Foolproof Corned Beef And Cabbage

Nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like a delicious feast of corned beef and cabbage. But believe it or not, this classic holiday meal is not nearly as popular in Ireland as it is in the United States. It’s become more of a tradition here on St. Patrick’s Day thanks to waves of Irish immigrants, many of whom left the Emerald Isle during the Great Famine between 1845 – 1852 and headed to New York. With them they brought dishes from their native country that were adapted and changed over the years.

One popular Irish dish called “Bacon and Cabbage” included cabbage, potatoes, and Irish bacon, a cured loin cut of pork. Pork was the preferred meat because it was cheap in Ireland. But in the United States, pork was very expensive, so it was swapped out for the much cheaper corned beef, which was similarly cured, but more aggressively spiced. The rest is history.

The process of “corning” is a long (at least ten-day) process involving a brine solution containing various spices. But these days, buying corned beef already vacuum sealed in its brine is much more convenient for the home cook.

Break Out The Slow Cooker

By far the best way to cook the packaged corned beef is in your slow cooker. A decent sized brisket of about five pounds will generally fit in a 6 quart unit. If you prefer the rounds, you can usually get two of them to fit in a large slow cooker. Each 2-5lb. package of corned beef, when cooked and trimmed, will serve 4-6 people. But you’ll want to make extra, for hash and sandwiches.

If your corned beef doesn’t come with a spice packet, you should buy or make up a batch of what is known as “pickling spice.” It includes broken cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, allspice berries, dill seeds, cloves, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, dried ginger, crushed bay leaves, as well as red pepper flakes, which you can add during the slow cooking process.