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St. Patrick's Day: Corned Beef and Cabbage

Source of Recipe

From "Martha's American Food" by Martha Stewart


Recipe Introduction

"There's no need to relegate this hearty dish to a once-a-year Saint Patrick's Day dinner. The medley of tender meat and warm vegetables is the perfect meal for a cold-weather weekend. It's also inexpensive to make, a fact that made it immensely popular with Irish immigrants during the nineteenth century. Corned beef and cabbage isn't unique, though; it's closely related to the New England boiled dinner, which is sometimes made with ham, as well as the Italian bollito misto and the French pot-au-feu. The recipe here includes instructions for brining your own brisket (which takes about two weeks, so plan ahead), but you can also buy corned beef from any butcher. I have loved the tradition of corned beef and cabbage since I was a girl. Here it is supplemented with turnips, carrots, and boiled potatoes. I always serve it with a loaf of freshly baked Irish soda bread."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 quarts water
â—¦ 1 cup coarse salt
â—¦ 1 tablespoon pink curing salt (sodium nitrite)
â—¦ ½ cup sugar
â—¦ 8 whole cloves
â—¦ 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
â—¦ 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, crushed
â—¦ 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
â—¦ 1 cinnamon stick, crushed
â—¦ 4 dried bay leaves, crushed
â—¦ 5 pounds flat-cut beef brisket
â—¦ 1 onion, halved
â—¦ 1 celery stalk, halved
â—¦ 1 carrot, peeled and halved
â—¦ 1 pound baby turnips, peeled and trimmed
â—¦ 1 pound cabbage, cored and cut into 8 wedges
â—¦ 1 pound small red potatoes
â—¦ Djon mustard, for serving


Recipe

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add salts, sugar, spices, and bay leaves; remove from heat. Stir until salts and sugar dissolve. Let cool. Place brisket in a nonreactive container just large enough to hold it. Pour brine over meat. Place two small plates on top to keep meat submerged; cover and refrigerate 2 weeks.

Rinse brisket; discard brine. Place in a large pot; add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Add onion, celery, and halved carrot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is very tender, 3 to 3 ½ hours. Meanwhile, set a steamer basket (or a colander) in a large saucepan filled with 2 inches of water; bring to a boil. Add baby turnips. Reduce heat, cover, and steam until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with baby carrots, steaming 10 to 12 minutes. Add to turnips.

Transfer beef to a cutting board. Tent with foil; let rest 30 minutes. Pass broth through a fine sieve into a saucepan (discard solids); bring to a boil. Add cabbage and potatoes; simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Add turnips and carrots; cook until warmed. Transfer vegetables to a platter; reserve broth. Trim excess fat from beef. Slice thinly against grain and transfer to a platter. Serve with broth and mustard.

Serves 8