Is Corned Beef and Cabbage really Irish? For that I went to the Smithsonian Institute documentation and found out that:
“Corned beef was used as a substitute for bacon or lamb by Irish-American immigrants in the late 19th century. Corned beef and cabbage is the Irish-American variant of the Irish dish of bacon and cabbage.”
But the real question shouldn’t be “Is it Irish?” but rather, “Why are we only eating this delicious meal once a year?” This year, I baked instead of boiled the beef for the first time and added a delectable brown sugar and mustard glaze. While there is a trade-off–boiling makes the corned beef tender while baking it adds more flavor–I am now sticking with the baked method. The flavor is just so much better! I remedied the toughness of the corned beef by cutting it in very, very thin slices. If you do that, you won’t even notice the toughness. I found a wonderfully simple glaze that I brushed over the corned beef about 2 hours into the cooking process, and continued every 15 minutes until it was done. I saved some glaze and spooned it over the sliced on the serving platter. Delightful! The more corned beef and cabbage we eat, the more Irish eyes will be smiling!
Watch my HOW TO video here!
| Servings |
- 2 1/2 to 3 pound corned beef brisket with spice packet (I used a lean flat cut center piece)
- 8 small red potatoes
- 4 medium-large carrots, peeled and cut in half
- 1 large green cabbage, cut in quarters
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup Dijon or brown mustard
Ingredients For the Corned Beef:
For the Glaze:
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- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove meat from package and place on a rack in a foil lined pan, fat side up. Sprinkle spice packet over corned beef. Place the pan in the oven, and add about 1/2 to 1 inch of water to bottom of pan. (water level should be just below the rack.) Cover the pan with foil. Bake about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
- In a sauce pan, combine the brown sugar and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. After about 5 minutes, stir in mustard. Continue simmering another 2-3 minutes and set aside. (Reserve 1/4 cup of glaze for platter.)
- In a large pot with add red potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Add enough water to steam vegetables. Cook until tender. Keep covered until ready to serve.
- After 2 hours of cooking corned beef, uncover and brush glaze over top. Continue to cook the beef until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, re-glazing every 15 minutes or so. When done, remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Always slice meat across the grain. Arrange corned beef and vegetables on platter. Brush sliced corned beef with reserved glaze.
