Ultimate Corned Beef and Cabbage

by Diana Rattray

Corned beef and cabbage is a classic Irish-American dish that is typically made to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. While we enjoy corned beef as an Irish meal, it did not originate in Ireland. Irish immigrants settling in New York bought corned beef from their Jewish neighbors and cooked it with cabbage. The salty corned beef and cabbage was reminiscent of an Irish comfort food, bacon and cabbage. See: The Secret Jewish History of Corned Beef and Cabbage

Preparation Notes

• Prepare the bouquet garni. If you don’t have bouquet garni bags, you can make a bag with a bit of cheesecloth and twine. This will keep your whole spices and garlic together and easy to remove later. Alternatively, you can just add them to the pot and strain the broth before serving.
• Corned beef is pretty salty, so you should rinse it well with cold water before cooking. Then you’ll add it to the Dutch oven along with some beef broth, water, and the bouquet garni.

• The meat is cooked until it is tender, then the potatoes, carrots, and onions are added. The cabbage is added after 20 minutes and everything is cooked for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender but not very limp.
• Trim any excess fat from the corned beef brisket and slice it across the grain.

• Arrange the corned beef, cabbage and vegetables on one or two serving platters and drizzle with some of the defatted broth.
• Garnish everything with some fresh chopped parsley.
• For sauces, mustard is always a favorite with corned beef. Serve it with prepared yellow mustard or honey mustard, or a combination of yellow and Dijon mustards with brown sugar or honey, to taste.

• If you like horseradish with corned beef, make a quick sauce with 1/2 cup of sour cream, 3 tablespoons of prepared horseradish, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Variation Ideas

• Use multicolored carrots rather than orange.
• Replace red-skinned potatoes with other low-starch potatoes, such as Yukon gold or round white potatoes.
• Add 2 to 3 medium parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 3-inch lengths. Add them to the pot along with the carrots.

How to Store Corned Beef and Cabbage

• Refrigerate leftover corned beef, cabbage, and vegetables in separate shallow, airtight containers within 2 hours and eat within 4 days.
• All parts of a corned beef and cabbage dinner may be frozen in airtight containers or freezer bags. Label containers with the name and date and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

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