Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today, everyone is a little bit Irish.
The traditional dinner in the USA used to celebrate St. Patrick's Day is corned beef and cabbage.

A couple years ago I made my own corned beef from scratch. It turned out very good with more flavor than the store bought corned beef. However, I didn't have the time to make one from scratch so I bought one from Costco. I like the one's from Costco. They don't seem as salty as the inexpensive on-sale corned beef at the local supermarket.

Cooking is simple
Put the brisket in a big pot of water and boil/simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours.

Cabbage - some people like to boil separately, but I like to add the cabbage the last 15 minutes (sooner or later for desired tenderness) into the corned beef liquid. The same with the carrots.

Potatoes - Boiled with the corned beef the first 30 minutes. Afterwards, I removed the potatoes from the liquid, cut them into cubes. Added salt, pepper and some chopped onions. Coated with olive oil and a couple pats of butter.
Finally, I roasted the potatoes in the oven 375 F for the last 30 minutes.
By roasting, I wanted some add texture to the meal instead of having a fully boiled mushy meal.

The Final Dish
Sliced corned beef, a wedge of cabbage, carrots, roasted potatoes, rustic olive bread I found at the supermarket and a dollop of horseradish to add a little kick.
Overall a simple meal to prepare where the brisket was very moist and not too salty.

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