Corned Beef And Cabbage By Annie Copps

Sure it's a Saint Patrick's Day tradition, but why wait for the beer to turn green to have corned beef and cabbage? And have I got a great recipe for you.

You can buy a piece of beef at the market which has been corned for you, but have looksee at the label—if you can pronounce all the ingredients without sounding like Colin Firth in The Kings Speech, I'll wash your car. Fear not, all "corning" is, is a week long salt and herb spice for beef.

Combine water, salt, sugar, coriander and mustard seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, red pepper flakes, and garlic—then submerge a 6 pound beef brisket for refrigerate it for a week. Then simmer it with some onions and carrots for a few hours and you, my friends, have yourself a delicious homemade corned beef.

To accompany it, instead of boiled cabbage, how about a platter of roasted vegetables—such as cabbage, of course, carrots, turnips, potatoes, and beets. Oh and I am not very good at washing cars, you should see my own.

Yield: 10 servings

For the brine
1 gallon water
11/2 cups kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
4 dried bay leaves, crushed
8 stems thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 cloves garlic, crushed
5 to 6 pound "flat cut" beef brisket

In a large pot, stir together salt and water until salt dissolves. Stir in sugar, coriander, mustard, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, pepper flakes, and garlic. Add beef and submerge. Place a small plate on top of the beef to keep it underwater.

Cover pot and refrigerate 7 days.

For the corned beef
1 medium onion, halved
1 medium celery stalk, halved
1 medium carrot, peeled, halved
1 medium head cabbage, cut into 8 wedges, core intact so leaves don't fall off
1 pound baby carrots
3 or 4 turnips, peeled and quartered
½ pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
About ¼ cup olive oil
kosher or sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Dijon mustard, for serving

Directions
Rinse brisket; discard brine. Place in a large pot. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Add onion, celery, and halved carrot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until very tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

Transfer corned beef to a cutting board. Tent with foil, and let rest for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
v Discard remaining solids from broth and strain. Discard all but ½ cup of broth.

In a large bowl, add cabbage and drizzle with olive oil to lightly coat.

Arrange in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and place in oven. Add carrots and potatoes to the bowl, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Arrange in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and place in oven. Add Brussels sprouts to the bowl, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Arrange in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and place in oven. Add potatoes to the bowl, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Arrange in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and place in oven.

Turn vegetables every 15 minutes or so until well-browned.

Remove to a platter once they are cooked and tent with foil.

Trim excess fat from beef. Slice thinly against grain, and transfer to platter. Serve with broth and mustard.

(Courtesy: Yankee Magazine)

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Annie B. Copps is a senior editor at Yankee Magazine. Annie oversees the magazine's food coverage, both as an editor and as a contributor of feature stories and columns.

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