St. Patrick's Day wouldn't be the same without the traditional corned beef and cabbage meal, but ironically the Irish do not consider corned beef a native dish, according to The United States Department of Agriculture on March 15, 2013. Believe it or not, more corned beef is consumed in the U.S on St. Patrick's Day, than in Ireland.
Corned beef and cabbage is more of an Irish-American dish, so you can bet on Sunday, March 17, many homes across the U.S. will see this dish passed around the table tomorrow. The trick to making the perfect corned beef and cabbage dish is in the cooking and timing.
This is a boiled dinner, but most older Irish-American cooks will tell you to put the corned beef in the oven for the last half hour of cooking time. Cover the top of the meat in aluminum foil and bake at 350 for about one half hour. This takes just enough water out of the brisket without drying it out, making each bite not only tastier, but more tender than if you had just boiled it.
All you need to do is follow the directions on the package for boiling time of the brisket, but just put the meat in the oven for the last half hour and what a difference this makes!
The other mistake many cooks make is cooking the cabbage to the point that it has the consistency of seaweed. During the last fifteen minutes of the boiling process of your corned beef, float the green cabbage leafs on top of the water to cook.
Another way you can do this is to put the cabbage in colander and place this on top of the pot with the corned beef boiling. Loosely drop a pan top or a plate on top of the colander to act as a cover. This takes about twenty minutes for the cabbage to reach the perfect consistency for eating.
Potatoes and carrots only take about forty-five minutes to boil up to perfection, so time your vegetables using these timelines. Many cooks make the mistake of throwing everything in at once and let the dinner boil away. This causes the vegetables to come out like mush.
Time your corned beef dinner, just like your grandmother did and you will find your guests and family calling it the best corned beef and cabbage dinner they ever had!
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