Corned Beef and Cabbage

Main Dish Beef

"Like Italian bollito misto and French pot au feu, corned beef and cabbage is supreme comfort food—Irish in this case. (It’s also quintessential St. Patrick’s Day fare par excellence here in America) Basically, you put the ingredients in a pot and boil them until tender. There’s a little more to the preparation than that, of course, because you want to sequence cooking vegetables so they come out just tender, not boiled to ignominious mush. Another twist on the traditional recipe: buttering the broth. In the best of all worlds, you’d start with home-cured corned beef. Barring that, use an uncooked corned beef—often available in your supermarket meat department, especially around St. Patrick’s Day and Easter."

May 15, 2019

Ingredients

1 (3 to 4 pounds, uncooked) corned beef
2 bay leaves, crumbles
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon allspice berries
1 (about 2 pounds) savoy cabbage
3 large carrots, trimmed, peeled, and cut crosswise into 2-inch sections
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 pound Yukon gold or boiling potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or chives (optional
Spicy mustard, for serving

Instructions

1. Place the corned beef in a Dutch oven. If braising, preheat the oven to 300°F.

2. Tie the bay leaves, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and allspice berries in a square of cheesecloth (alternatively, wrap them in aluminum foil, then perforate the bundle with a fork). Add the spice bundle to the pot and add water to cover by a depth of 2 inches.

3. Bring the corned beef to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface with a ladle or slotted spoon. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer the corned beef, uncovered, until nearly tender, 2 hours. (Alternatively, cover the Dutch oven, place it in the preheated oven, and braise the corned beef until nearly tender, 2 hours.)

4. Remove any wilted or blemished outside leaves from the cabbage. Cut the cabbage in half through the core. Make V-shaped cuts to remove the core, then cut each cabbage half into quarters to obtain 8 wedges.

5. Add the cabbage, carrots, onions, and potatoes to the pot, and continue boiling (or braising, covered) until tender, 1 to 1 1/2hours more, or as needed. There should be enough liquid to cover the corned beef and vegetables by a depth of 1 inch; add water as needed. (If braising the corned beef and there’s too much liquid, keep the Dutch oven uncovered after adding the vegetables.)

6. To serve, remove and discard the spice bundle. Transfer the corned beef to a welled cutting board and use a sharp knife to slice it across the grain as thickly or thinly as you desire. Transfer the slices to a platter or plates, and use a slotted spoon to arrange the boiled vegetables beside the meat, leaving the cooking liquid in the pot.

7. Strain 1 1/2cups of the cooking liquid into a large heatproof bowl. Whisk in the butter until melted. Spoon this buttery sauce over the corned beef and vegetables. Dust with parsley, if using, and serve plenty of spicy mustard alongside.