Yay! It's St. Patrick's Day! Yay! Yay! You know, that holiday where every single year I get so excited about preparing a traditional Irish boiled dinner with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and onions? Except that every year when I look at all of those various foods that have been swimming all day in brisket grease, I just feel sad and disappointed and let me be really honest, a bit empty inside.
Well, this year I solved the problem and now I would be thrilled to fix (and eat!) this dinner again tomorrow night! The answer? Deconstructing the whole meal while preparing it and then serving it all together.
This year I served our St. Patrick's dinner a night early and had two of my dearest friends and their families over to celebrate with us. My friend Janet made the kids really happy by bringing a traditional Irish Chick-fil-a nugget tray and Angela brought homemade kid friendly cupcakes with green sprinkles that did not have the Bailey's Irish Cream in them that our grown-up dessert did. The night was a success and we all agreed that the new dinner method was far superior to my old efforts.
I started my prep early in the day by putting the corned beef brisket in the slow cooker, fat side up, with traditional corned beef spices and enough water to cover it. I figured the slow cooker was a great way to ensure that the meat did not overcook. I started it on high for 2 hours and then turned it to low for about 5 more which made the meat really tender.
My house smelled so good all day from the spices! It is really important to note that I did not use the tiny spice packet that came with the brisket like I usually do but instead I put the entire contents from a 1/4 cup jar of Penzey's Corned Beef Spices in with the meat. Please, please, please tell me that you have heard of Penzey's Spices??? If you have not, then you need to stop reading right, right now and go to the Penzey's website. Then, if you are anything like me, order enough spices to get free shipping and start planning your trip to the store closest to you. My Aunt Donna introduced this company to me and I will be the first to admit that I have a SERIOUS addiction to Penzey's! Serious as in I had to rearrange my entire lazy Susan and order special containers to contain all of my Penzey's spices. Serious as in I spent close to two hours in the store in Raleigh. All of their spices are so fresh and of the highest quality. They also have incredible blends and multiple salt-free options. I also love that you can purchase small quantities so that you can decide which ones you like. Feel free to contact me for suggestions if you get overwhelmed by the choices and I can share some of my favorites with you. In fact, after dinner tonight, just because I know how to party like a rockstar, I opened all the jars and had Janet and Angela smell all of them. It felt a little like a pyramid scheme or perhaps a cult experience now that I reflect back upon it . . . If you don't have a Penzey's near you, though, just use the spice packet that comes with the brisket. Next year I suggest you plan ahead so that you have a little jar of Penzey's to use for St. Patrick's Day. Once the brisket finished cooking, I sliced off the fat layer and then seared both sides of the brisket in a hot pan with olive oil. I did salt and pepper my corned beef before searing it because I bought the low-sodium kind and felt like it needed a little more flavor.
In an effort to avoid soggy vegetables, I decided to roast all of them separately and it worked great! I did all of them in an oven heated to 375 degrees. I peeled and cut carrots on a bias so that they were in fairly big pieces of about 1 1/2" and then tossed them in olive oil and salt. I poured those on a rimmed baking sheet. After I cut the bottom of a head of cabbage off, I sliced the cabbage into thick slices and put it in a large glass baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle Penzey's Bavarian Style Seasoning. You could certainly skip the Penzey's spice but I thought it made the cabbage extra special! I also wanted to give brussels sprouts a chance to I roasted a few of those tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper and it turns out I like them!
For the potatoes I used teeny tiny little Melissa's baby dutch yellow potatoes and cooked them on their own baking sheet. I seasoned them with olive oil, salt, Penzey's pepper blend, Penzey's smoked paprika, Penzey's sweet paprika, and Penzey's toasted granulated onion. Again, you can use regular spices from the grocery store if that's what you have on hand, but trust me, you are really going to want the Penzey's kind!
My method for the onions was to slice them in fairly thick slices and to caramelize them by sauteeing them in about 2 tablespoons of butter and a drizzle of olive oil. I cooked them over medium-low heat and added salt and pepper. They took about 20 minutes to become nice and golden brown.
Once everything was cooked, I put the brisket in a serving dish and layered everything around it. It looked so much more appealing than my usual St. Patrick's Day dinner and it tasted much better, too! We topped it with a balsamic reduction which made it even more flavorful. Even though there were more pans to clean, the effort was well worth it!
Deconstructed Corned Beef Dinner (click for printable recipe)
1 corned beef brisket, drained (I prefer a low-sodium one)
whole carrots, peeled and cut on a bias about 11/2" thick
1 head of cabbage
2 onions, cut in half and sliced about 1/2" thick
bag of small, whole golden potatoes
salt
pepper
paprika
onion powder
olive oil
balsamic vinegar, reduced
Drain corned beef brisket and place in slow cooker. Sprinkle spices from spice packet on top. Pour water to cover. Cook on high for 2 hours and low for 5-6 more. Remove brisket from slow cooker and cut off layer of fat. Heat a skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil and quickly sear brisket on both sides just before serving.
About an hour before the brisket finishes, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss peeled, sliced carrots in olive oil and salt. Pour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until carrots are tender. Be sure to shake the pan frequently.
Cut the bottom of the cabbage off and slice cabbage into thick slices. Place in a glass casserole dish and drizzle olive oil on cabbage. Top with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until tender.
Toss potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and onion powder. Pour on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Be sure to shake the pan frequently.
Place brisket on a serving dish and pile onions, carrots, and cabbage all around. Serve potatoes on the side.
Serve with balsamic reduction and whole-grain mustard if desired.
