It's March 17th! Who's cooking corned beef?

[Jenise]

I am! Any special treatments?

I am, but not until Saturday. Corned beef will be done in the oven with about 1/8 inch of water, and seasonings sprinkled on and around the meat. It is cooked in a braising pan with a tight lid, for 3 hours at 325°. I cut the fat cap off prior to serving.
Carrots, baby gold potatoes, cut in half, and cabbage are roasted on a second rack and are coated with a butter, horseradish sauce.
I make a horseradish cream sauce with sour cream, horseradish, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of sugar to serve with. I also, make a spicy mustard and brown sugar mixture, as it is my favorite. Good with a Cheddar Soda Bread, but I am not making it this year.
Up near Shasta Lake we have a provider of quality meat products, specializing in the manufacturing of delicatessen meats, sausage and specialties. I buy their Corned Beef every year as it uses mainly celery juice to process the meat. Love their coned beef.

Karen, those sauces sound like great accompaniments for corned beef!

Not cooking corned beef here but I have been thinking that I'll go to the deli today for pastrami... which is almost corned beef.


Jeff O'Grossman

Yes, doing it today. I'm working, and Betsy just back from CA last night, has a full day (visiting her mom in assisted living etc)., so no way to time traditional dutch oven style. I considered pressure cooker when I got home, but ended up with a NYTImes slow cooker recipe. Flat cut, rinsed, topped with Guiness and Riesling (Donnhoff QbA). Cook for 4 hours, add potatoes, carrots, Cook another 4 on low (adding cabbage wedges on top about 1-2 hours in). Broil meat with a mustard/honey glaze. Pretty simple, but should be ok. It's a once a year thing for me (I might grab a Rueben or straight CB sandwich once every 2 years if on highway near Bueker).

[Jenise]

My mother cooked corned beef and tongue identically: pot of boiling water, carrots and potatoes added halfway, then lastly, the cabbage. Good but, sorry mom, kind of boring.

I change things up a bit from one time to the next, but tonight it will be: Snake River Farms Wagyu (round, not brisket) with fresh mint and paprika added to the broth for extra dimension and color, carrots added about 30 minutes prior to finish followed by the cabbage about ten minutes later. Potatoes roasted separately, or in lieu of potatoes a beef-oniony bulgur wheat pilaf. Green onions are grilled and laid atop for the finish, and we pass a little jug of Maille mustard thinned with a bit of Sauternes or other late harvest sweet stickie wine. Riesling will be our dinner wine.

Rueben sandwiches over the weekend!

If I had a slow cooker I liked I'd love to try the Guinness-Donnhoff version you're doing, Dale. Sounds interesting.

Karen, it doesn't get too dry? You're a great cook so I'm guessing not.

One of the things I like about a wet-bath cook is the juicy texture and salt-reduction.

I'm making corned beef and cabbage. Made some Irish soda bread also and will have a Guinness.

Jenise, given the fat cap on top, I doubt it. But I do keep an eye out. I was able to get a smaller cut, just a bit over two pounds, I have roasted corned beef before, this is a new recipe to me, so I will see.

[Jenise]

Karen, I thought of your oven-roasted corned beef last night as I put away my leftovers which included a copious amount of incredibly delicious pot likker. Part of it will be for another round of corned beef and cabbage, more of it will be a dipping jus, like french dips, but for Rueben sandwiches, and the rest will become an insanely good vegetable soup. I'd sure miss it if I didn't have it.

Sounds good Jenise, I love making soups from the resulting pot likker. I put my uncured corned beef on a layer of sliced onion, added some home made beef stock. I had no trouble with it drying out. The beef does not come with a seasoning packet, instead pickling spices are rubbed all over the meat by the processor. It was very good, and the multi colored carrots, baby gold potatoes and cabbage were very good, as well. I will have left overs tonight, and I like your idea of a french dip. I'm sure I will have enough for a small pot of soup. I made the sour cream horseradish sauce, but still like my spricy brown mustard with brown sugar the best for the corned beef. I think I will use the sour cream sauce for a colelaw later in the week with a pot of Rio Zape beans I am going to cook. They are back in season now and I got my package of them yestereday from Rancho Gordo.

FWIW: Uncured meat is still cured meat.

By U.S. law, all corned beef and bacon and a slew of other meats must be cured. However, in the law, a curing solution is defined by only four specifically named chemicals: potassium nitrite, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate. Meats using those four chemicals are labeled "cured"; meats using other natural sources of the four nitrates and nitrites, such as celery seed or celery juice, et al. must be labeled "uncured," even though those "uncured" meats may contain higher level of nitrites than the corresponding "cured" meats. Weird, huh?

I sometimes buy uncured bacon, which always lists celery seed or juice, so I know there are still nitrites protecting me from illness or death.

Thats right.

I'm eating Nathan's Uncured Beef Franks with a label that states, "No nitrites or nitrates added." Technically correct, but a bit disingenuous since it's cured in celery juice with its nitrates.

I corned a beef a while back so that I could add it to baked beans (Cook's Illustrated suggestion). The half I had leftover I vacuum sealed and froze. I dug it out last week and cooked it in the Instant Pot. I added some potaotes and carrots for about 10 minutes then cabbage for another 10. Boy was it good. The cabbage was a little underdone but better than Mom's "not done until everything is gray".

Had the leftovers as sandwiches the other day.

The cabbage was a little underdone but better than Mom's "not done until everything is gray"..

My mother could beat your mother. Once when I flew back to PA to visit, she had made spaghetti.

"God, it tastes like mush," I said.
"I don't know why," she replied. "I only cooked it for twenty minutes."

And this was at sea level.

Noticed this thread late but am thinking of including some corned beef in the feijoada I'm doing for next week's South American wine lunch.

[Jenise]

That would be an unusual addition, Bill. Interesting.

[quote="DanS"The cabbage was a little underdone but better than Mom's "not done until everything is gray".[/quote]

Ah, yes--traditional New England Boiled Dinner. Corned beef, cabbage, , potatoes, onions, and carrots, cooked until you can't tell which is which.

-Paul W.

The cabbage was a little underdone but better than Mom's "not done until everything is gray".

Ah, yes--traditional New England Boiled Dinner. Corned beef, cabbage, , potatoes, onions, and carrots, cooked until you can't tell which is which.

-Paul W.

At my mother but not at my house! I know a little about cooking and don't have 8+ mouths to feed.