Corned Beef and Cabbage

Mid-March means St. Patrick’s Day is approaching.  This is one of my favorite holidays which I enjoy celebrating with friends.  This year, we hosted the celebration with a day of good food, great weather, and excellent company.  You cannot have a St. Patrick’s Day celebration without corned beef and cabbage.  I have never liked the taste of corned beef, therefore, I had never prepared it.  I often cook for others, though, so I thought I would give it a try.  I did not really measure any of the spices, as usual, but everyone’s taste buds are different anyway.  I could not believe the raving reviews my dish received.  One of my friends who is Irish said, “This is better than my mother’s!”.  I quickly ran out, which is unfortunate, but I did have lots of other options for my guests, including garlic mashed potatoes, vegan-friendly collard greens, and vegan-friendly cabbage. 

I bought the meat from my trusty local meat store (Nick’s), which I think was the perfect way to start.  I purchased a Grobbel’s 4 pound corned beef brisket with seasoning included.  I put it in a crock pot and set it on “keep warm” overnight.  I started with celery, carrots, onion, and garlic.  I layered the veggies first, then put the meat on top.  I covered it with just enough water that the meat was submerged.  I used beef base, garlic salt, and cracked black pepper.  I woke up at 5 and cranked the crock pot up to high until 9.  I turned it down to low until 11 when I took the meat out.  I let the meat rest and then I trimmed some of the fat off.  The meat did not need to be carved, as it just fell right apart.  I put the meat back in and added half of a cabbage.  The other half, I boiled in veggie base for my vegan friends.  The people started eating around 2 and the crock pot was empty by 4.  I will definitely make this again!

Since my husband wanted corned beef and cabbage for St. Patty’s day, I bought another brisket.  This time, it was Safeway brand.  I again layered in celery and carrot before putting in the meat.  I covered the meat and veggies with a bottle of Guinness and added just a little bit of water.  I seasoned it similarly, and let it cook on high for 3 hours.  The flavor was good, but the meat was dense.  I was surprised to see two versions of the same meal come out so vastly different.  From experience, I will not go for the generic brand and I will cook it low and slow.