A neighbor gave us a beautiful head of cabbage. I thought of making corned beef and cabbage. I bought a beef brisket (never even looked at one before). I put the brisket in a crock pot with chopped cabbage and some carrots. Cooked all day on low.
I trimmed the fat off the finished meat and shredded the brisket. Served it with mashed potatoes (made with butter, sour cream, and horseradish).
It wasn’t bad, but the meat was very bland. Any hints/tips? The meat came with a seasoning packet that I used, but it was still very bland. The cabbage and carrots were great!
Beef Brisket does not equal Corned Beef. You need to buy something labeled Corned Beef instead, which is a brisket covered in salt and other seasonings and allowed to age for a while.
So what you really had was brisket and cabbage. It would have probably been good had you added a bit more seasoning, but it still wouldn’t be corned beef.
Did you buy a corned beef or a plain brisket? It’s a little unclear from your op. If it wasn’t corned and you didn’t do it yourself ( which can be a little tricky I understand - hard not to get it too salty ), I’d suggest that was the issue ;).
The corned beef thing is more an American invention to make up for lack of good bacon back in the day. It was reimported to ireland tosome extent but mostly Irish people if they are doing the cabbage thing have bacon.
I had it yesterday when I made my weekly trip home to get my Da drunk and eat a nice Sunday dinner made by my Ma
A friend of mine is Irish, and plays in a band (punk sorta, not celtic). Anyway, around St Patrick’s Day he always performs (what he calls) The Irish National Anthem. He holds his Guinness aloft and sings:
And then we down our beers. Amazingly, he never gets any grief over the song.
You might try just braised or steamed cabbage next time. Cabbage is amazingly yummy, I only discovered this a few years back.
We usually cut ours into wedges and put it into a saucepan with a little water (a half-inch or so in the bottom of the pan). Cook it for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle a little soy sauce on top before eating.
We also often do a boil-up with smoked sausage, potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage. That’s really tasty.
It’s actually super easy to make corned beef - just cover the brisket with a mix of salt and various spices, wrap in plastic, throw in the fridge for 5 days, flipping every day or so. You rinse the salt off before you cook it, so I’ve never had problems with over-salting.
I’d also recommend NOT rinsing the corned beef before cooking, I did that last time I made one and it came out very non-salty to my taste. But that might be too salty for you, so YMMV. (My mom never did, so I’m used to pretty flavorful beef with this)
Invite me over - AFTER you have finished cooking it.
Nothing stinks more than cabbage when cooking it - when my mother would make this, it was a sure way to get me out of the house for a few hours!
Tastes great, once the odors disappear from kitchen…
My favorite corned beef recipe is the New England Boiled Dinner, which is actually simmered. I add the onion when I add the beef, and I add the rest of the veggies (other than the cabbage) about an hour before I think the beef will be done. I add the cabbage about 15-30 minutes before everything else is done. If you cook the cabbage too long, it WILL dissolve right into the liquid. The broth that’s left behind is quite flavorful, and I have sometimes saved it to boil up more potatoes in. DON’T add more seasoning, the broth will be pretty salty and otherwise seasoned.
