For those of us who weren’t born Irish-American or raised on Saturday night boiled dinners, the appeal of a corned beef and cabbage dinner on St. Patrick’s Day is truly mystifying. I’ve heard many non-Irish-Americans say it just looks gross, or that everything tastes too salty, or that the vegetables come out slimy or the meat is stringy, tasteless, and rubbery. And the above is indeed true – if your corned beef and cabbage dinner is not cooked properly!
You can’t just throw all the ingredients into a cooking pot and boil it death (although that was the go-to cooking method of my Irish relatives – “take a boil out of it”). Creating the perfect corned beef and cabbage platter starts with the cooking method you choose.
As with all cheap cuts of meat, corned beef must be cooked slowly for a long period of time to tenderize it and leach away the salt. Some cooks choose to use a Crock-Pot/slow cooker to achieve this, but the end result is often a spongy, soggy meat heap. Others prefer to bake it in a low oven, but it often dries out and becomes tough as old boots. The perfectly-cooked authentic corned beef can only be achieved by double-boiling it.
Taking the First Boil Out of It
Corned beef is a 3-5 lbs. fatty brisket that’s been brined with salt and pickling spices. Keep your hot water running in your sink while you prep the meat (it’s messy), to prevent clogging up your drain, and keep a large bowl nearby to collect all the discards and a dish towel to wipe your hands. Place a colander in your sink, then carefully slice open the plastic packaging and empty the meat into the colander and thoroughly rinse off all the liquid. Discard the cheap-o packet of pickling spices (they’re stale) – you’ll be adding your own homemade mix [see sidebar].
With a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut/scrape away and discard the top layer of fat, then rinse the meat again with hot water to get rid of any remaining bits of fat. Put the meat in a large covered pot or Dutch oven, cover it completely with cold water and a optional bottle of Killian’s Red Irish ale, add your prepared spices, and bring it to a full boil. Reduce the heat and simmer it, partially covered, on medium heat for about three hours.
Check the pot frequently while you prep your vegetables to make sure that it doesn’t boil over or run out of liquid. Add a bit more water, if need be, to keep the meat submerged and simmering. Poke the meat occasionally with a long fork, to release more salt and interior fat (and to keep it from stubbornly floating to the top), and skim off and discard any grease that rises. The whole corned beef will shrink noticeably as it slowly simmers, so don’t get impatient and turn the heat up and boil it to death to the point where the meat starts to separate into strings. There’s no way to make authentic corned beef in a hurry.
The Second Boiling: The Secret to Making Perfect Corned Beef
Time for the second boiling, which takes about an hour more, with or without the veggies [see below]. Again, keep that hot water running – pour the corned beef back into the colander in your sink to drain, spray down the inside of the cooking pot, and return the meat to the pot. (Spray down your colander, too.) Cover the corned beef again with clean water, add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard and a clean bay leaf, and bring to a second boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for about an hour, checking frequently as before.
Reserve two cups of this second-boil liquid for the “gravy” [see sidebar], then drain the finished corned beef in the colander and discard the bay leaf. (If this is your first time making corned beef, don’t freak out that the meat is bright red – the color is a result of the corning process, not under-cooking.) Move it onto a washable plastic cutting board, let it set and cool for 15 minutes, then slice it crosswise against the grain – don’t just hack off stringy chunks lengthwise. Arrange the slices on a serving platter and cover with foil until you’re ready to eat.
To Boil or Not to Boil Your Vegetables
Traditionally, a corned beef and cabbage dinner (or a Saturday boiled dinner) includes dense winter vegetables – carrots, turnips, potatoes, cabbage, and onions. These should all be peeled and/or cored, then cut into serving-size pieces – no whole potatoes or giant chunks of uncored cabbage need apply.
If you’re going to boil your vegetables with the corned beef during the second boiling, then add them as described below. Not all vegetables boil to doneness at the same rate, so it’s important that you add them to the simmering second pot of water in stages. Carrots take the longest to reach fork-tender because they’re the densest (add them first, 15-20 minutes after the second water reaches a boil), then the turnip and potatoes a few minutes later, then the onions. Carefully lay the cored sections of cabbage atop everything, cover the pot, and continue to simmer until the cabbage is steamed fork-tender. Remove the pot from the heat.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the cabbage quarters first to drain thoroughly in the colander, then place them on a separate serving platter. Do the same with the potatoes, carrots, turnips, and onions – try to arrange each vegetable separately on the platter instead of all in a jumble. You can keep everything on the platter warm and covered in aluminum foil in a preheated 200 degree oven. Tilt the vegetable platter carefully over the sink to drain off any excess water before you bring it to the table.
