Good Corned Beef and the Luck of the Irish

Thanks to Alton Brown, I just learned that corned beef and cabbage actually has nothing to do with the Irish from Ireland and is more likely an Irish-American invented dish borrowed from Jewish Americans…hence how NY delis turn out tasty corned beef on rye that few others can match.

Anyway, the big question about corned beef is the cut. I was raised on the run-of-the-mill supermarket variety that comes pre-packed in a solution with a little plastic packet of spices for the actual braising. That’s probably a point cut — the fattier, more tasty (and cheap) end of the whole brisket. I never can tell, the package doesn’t seem to say. The other end is the leaner flat cut and somewhere in the middle is the center cut (according to the butcher section at Lunardi’s). Everybody swears by something different. I went middle of the road this year and picked up a center cut. In the end, the point cut from Lunardi’s rather than just a pre-packed supermarket variety would have been just fine.

The cooking is pretty simple — you just need the time — about 3 hrs. braising time. You can’t rush it. I found that out last year — the hard way. Stick the corned beef in a large dutch oven and cover with water by about 1 inch. Add 1-2 teaspoons of pickling seasoning (usually a mix of black peppercorns, mustard seed, juniper berries, cinnamon, bay leaf, etc.), 3-4 large cloves of garlic and 1 bay leaf for good measure.

Bring the pot to a boil and skim off the foam. Turn the heat down so that it just simmers — you don’t want a rolling boil. Turn it over every half hour or so and add the carrots and cabbage when you get to about 2 hours. When a pairing knife goes through without much resistance, you’re there. With my center cut, I found that one end was a little more giving than the other (my bet is that was a bit of the point section) and the other was still a little firm. For sliced corn beef that was just fine.

What’s even better is the corned beef hash the next day — it doesn’t last long! And its easier than you can imagine. Chop half an onion, throw it in a pan with a tablespoon or two of butter, cook until translucent. Quarter the potatoes, chop the carrots and chunk up the corned beef. Toss it in the pan and cook until the potatoes get a nice crust on them. Done!

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