegetables for 20 minutes. Add the cabbage and steam another 15 minutes.  

While the vegetables are finishing, remove the meat to a cutting board (save the water) and slice against the grain, in about 1/4"-thick slices. 

Serve in a big bowl with the vegetables on the bottom, topped with the sliced beef. Serve with spicy mustard and horseradish.

And beer. Preferably, an Irish stout! (Maybe corned beef and cabbage is not genuinely Irish but an Irish brew can't hurt!)

Comments

[Carolyn Jung]

Thanks for the reminder about Los Gatos Meats. It's one of those places I keep telling myself to make a stop at, but have yet to do so. I bet the corned beef there is amazing!

[Daisy Luu]

I'm having a vegetarian day, but this makes e so hungry...

[Carolyn Jung]

Thanks for the tip on the corned beef at Los Gatos Meats. Got some last week and it is awesome. The corned beef, which I cooked with root veggies like you did, is so much less salty than the standard supermarket variety. I think I'll have to head there every St. Paddy's Day from now on. ;)

[Glenn Fuller]

I made a Pastrami for St. Paddy's day. Pastrami is a smoked corned beef. I've taken a pass at making my own corned beef (pickling a beef brisket) but that takes a little time. So the easy route, buy a corned beef, apply a rub and smoke it yourself. It came out great. I used Oak for the smoke.

You can be inventive with your rubs - here is what I use:
Rub Ingredients:
• 4 tablespoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons paprika
• 3 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns (crushed)
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds (crushed)
• 1 tablespoon white peppercorns (crushed)
• 3 tablespoons granulated garlic
• 1 T ground ginger

[Moe Rubenzahl]

Smoked corned beef? How interesting, Glenn. And lo, I have a smoker!

[Glenn Fuller]

It rocks! The best of a kind of a particular food holds certain memories in my mind. I have a memory of pastrami at Deloris' in Liberty. A hot pastrami on rye loaded with fat and brown mustard that was absolutely delicious (including a kosher pickle). Boar's head pastrami will not get you there but smoking your own Corned Beef will.

I look forward to your findings.