In other words, don’t just dump all the vegetables into the pot at the same time – you’ll end up with half-cooked carrots and mushy onions and cabbage. Think about clambakes – you always put the onions on the top layer so that you know when everything underneath is “done,” right? It’s the same with boiled dinners, whether corned beef or ham.
Better Yet, Roast Your Vegetables!
Even some of the biggest fans of corned beef dinners don’t like their veggies boiled – so oven-roast them instead! You’ll end up with a colorful platter of crisp, savory vegetables to make your boiled corned beef proud. You’ll still double-boil your corned beef as above, but you won’t have to deal with draining soggy vegetables. Even better, roasting your veggies is a time-saver – they can be prepped and roasted while the corned beef boils.
You’ll use the same root vegetables that would have boiled in the cooking pot – potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions – but you’ll be able to make a few upgrades, swaps, and additions if you roast instead. Use scrubbed but unpeeled quarters of red potatoes in place of peeled white boiling potatoes. Instead of chunks of ordinary carrots, you can splurge on those multi-colored small carrots, scrubbed, unpeeled and whole, and even add some parsnips. If you’re not a fan of traditional green cabbage, substitute trimmed Brussels sprouts. Instead of quartered yellow onions, use 4” white pieces of leeks, sliced in half lengthwise.
You can also add square chunks of butternut squash, which would get hopelessly mushy if boiled. And if you like beets (which would turn your cooking pot water and boiled potatoes pink), you can peel, quarter, and oven-roast them! The trick is to cut all the roasting veggies to the same size (a bit larger than bite-size), so that they’ll all roast to the same “doneness” at the same time – soft on the inside and browned/crispy on the outside.
In a large mixing bowl, toss all the cut pieces in a few swirls of olive oil, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and a scant spoonful of your chosen seasoning – crushed rosemary, ground caraway, minced garlic, or paprika. Make sure every piece is evenly coated. Spread everything in a single layer on a rimmed non-stick cookie sheet, and roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, stirring/flipping pieces halfway through. Fork-test for doneness.
Slainte! Go raibh maith agat!
A Final Touch
Even with double-boiling, there’s still some fat in a St. Patrick’s Day banquet – so you won’t need to add any butter atop your veggies. But you may want to make a savory “gravy” with the reserved second-boiling liquid. Make a classic roux with butter and flour in a saucepan, gradually whisk in the reserved liquid until it starts to thicken, then stir in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard or a teaspoon of prepared horseradish. Keep warm and drizzle over the sliced corned beef.
The Spices of St. Patrick’s Day
Herbs and spices contain volatile oils that go stale and flat very quickly. Never use the packet of pickling spices that come in corned beef packages – they’re tasteless and wholly inadequate to the task. Even the very expensive jars of pickling-spice mixes at the supermarket are stale!
So instead make your own fresh mix, wrap it in a tied cheese-cloth pouch, then discard it after the first boiling. You want your mix to flavor the water and meat, not cloud it up, so crush the ingredients roughly (use the flat side of a knife), don’t pound them into dust! Here’s what you need for a 3-5 lb. corned beef pot. Make it ahead of time and store it in a sealed container in your refrigerator:
2 Tbsp. black peppercorns
3 Tbsp. mustard seeds
2 Tbsp. coriander seeds
Crush the above, then “toast” them in a frying pan for 3 minutes until fragrant. Let cool, then add:
2 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 Tbsp. ground mace
2 med. cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
4 med. bay leaves, crumbled
2 Tbsp. whole cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
Colcannon: A Bit of Green
If you feel there’s not enough dark green on your St. Patrick’s Day table, make the Irish classic winter dish, colcannon, a potato-and-kale mash! Use a few of those boiled potatoes and mash them with chopped kale (microwave a frozen box), add chopped scallions or some of the boiled onions. If you don’t like kale, use some of the boiled cabbage, minced. Salt and pepper to taste.
Morning Glory: Corned Beef Hash
One of the best things about a St. Patrick’s Day dinner is the leftovers. After they’ve cooled overnight in your refrigerator, cut leftover potatoes into small cubes, dice up slices of any corned beef that didn’t end up in midnight sandwiches, and chop up a bit of the cabbage and onions. Sautée in a few swirls of olive oil in a skillet until browned, salt and pepper to taste, and top each serving portion with a poached egg.
