2. 20. 2021
CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
Gluten and Lactose-Free
Preheat oven to 300F
I saw some lovely beef looking corned beef in that ‘vacuum packed’ packaging at the store and decided to make corned beef and cabbage for dinner.
I did not realize that by the time I began to cook it was to be a meal for the next day! The corned beef needed to be boiled, baked and cooled! While it took several hours, nothing could be easier to make.
Boiling the corned beef removes some of the saltiness from it. If the saltiness does not bother you go straight to the baking.
While the corned beef was cooling, I cooked the carrots, potatoes and to go with it all and thickened the juices left in the pan with a bit of cornstarch and water slurry.
This was delicious and so much better than deli corned beef. We found this out when we had some of the left overs for lunch the next day in sandwiches. We could control the fat which was of uttermost importance to Peter!
Let’s get started by prepping what will be needed:
Corned beef – 3 + pounds in one of those vacuum packs
Spice pack that comes with the corned beef
Honey mustard – ¼ c
Brown sugar – ¼ c (light or dark)
Carrots – 1 lb, large cut in 1” chunks, peeled or scrubbed
Potatoes – 1 lb, small new, scrubbed or larger potatoes cut in 1 ½" chunks
Cabbage – ½ a small head cut in 2” wedges, make sure each wedge has a piece of core attached
Let's get cooking:
Prepare a sheet pan or roasting pan with a large enough piece of heavy-duty foil. Large enough to wrap the corned beef in and set aside.
Remove the corned beef from the vacuum pack and rinse it off and place in a Dutch Oven sprinkled with the spice pack. The fatty side should be on top. Fill the pot with cold water and bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
While the corned beef is boiling preheat the oven to 300F.
Drain the water from the corned beef and place in the middle of the foil in the roasting pan and let it cool to the touch.
Once the corned beef is cool to the touch, slather it all over with the mustard and then press the brown sugar over the mustard.
Wash off your hands and make a neat package out of the foil with the corned beef in the middle with few inches of head space left in the package.
Place the sheet pan with the corned beef in the oven and cook it for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, open the package to check for doneness and bake for further 15 minutes in the oven with the foil open. Remove to a cutting board and let cool enough to handle.
While that is happening, bring the carrot chunks and the small potatoes to a boil in a sauce pan. After about 15 minutes, add the cabbage wedges, cover and cook for further 15 minutes. Check for taste and doneness.
While the vegetables are cooking, remove the fat from the pan drippings left in the foil package and thicken with a slurry, adding extra broth if needed, mix 1 T cornstarch with 1 T water well and use as much as you need to thicken the gravy.
Cut the corned beef once cooled, against the grain, slices as thick or thin as you like and serve with the cabbage, carrots and potato.
Irish soda bread* does go well with this meal, but use any bread you like.
Since I began the cooking process too late for that night’s dinner, I let the corned beef cool completely and refrigerated it. It was easier to slice while cold anyway.
When it was time to serve, I cooked the vegetables, made the gravy, sliced the meat and heated it in a warm oven and served it as you see in the photograph.
*I have a killer gluten free soda bread recipe which I will post someday soon, if not this St. Patrick's day, then the next!
Yumm.
Enjoy!