A ‘Foodie’ Corned Beef and Cabbage

The traditional St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage has its origin in America where it was first made by Irish American immigrants in the late 19th century. It is a very easy and simple recipe. You boil a corned beef brisket with a pickling spice blend, and towards the end of the cooking time you add carrots, potatoes and wedges of cabbage.

“Corned beef, or salt beef in the British Commonwealth of Nations, is salt-cured brisket of beef. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called “corns” of salt. Sometimes, sugar and spices are added to corned beef recipes.” Wikipedia

Our household is a member of American foodies who love to try new things and new ways of doing things. I had never thought to cook corned beef and cabbage any differently until Jenn’s “Roasted Corned Beef and Cabbage with Carrots, Potatoes & Horseradish Cream Sauce” arrived in my inbox from onceuponachef.com. Boiling the brisket was still my preference but roasting the carrots and potatoes was much better. And a horseradish sauce was a wonderful addition.

Even with the extra steps, this version of corned beef and cabbage is still a relatively very simple meal to make. The rye bread corned beef sandwiches with butter and cream cheese was something my godmother used to make for us for picnics at the beach. It seemed like it might be fun to put the two recipes together. It was a hit.

If you can find really good, freshly baked rye bread, it’s fabulous.

Corned Beef Brisket and Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1 3 – 4 pound corned beef brisket with seasoning (Find a brisket that has been marinating in the brine with the seasonings, rather than a separate seasoning packet that you open and add when you are cooking it. It turns out very different when it hasn’t been marinating in the seasonings.)
• 2 bunches of small carrots with tops
• 1 1/2 pounds (7 to 8) small waxy potatoes
• 1 green cabbage
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce (recipe below)
• sliced fresh rye bread (Wegman’s Round Caraway Rye is great)
• butter
• cream cheese

Instructions

Brisket:
Boil the brisket according to the directions on the package. Plan on about 3 1/2 hours. When it’s done, transfer it to a cutting board and trim off as much of the fat as you can. Slice and place in a casserole and cover with foil and place in the oven to keep warm.

Carrots and Potatoes:
Trim the tops of the carrots until they are about 2″ long. Wash and peel the carrots. Wash the potatoes and cut in half. Place the carrots and potatoes on a baking sheet. Melt the butter and drizzle it over the carrots and potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub the vegetables until they are all coated. Bake in a 325° oven for 1 hour. Keep warm.

Heat the bread in foil until warm.

Cabbage:
Tear the cabbage into 1 1/2 – 2″ pieces. Heat a large skillet to medium high. When it’s hot, add the 1 tablespoon of oil. Lay the pieces in the skillet. Let cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes. There should be some charred pieces. Flip the pieces over and sprinkle with a small amount of salt and cook another 2 minutes. Do as many batches of them as you need for the number of people you are serving. If you have two ovens, you can also roast the cabbage (recipe).

Serve the meat with the Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce. Or you can make corned beef sandwiches with butter and cream cheese and/or Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce.

Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce

Most stores carry only horseradish mixed with a lot of other ingredients. Look at the label. You want just plain horseradish.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces sour cream
• 2 tablespoons Gold’s Prepared Horseradish (You can find this in the refrigerator section at Whole Foods.)
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.