Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned Beef and Cabbage ~ the quintessential and iconic St. Patrick’s Day dish of corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, is there anything better?

This might be one of the very first holiday dishes I ever learned to make. It was simple.  Grab the biggest pot, fill it with water, throw everything in, eat in a few hours. Or at least this is the way I remember it in my head.  The corned beef was always perfect and the cabbage was always translucent and soggy.

It wasn’t until I was on my own and began making this for my own holiday celebrations that I learned how to actually make it properly. I gave my Grandmother a call and she walked me through how she makes it.  No more soggy cabbage and still perfect meat.  Turns out, just like with all cooking, it’s about the timing.

Not everything gets dumped in the pot at the start.  There is a rhyme and reason to it all.

When you first start to boil the meat, you have to remove the film (or scum as my grandma calls it), once that is gone, add the spices and let it cook, then the onion will get tossed in, then the potatoes and carrots with the cabbage getting its steam bath at the very end. All and all, this is a super easy recipe and yields the best flavor.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Author: Michelle

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Ingredients

• 1-3 lb pkg flat-cut corned beef plus seasoning packet
• 1 head green cabbage; quartered
• 1 onion
• 10-15 small red potatoes
• 2 lbs carrots (baby or whole-diced)
• 1 bay leaf

Instructions

1. Remove corned beef and spice packet from package, and clean, removing excess liquid from meat.
2. Place corned beef in a dutch oven or other large pot, fill with water.
3. Bring to a boil, using a kitchen tablespoon, remove the foaming film that rises to the surface. Do this until there is no more film, usually about three times.
4. Once the film is gone, add the spice packet and bay leaf and continue to cook at a low boil for 2 hours.
5. After two hours, add the onion and continue to cook at a low boil for an additional hour.
6. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 30 more minutes.
7. The last 5 minutes of the carrot/potato cooking time, add the cabbage.
8. Once the cabbage has cooked, remove it from the water, it should still be crisp but tender.
9. Remove corned beef and allow it to rest for a few minutes then slice across the grain.
10. Serve and Enjoy.

Thank you for sharing!