(43-232) Corned Beef & Cabbage With A Twist

Tonight we went to my Aunt Fran's house, for our traditional, St. Patrick's day dinner.  If it took you a minute to wrap your head around that sentence; I'll confirm what you're thinking.  NO, neither Luis nor I are any part Irish.  However, being the nice Jewish girl that I am; I've always been a big (yes,) HUGE fan of Corned Beef; and I rather enjoy the cabbage as well.

Well, a number of years ago, my Aunt Fran (my mom's older sister, who lives about 25 minutes from me;) invited us to come over for Corned beef and cabbage, and it has become somewhat of an annual tradition for us.

I have to say, that I have never tasted Corned beef quite like my Aunt's, because she puts an orange marmalade glaze on it; which I think, is a very nice twist.  So last year during dinner, I expressed an interest in making the Corned beef myself; and she kinda gave me the recipe; but neither of us wrote it down.

A few days later I bought a Corned beef and I was going to attempt to make it following my Aunt's instructions, as best as I could remember them; but then, while I was Instant Messaging with my friend Jason; he gave me an alternate recipe which sounded good; so I decided to go with his recommendation instead of my Aunt's.

Suffice it to say, that there has only been one night that I've ever had to throw away a dinner that I'd cooked, due to it being inedible; and it was when I attempted to make the Corned beef; per Jason.  In all fairness, I don't blame Jason's recipe; I believe that I just needed to cook the meat A LOT longer than I did.

I'm not sure why I've always found the idea of cooking a Corned beef intimidating; but I think I learned enough tonight,  to confidently attempt to make it again.  I learned that there are two kinds of cuts for a Corned beef; the point cut and the Flat cut.  "The Point cut is a rounder, thicker cut with more fat on it than the flat cut.   The Flat cut is leaner and shows off the grain more beautifully;" according to Startcooking.com

Since everyone seemed to enjoy the Corned beef; I made sure to get Aunt Fran's exact recipe this time; and of course; I'm going to share it with you...

I'm told that if you follow the directions that accompany your Corned beef, you really can't go wrong.  Rinse your Corned beef, then place it in a pot, cover it with water, any brine that's in the bag, and the seasonings.  Cover the pot, and as soon as it comes to a boil; turn it down to a low simmer and cook it for one hour per pound.

After the meat has simmered, for the appropriate amount of time, remove your Corned beef from the pot; but don't discard the water, because you can cook your cabbage and potatoes in it.  Please note, this is a personal preference as there may be excess fat in this pot.  I can tell you that this is how my Aunt made her cabbage and potatoes and they were cooked perfectly, tasted delicious, and they weren't greasy or fatty AT ALL.

It will take longer for your cabbage and potatoes to cook then it will to glaze your Corned beef; so once you're ready to get your glaze on; , spread orange marmalade over the meat.  Put the meat in the oven either on Broil and 450, or just at 450, depending on your oven.  After about 5 minutes; you can lower the temp to 350; and cook approximately 15 more minutes.  Keep your eye on the beef while it's in the oven because as soon as the marmalade starts to become a dark crispy color; your Corned beef is done.  My Aunt recommends using an electric knife if you have one; and remember to slice the meet across the grain. 

So there you have.  If you try this recipe and you enjoy it; please send me an email and let me know.  Once I try it again; rest assured I'll be sure to share my experience with you.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING