Recipe courtesy of BostonSidewalks.com
Ingredients
  • 1 corned beef brisket
  • spice packet that comes with the corned beef
  • Note - If there is no spice packet, not to worry. Either use some pickling spice from the spice aisle at the grocery store or just toss in a bay leaf, some mustard seeds, coriander seeds, pepper corns and optionally a couple of cloves. About 1-2 tablespoons total.
  • 1 can beer (optional but it smells really good when it is cooking!)
  • potatoes (use red, white or Yukon gold here, not russet)
  • turnips, rutabagas or parsnips (optional)
  • carrots
  • onions
  • 1 head cabbage, outer leaves removed
  • Note - All the ingredients are given without consideration to the amount of each. This is because it does not really affect the cooking time if I am cooking a 4 lb corned beef or a 6 lb corned beef. For the vegetables it is the same thing. You want to determine how many people you will be feeding and then just figure how many potatoes, onions and carrots each person will want. Approximately of course! And usually you will do only one head of cabbage that will be cut into wedges and then separate the leaves once it is cooked, but you can obviously cook more if you want.
Instructions
1.  Rinse the corned beef.
2.  Add it to a large dutch oven fat side up. Enameled cast iron, like Le Crueset, works very well here.
3.  Cover it with water by about 1 inch.
4.  Bring it just to a boil, reduce the heat, cover it partially and let it cook for 15 minutes.
5.  After 15 minutes, skim the foam off the top of the water.
6.  Add the spices to the Pot. I use a tea strainer to keep the seeds from getting all mixed up with everything. You can also just wrap them in a piece of cheesecloth or just toss them into the water not wrapped at all. They certainly won't hurt anything.
7.  Bring the water to a simmer, cover the pot and cook the corned beef for about 2 1/2 hours, checking the pot occasionally to make sure it is just at a low boil.
8.  About 10 minutes before the corned beef is done, if I am using whole onions I will put them in the pot with the corned beef for those last 10 minutes. Also at this time, preheat the oven to 200° F.
9.  Remove the corned beef and put it in a 9" x 13" casserole dish and cover with foil. Place it in the preheated oven while the vegetables are cooking. At this point, if you are going to be saving some of the corned beef for later, you can cut that piece off and put it on a plate and cover it loosely with foil until it cools. Then wrap it in foil and store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for several months.
10.  Depending on how you like your vegetables, you can use small or large pieces and adjust your cooking time accordingly. I like to use smaller potatoes and leave them whole but if they are larger I will cut them in half. For carrots and turnips I cut them in 1" pieces. For onions I like to leave them whole and add them about 10 minutes before the potatoes and carrots. For the cabbage I like to quarter it and cook it that way and then before serving either cut it in chucks or just pull the leaves apart so everyone can get a little or a lot.
11.  After removing the corned beef, add the potatoes, onions, carrots and root vegetables to the liquid and cook for 10 minutes. The onion has already been in the broth cooking for about 10 minutes at this point.
12.  Cut the cabbage into wedges and remove the solid core. Add it to the pot and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked to your liking. I tend to prefer some bite to the vegetables rather than having them be too soft but everyone has their preferences. And there will be long discussions (over beer of course) as to whether the cabbage should be lightly cooked so it still has a little crunch to it or cooked until it melts in your mouth like butter.
13.  Remove the vegetables to a sheet pan or other wide platter to let them cool a little bit and stop the cooking process.
14.  Remove the meat from the oven and slice it across in thin slices and arrange the slices on a platter. Place the vegetables around the meat and serve.
Summary
Although it takes a while to cook, this really is an easy dish to make. And you can peel and chop the vegetables ahead of time so you're not doing that at the last minute.
Serve this with your favorite mustard, a nice cold beer and some Irish music and have a great day!
Make It Mine
  • If you want to simplify this recipe even more, prep your vegetables, place them on a sheet pan, drizzle them with a little olive oil and roast them in the oven at 375° F during the last 30 minutes of cooking the corned beef. If you do that, add the cabbage in with the corned beef about 10 minutes before the roast is done and then remove the corned beef to a cutting board and cover it loosely with foil and let the corned beef rest for 10 minutes before carving. If you time it right it will all come out at the same time and it will be a great show.