Cider-Braised Corned Beef and Cabbage

After spending the past few days in sun–soaked beachside paradise, I have returned to the brutal realities of 15-degree weather. Yes — hopefully for the last time in a long, long time (but probably not, since I see yet another little snowflake in next week’s forecast) — i am yet again complaining about the weather. I’m boring, I know. I’ve accepted it.

During this week’s search for comfort food, I turned to the Irish. No stranger to long, bitterly cold winters, the Irish have a plethora of hearty fare to warm you right up: lamb stews, shepherd’s pie, colcannon and corned beef. While I had originally planned to make a lentil-based vegan shepherd’s pie (inspired by one I had at Nice Matin during Restaurant Week a few weeks ago), Fresh Direct had a sale on corned beef and I was extremely intrigued.

So, 3.5 pounds of meat later, I’ve learned a few things. A) Generally not a good idea to order 12-14 servings of meat when you’re cooking for one. (In other news, does anyone have any recipes for corned beef beyond hash and sandwiches? Anyone? Bueller?)

B) As it turns out, corned beef and cabbage isn’t traditionally Irish. The traditional dish is bacon and cabbage, using thick slices of back bacon (aka Irish or Canadian bacon). Corned beef is a New England thing, and became popular among Irish-Americans in the mid-19th century.

C) Corned beef is produced by brining a cut of beef, usually brisket, for 7-10 days. Common brine ingredients include mustard seeds, peppercorns, allspice berries, cloves, bay leaves and, of course, salt (“corns” are large grains of salt, hence the name). After the meat is cured, it is again braised, with cabbage, potatoes and other root vegetables.

Since boiled meat sounds blecch, I decided to braise the corned beef in cider. Last month, the lovely Alex of Chez Sasha invited me to a dinner hosted by Plated and Stella Artois, to launch their new hard cider, Cidre (so Belgian). Alex wrote about the event in more detail on her blog, but the moral of the story is that we got to bring home bottles of Cidre. Since most of my home drinking is exclusively reserved for red wine, I thought the cider would be nice with the corned beef — a slightly tart sweetness to balance the salty meatiness of the beef.

When Googling around for recipes, I also stumbled across Suzanne Goin’s genius idea of roasting the corned beef once it’s braised. A few minutes in the oven caramelizes the fat and crisps up the meat, creating a delicious crust that adds some texture to the otherwise soft-as-a-pile-of-feathers beef. (In case you don’t remember, braising is my absolute favorite way to transform tough cuts of meat into impossibly flavorful bites of heaven.)

What really makes this corned beef and cabbage sing is the addition of mustard. Goin’s recipe calls for a mustard-parsley sauce, but even my lazy squirts of spicy brown were perfect: a sharp edge to cut through the rich, salty meat.

Which brings me to my last lesson: D) If you’re not a cabbage person (these two dishes aside) and you don’t like salty things and you hate lunchmeat, maybe not a good idea to make a huge batch of corned beef and cabbage on a whim … St. Patrick’s Day party at my house, everyone?

Cider-Braised Corned Beef and Cabbage
Adapted from Lighter and Local and Suzanne Goin

– 3-1/2 pounds corned beef brisket

– 1 onion, sliced

– 3 bay leaves

– 2 tablespoons pickling spices*

– 1 24-ounce bottle hard cider (I used Stella Artois’s Cidre, but feel free to use your favorite … maybe the Irish Magners for St. Patrick’s Day?)

– 1/2 cup water

– 1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed and chopped

– 1/2 pound carrots, scrubbed and chopped

– 1 pound parsnips, scrubbed and chopped

– 1 small head of green cabbage, outer leaves and core removed, then cut into eighths

– country bread and whole-grain mustard for serving (optional)

*I had a packet that came with my corned beef, but if you don’t have that, then use a combination of yellow and black mustard seeds, allspice berries, peppercorns, coriander seeds, dill seeds, fennel seeds and whole cloves. Here’s a good recipe (and you don’t need all of those things, just whatever you have and like).

1) Place the corned beef in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onion, bay leaves, pickling spices, cider and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 3 hours, until the meat can easily be pierced with a fork.

2) Add the potatoes, carrots and parsnips and cover. Cook for an additional 30 minutes.

3) Preheat the oven to 400F. Remove the corned beef from the Dutch oven and place in a 7-x-11 or 13-x-9-inch baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, until the meat is richly browned and crisp. (You can broil for an additional 2-3 minutes if you’d like your corned beef darker.) Remove the beef from the oven, and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

4) While the corned beef is in the oven, add the cabbage and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has reduced.

5) Once the meat has rested, slice the brisket against the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices. Place on a platter, then arrange the vegetables around the meat. Serve with thick slices of country bread and whole-grain mustard.