Chef K’s favorite St. Patrick’s Day Meal
Serving size: 6-8...depending on how hungry they are!
The star of the show…. Corned Beef
Ingredients:
3-4 pounds corned beef (I buy the pre-brined that comes with a seasoning packet, but you can easily brine your own if you have time and prefer to do it.)
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup coarse grain mustard
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
Directions:
Most people either boil or bake their corned beef. I have found that using both cooking methods makes the corned beef amazingly moist and tender.
Place the brined brisket into a large stockpot (6 quarts or larger) and cover with at least 1 inch of water above the brisket. Add the pickling spice that came with the prepackaged corned beef.
Bring liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 2 hours or until the brisket is fork tender, but not falling apart.
With kitchen tongs, carefully remove the corned beef from the cooking liquid and transfer it to a baking sheet lined with foil. *You’re going to eventually wrap the meat in a foil bundle, so it’s helpful to use two pieces of layered foil.
Remove 2 cups of liquid from the pot, then strain it to remove any of the whole spices from the seasoning packet. Discard the remaining liquid from the pot and add the strained liquid back into the pot. Set the (really flavorful) liquid aside. You’ll come back to it in a while.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Pat the corned beef dry with paper towels. Discard the paper towels and place the corned beef, fat side up, on the dry foil.
Stir together the honey and the mustard. Reserve ¼ cup of the sauce in a separate dish and pour the remaining sauce over the top of the corned beef. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top of the roast.
Wrap the beef very loosely with the foil, tenting it and allowing space between the top and sides of the meat and the foil. Bake for 2 hours, then remove from oven. Allow the corned beef to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing across the grain of the meat.
When there is about 40 minutes left on the meat, get your VEGETABLES ready to go!
Ingredients:
2 cups water
4 medium carrots, chopped on a bias into 2” pieces
1 pound Gold Potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
1 medium yellow or white onion peeled, halved, with halves cut into thirds
1 medium head cabbage cored and cut into small wedges
Directions:
Add 2 cups of water to the strained liquid you previously set aside.
Gently add the carrots, potatoes, onion, and cabbage. If needed, add a little more water to make sure the vegetables are mostly submersed.
Bring liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook until vegetables have softened, about 25 to 30 minutes.
When the vegetables are ready, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a large serving platter that has a lip to prevent liquid overflow. Top the cooked vegetables with the sliced corned beef.
***Don’t forget to serve with the reserved honey mustard sauce.
Make this meal even more outstanding by whipping up a loaf of this delicious Ina Garten Irish Soda Bread.
I tried a lot of Soda Bread recipes growing up, but this one is the best in my opinion.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/irish-soda-bread-4664619
A St. Patty’s celebration just wouldn’t be the same without these crowd-pleasing GUINESS, WHISKEY & IRISH CREAM CUPCAKES!
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/irish-car-bomb-cupcakes/
And last, but not least....
An Irish prayer my mom always had on display for our favorite Irish holiday-
