basics365: Corned Beef Dinner

March 16, 20141 Comment

Top of the morning to you!  And the rest of the day to ye!

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with an easy and delicious corned beef dinner. 

If you can boil water, you can cook corned beef!  Corned beef is corned, preserved, and seasoned with salt, spices, and herbs.  To make a hearty, one-pot holiday dinner, simmer the beef on the stove-top for 2-3 hours or in the slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.  Add the vegetables during the last hour of cooking, and then you have a complete dinner from one pot!

Sharon’s Annual Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner
In honor of my Irish great grandmother, Maud Josephine Farrell.

• 2-4 pounds Corned Beef (I buy high-quality pre-seasoned corned beef like Wellshire)
• 1 large Green Cabbage, washed and quartered
• 2-3 pounds Small Red Potatoes, washed
• 4-6 large Carrots, washed, peeled, and cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 Turnips, washed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 bunch Flat Leaf Parsley

1. Cover corned beef in two inches of cold water, and heat until bubbling.  Turn heat down, and cook at a simmer for 2-3 hours (based on weight), turning the beef every 30 minutes, or, put into slow-cooker, and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low  for 4-6 hours.

2.  During the last hour of cooking, add the turnips, carrots, and red potatoes to the pot.  During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the cabbage (place carefully so that the quarters stay together, or spear them with a wooden skewer to hold them together).

3.  When all vegetables are cooked through, remove the beef from the broth* and slice against the grain as thin or thick as desired.

4.  Serve the sliced corned beef and vegetables on a platter, garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

*the corned beef broth can be strained and frozen for later use in soups, stews, or sauces.  

Serve with:

• Whole Grain Mustard
• Horseradish Cream:  whip 8 oz. of heavy cream, stir in 2-4 tablespoons horseradish to taste.
• Rye bread or a hearty country loaf

And the very best part of corned beef dinner…. is having corned beef hash or corned beef sandwiches the following day for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Have a delicious week!