Corned Beef & Cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day! (Slow cooker recipe with Guinness & whiskey)

Catholic Exchange ^ | March 16, 2012 | CHEF ANGELO

[NYer]

(St. Patrick’s Day – March 17^th)

There’s something very symbolic about Corned Beef & Cabbage. It’s closely associated with Irish tradition but, more specifically, to poor Irish immigrants who couldn’t afford better cuts of meat. This meal is celebratory, simple and sparse—the perfect Lenten meal. Its a delicious respite to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! Generally speaking, dioceses with large Irish populations will often waive the Lenten Friday meat abstinence rules if St. Patrick’s day falls on a Friday so be sure to take advantage of this great recipe.

There are several problems with cooking Corned Beef. First, it’s a cheap cut of meat and therefore tough and this requires a long, slow cooking time at low heat. Second, this long, slow cooking time often leaves the meat dry and unappetizing. The best way to cook it is to plan ahead and use a slow cooker.

Don’t worry about the alcohol in this recipe—the heat will dissipate it so this recipe is family-friendly! I prefer to open a can of Guinness and leave it out on the counter overnight. If you don’t have time for this, simply pour it in a bowl and whisk it for a few minutes before pouring it into the cooker.

Ingredients

• 1 large can of flat Guinness beer (or any pilsner will do, the cheaper the better)
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 1 shot of Irish whiskey
• 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of Tabasco Sauce (optional)
• 12 red potatoes, roughly cut
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 4 cups water
• 5 pounds of corned beef

Directions

1. Line the bottom of the slow cooker with the potatoes, onion, garlic and carrots.
2. Add the beer, whiskey, water and spices (including the Tabasco Sauce if you chose to use it)
3. Place the corned beef on the bed of vegetables.
4. Add the cabbage.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Set the cooker on high and cook for 8-9 hours until fork tender.

[NYer]

There are several problems with cooking Corned Beef. First, it’s a cheap cut of meat ...

Not in our local supermarkets! Some offered special deals of $1.29/lb but, depending on the brand and cut, prices soared as high as $3.69/lb. Not exactly cheap for a hunk of meat that needs to be cooked for so many hours. Seems every enterprising store uses St. Patrick's day to cash in on a once a year event. Enjoy!

[Vanders9]

God almighty.

[PGR88]

It’s 5:30 on Friday. I think I’ll go have a Guinness right now.

thx for the reminder

[Rider on the Rain]

Very well then. I’ll have a Irish Whiskey.

[JimSEA]

Sounds like a great supper. Since we like turnips, we often cook them in with the corned beef.

[mimaw]

Stores around me sell it all year round. The full price isn’t much more than good ground beef or chicken.

[mimaw]

I’m going to try your recipe tomorrrow. Sounds great.

[kevinm13]

Faith and begorrah!. Sounds sinfully delicious on St. Paddy’s Day and any other day.

[DooDahhhh]

I do not want you 2 drinking alone, so I poured up a bourbon to join you!

[DooDahhhh]

I do not want you 2 drinking alone, so I poured up a bourbon to join you!

[nuconvert]

Why do people ruin corned beef?

[sheana]

Ping for tomorrow. Thanks!

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Corned Beef Recipe:

1. Drive to Langers

2. Order and eat the best corned beef on rye imaginable

3. Go home and celebrate with a bottle or can of Guinness, and a shot of Irish whiskey.

(Sorry, but this is only available to those within driving distance of downtown Los Angeles.)

[Cyber Liberty]

You know why there are so few Irish lawyers? Because it’s so hard to pass the Bar.

[Stevenc131]

An Irish lady at my previous workplace used to bring in two big pots of homemade lamb stew and both brown and white soda bread, again homemade. Incidentally, if you’re eating sweet bread with raisins etc, it’s not real soda bread, at least according to that particular Irish lady. I really miss the stew and soda bread.

[SueRae]

Tullamore Dew was on sale here in Pa. this week. :-)
A toast to my FReeper community.

[entropy12]

There are two food items I really miss from Chicago environs. First is the Italian beef sandwiches au jus with cooked sweet peppers and hot chilies served on a hoagy bun at Portillo’s, and 2nd is thinly sliced corned beef piled high on rye bread in any good Jewish deli. I have not found any thing comparable and delicious west of Mississippi.

[Heart-Rest]

and 2nd is thinly sliced corned beef piled high on rye bread in any good Jewish deli. I have not found any thing comparable and delicious west of Mississippi.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

That reminds me of how much I miss the Philly Jewish deli sandwich called a "Corned Beef Special", which is "thinly sliced (shaved) corned beef piled high on rye bread" with cole slaw right in the sandwich, as well as Russian dressing (the kind that's sort of like "Thousand Island" dressing) also right on the sandwich.

Nothing like that where we live now.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

A few comments and notes.

The typical packaged corned beef you can get at Kroger really isn’t too bad, and about 3-4 hours in a slow simmer will give you reasonably good results with just the meat. Importantly, there are several different corned beef cuts that vary considerably in cutting texture, but they taste the same.

A good and proper way to eat corned beef is with Irish Horseradish sauce or Irish Mustard:

Horseradish Sauce:
1/2 pint whipping cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2-4 tablespoons prepared horseradish
(Whip cream until it stand in peaks. Fold in mayonnaise and horseradish.)

The best bet with Irish mustard is that unless you want to spend a lot of time experimenting, it is better buy it off the shelf. Go for a course dark mustard, night and day different from the ordinary yellow stuff.

I wouldn’t throw in the vegetables with the corned beef as by the time the corned beef is properly tender, they will be mush. It is much better to cook them separately in a pressure cooker. It preserves the flavor and they have a better consistency. Then slather them with butter, and have some sour cream standing by for the red potatoes.

As far as adult beverages, it’s good to plan drinks around the dinner, be it Guinness, ale, Bailey’s, Irish coffee, whiskey, Crème de menthe, and Irish bitters.