The Lexingtonienne

March15th

17 Comments

With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up this week, I’ve been thinking back on the trip Mike and I took to Ireland in 2005.

Ireland

Ireland is beautiful and green, and it looks a lot like Kentucky.

Ireland

We went with Mike’s parents, and the four of us had such fun touring Dublin, exploring crumbling castles, and imbibing our share of Jameson’s and Guinness.

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We also ate lots of potatoes.

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Like, LOTS of potatoes.

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Fried potatoes. Boiled potatoes. Mashed potatoes. Roasted potatoes. At one point I was even served three different kinds of potatoes all in the same meal. I have never in all my life craved a salad, but I would have paid $50 for some arugula by the end of that trip.

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Anyway, with St. Paddy’s Day being on Thursday, I thought I’d share a super easy way to make a very traditional Irish meal: corned beef and cabbage.

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With a side of — you guessed it — potatoes. (Really delicious potatoes.)

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I did my corned beef in the crock pot. You can buy a corned beef round at the grocery store that comes with its own set of spices (I happened to have my own pickling spices on hand so I used that instead), and it doesn’t even need to be trimmed or seared first. You just throw it in there with a few other ingredients and turn on the crock pot. So. Simple.

I cooked my corned beef by itself and served it alongside braised cabbage and buttered herbed potatoes that I prepared on the stove, but if you want to make things even simpler, you can just add the raw potatoes and cabbage to the crock pot a couple of hours before serving.

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CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE WITH POTATOES (pdf)

CROCK POT CORNED BEEF
4 C hot water
2 T cider vinegar
2 T sugar
1 packet corned beef spices OR 3-4 T pickling spices
2 bay leaves
Fresh ground black pepper (be generous)
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 corned beef round roast (mine was about 3 1/2 pounds)

Combine first 7 ingredients in crock pot, then add corned beef roast. Sprinkle with more black pepper. Cook on high for about 5 hours or on low for about 7-8 hours, or until roast is tender and tears apart easily with a fork.

Serve with grainy mustard, alongside Braised Cabbage and Buttered Herbed Potatoes (recipes below).

BRAISED CABBAGE
1/2 stick butter
1 head green cabbage, cut into wedges (1 head is enough for 2-3 people)
Salt & pepper to taste
2-3 ladlefuls of liquid from the cooked corned beef

In a braising pan (if you have it — a lidded saucepan if not) over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add cabbage, salt and pepper, and cook for a few minutes while stirring occasionally, allowing cabbage leaves to caramelize slightly around the edges. Add liquid, allow to come to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer on low heat, occasionally scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan and stirring into the cabbage, until cabbage is tender and caramelized.

BUTTERED HERBED POTATOES
8-10 small red and/or white potatoes
Chicken broth (enough to cover the potatoes)
1/2 tsp salt
Butter to taste
1/4 C sour cream
1/4 – 1/2 C milk (optional)
Herbs of your choice, to taste (dried or fresh chopped parsley, chives, dill, etc)
Salt & black pepper

Place potatoes in a heavy saucepan, cover with chicken broth, and add 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat slightly and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes.

Drain and discard chicken broth. Add remaining ingredients to taste, mashing lightly to mix well.

Ireland

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind always be at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand,

Hannah

P.S. The braised cabbage is borderline amazing. I had no idea that cabbage had so much potential. It is a MUST TRY, y’all.

 

17 Comments

  • Comment by Maggie — March 15, 2011 @ 9:49 am

    sounds like you’ve had some Irish influence !…..may God hold you,also, in the palm of His hand…………

  • Comment by Cheryl Lalonde — March 15, 2011 @ 12:21 pm

    Hannah,
    I agree that braised cabbage is wonderful — so much better than boiled. Been doing it that way for years and it gets gobbled it! Boiled…not so much.
    Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and your sweet family,
    Cheryl

  • Comment by Eva — March 15, 2011 @ 12:38 pm

    Never tried cabbage this way. This will be on the menu for us on Thursday. Thanks!

  • Comment by Hannilou — March 15, 2011 @ 10:20 pm

    Eva — so glad you’re going to give it a try! The cabbage is seriously fantastic… NEVER thought I’d say that about cabbage! 🙂 xo, Hannah

  • Comment by Hannilou — March 15, 2011 @ 10:21 pm

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Cheryl! Say hey to Ethan! 🙂

  • Pingback by The Leftovers of the Irish - The Lexingtonienne — March 16, 2011 @ 3:28 am

    […] celebrate the Luck of the Irish, you should definitely make this Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patrick’s […]

  • Comment by James M. — March 16, 2011 @ 10:50 am

    I’m a fan of colcannon:

    http://www.mlive.com/food/index.ssf/2011/03/dashs_irish_colcannon_recipe_i.html

  • Comment by druny1 — March 17, 2011 @ 10:33 am

    I ALWAYS make corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day, carrying on the tradition of my mother. I’ve actually never tasted it with fresh corned beef though, because she always used the canned variety. I have always been a huge fan of her dish and look forward to it annually, but I must say, I am curious to try your variation of the recipe. But for anyone looking for a more budget-friendly option, I highly recommend using canned meat!

    Happy St. Pat’s!

  • Comment by Katie Alender — March 18, 2011 @ 10:25 am

    Ah, yes, potatoes with a side of potatoes, and some potatoes to go with it. I love Ireland!

  • Pingback by Cabbage Patch Kid: Braised Red Cabbage - The Lexingtonienne — March 31, 2011 @ 3:59 pm

    […] I take this braised red cabbage very seriously. Ever since I made braised cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve been a little obsessed, much like a child in 1984 with a Cabbage Patch Kid. Mike […]

  • Comment by Gene Grode — March 16, 2012 @ 6:25 pm

    This recipe looks fantastic.. Thank you for coming to my rescue.. I was told that the point cut was the best… When I got home I found it was a round but after reading your way of cooking it… I am a happy camper..
    My CB is 3.53 pounds..just like this recipe calls for… I will be back to let you know how it turned out… Thanks again
    Gene
    San Clemete, CA

  • Pingback by Homeward Bound - The Lexingtonienne — March 7, 2013 @ 11:19 am

    […] I’m gone, I hope you’ll make this fabulous Corned Beef & Cabbage (pdf) on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a crock pot recipe that is truly one of the simplest […]

  • Comment by Julie McCoy — March 17, 2013 @ 7:36 pm

    I loved your recipes!! All was delicious!!

  • Comment by Bonnie — March 23, 2013 @ 10:40 am

    Hannah, it was amazing! I think this is the first time I have ever made corn beef. Weird, I know. I even had some cabbage warmed up for breakfast. Crazy!!!

  • Comment by Hannilou — March 23, 2013 @ 4:14 pm

    I knew you’d like it! It’s kind of bizarre that cabbage can be so good.

  • Comment by Hannilou — March 23, 2013 @ 4:14 pm

    Thanks, Julie! So glad you enjoyed this!

  • Comment by xserver indonesia — December 26, 2014 @ 8:31 am

    What a stuff of un-ambiguity and preserveness of valuable familiarity
    regarding unexpected feelings.

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