🍀🍺 Corned Beef and Green Beer 🍺🍀
While Corned Beef and Cabbage is often associated with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States, it certainly can be enjoyed year-round. It’s a hearty and satisfying dish, loved by many, and almost impossible to mess up!
Now, Green Beer is definitely a once-a-year tradition. Serving green beer on St. Patrick’s Day emerged in the US as a fun and festive way to celebrate the holiday. While it may not have deep historical roots, it has become a popular tradition associated with the celebrations. One drop of food coloring in a glass of beer does not affect the taste, and adds a magical element to the festivities!
Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
Corned beef brisket from the supermarket is already fully seasoned. But it usually comes with an additional spice packet that contains mustard seed, coriander, cracked bay leaf, crushed chiles, fennel, and dill seed. This spice packet can be added to the cooking liquid.
However, I never use this spice packet! In my opinion, cracked dried bay leaf can be dangerous. Years ago, I ingested a sharp little piece of cracked bay leaf in a stew, and it lodged in my throat. It landed me in the emergency room.
When cooking with bay, I only use whole leaves, never cracked. Whole fresh bay leaves are great for flavor and depth. They just need to be removed before serving. Here, I make my own very flavorful seasoning for corned beef and cabbage.
- 4 – 5 lb. corned beef brisket
- 6 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1/2 yellow onion, rough chopped
- 1 T. black peppercorns
- 1 sprig fresh bay leaves
- 1/2 t. coriander seeds
- 1/2 t. fennel seeds
- 1/2 t. chile flakes
- 1/4 t. ground allspice
- 1/8 t. ground cloves
Rinse the brisket under cold running water. Place it in a heavy bottomed soup pot or dutch oven, fat side down. Fill with filtered water. Bring to a boil and skim the scum. Lower heat to a simmer. Add the aromatics. Cover and cook for 50 minutes per pound. 50 X 4 = 200 minutes until fork-tender.
30 minutes before the beef is done, add all the vegetables. Raise heat to bring it up to temperature, then lower again to a simmer.
- medium-sized red potatoes, with skin, quartered
- green cabbage, cut into wedges
- medium-thin carrots, peeled
- parsley
The vegetables are cooked in the pot, soaking up the flavors of the cooking liquid and becoming tender alongside the beef. For more al dente texture, or thinner or smaller vegetables, shorten the cooking time of the vegetables (not the beef).
Remove the beef and vegetables to platters. Keep the pot with the cooking liquid on the stove, covered, on a very low heat to keep it warm. Let the brisket cool 20-30 minutes before slicing it against the grain. Just before serving, add the vegetables back to the pot of simmering liquid to briefly re-heat.
Plate the corned beef and vegetables, garnish with chopped parsley, serve with mustard-horseradish sauce.
Mustard-Horseradish Sauce
- 4 T. sour cream
- 2 T. mayonnaise
- 1 t. prepared horseradish
- 1 t. dijon mustard
- 1 t. whole grain mustard
- 1 t. worcestershire sauce
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and place in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Green Beer
To make green beer, simply add a drop or two of green food coloring to an empty beer glass. Then pour a cold light-colored beer, such as a lager or pilsner into the glass. Erin go Bragh! 🍀