The Recipe Box – Recipe 3.0: Beer Braised Corned Beef with Cabbage, Carrots, & Potatoes

Serves

6 People

Prep Time

20 min

Cook time

4 hours

In this recipe, the Corned Beef is cooked separately from the vegetables. That way the veggies don’t get overcooked, and they don’t absorb too much of the flavor from the cooking liquid. There’s one more pot to clean, but you end up with better tasting veggies. Worthwhile trade off! Here the Corned Beef is started on the stovetop, then finished in the oven, but you can use a slow cooker, if you’d like. Remember, packaged Corned Beef weights vary, as do oven and slow cooker temps, so allow yourself some leeway on promising when dinner will be served. This isn’t a perfect science!

Before you start you’ll need:

• 2 wide diameter pots (at least 10” W x 5” D)
• 1 large cutting board
• 1 large platter or 2 medium platters

Ingredients:

For the Corned Beef:

• 1 (3 to 3 ½ pound) packaged Corned Beef, rinsed well and patted dry (reserve pickling spice packet)
• 2 (12 oz) bottles of your favorite beer (note: light beer will not impart a lot of flavor)
• Pickling spice packet
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 5-6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and smashed

For the vegetables:

• 1 head green cabbage, outer leaves removed, cut into approximately 8 wedges (keep core intact)
• 14-5 carrots, rinsed and cut into 1 inch pieces (if carrots are skinny, cut longer pieces)
• 11 pound red potatoes, rinsed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 11 tbsp vegetable oil (or bacon grease)
• 1 chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Serving suggestion

Prepared horseradish and whole grain mustard

Directions:

For the Corned Beef

1. Put rack in middle of oven and preheat to 300F. Add beer, pickling spices, brown sugar, onion and garlic to one of the pots. Stir to combine, then submerge Corned Beef into liquid (fat side up).
2. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop with the pot uncovered. (Reduce heat if beer starts to bubble up too high.) Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Braise for 2 hours, then carefully turn meat over. Braise another 2-3 hours or so, or until you can cut the meat easily with a knife. When done, transfer pot to stovetop and ladle 2 cups of the braising liquid into a glass measuring cup or glass bowl. Place lid back on to keep meat warm while cooking the vegetables.

For the vegetables

In the other pot, heat 1 tbsp oil or bacon grease to medium high. Add cabbage wedges and cook until browned on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side. Add the carrots, potatoes, and reserved liquid. Bring to a simmer and cover. Turn heat to low and cook for 10-15 minutes. Using a large slotted spoon, carefully transfer cabbage wedges to a large serving platter, and cover with tinfoil. Continue to cook carrots and potatoes another 5-10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and arrange on platter next to the cabbage wedges. Keep veggies covered while slicing the meat.

To serve

Re-heat the Corned Beef and sauce for about 3-5 minutes on medium high heat. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and slice against the grain. Arrange on the platter with the veggies and ladle sauce generously over all. Serve with prepared horseradish and whole grain mustard on the side.