Un-Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ok, so I know the traditional dish for St. Patrick’s Day is corned beef and cabbage, but I don’t actually like corned beef, so I just use a plain brisket.  That being said, you can certainly follow this same recipe using a brisket that has been corned if you prefer.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Brisket, about 3 lbs.
3 medium onions
2 pounds of potatoes
5 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
1 head of cabbage
3 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Parsley
Water

Since this recipe calls for a fair amount of salt, I really recommend getting something decent.  It doesn’t have to be extravagant, but I’d definitely stay away from the stuff in a blue cylinder that you can get for like a buck.  Now, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of said salt on one side of your brisket. 

I know, it sounds like a lot, but this is going to end up being a big pot of food by the time we’re done.  Heat your pan to medium high and add 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil.  I’m using an electric skillet (I seriously love this thing) but you can certainly do this on top of the stove in a large pot.  When the pan is hot, carefully place the brisket, salt side down.  Sprinkle another teaspoon of salt over what is now the top.  It’s ok if you see a little smoke, you want a good sear.  It’ll probably take only a minute or two.  You’ll know it’s ready when it lets go of the pan, and you can easily turn it.  It should be nice and brown along with the flavor residue that’s forming in the pan. 

When the second side is nice and seared as well, add enough water to the pan to come about half way up the side of the roast.  Make sure you lift the roast a bit to allow the water to go underneath it.  See how it’s already a bit brown?  That’s flavor baby! 

Forgive me if I’m slightly giddy.  I’m getting ready to fly home to see my mommy!  And the rest of my family and friends in Utah for the first time since I left 10 months ago, and I’m super excited!  Anyway, once the water is in, add 2 of the onions, the garlic, and pepper.  I like a large dice on the onion and I just threw the garlic cloves in whole.  They’re going to cook long enough they’ll just basically fall apart. 

Now, cover the brisket and leave it to cook on medium low heat for about 2 ½ hours.  Just check on it every 30 minutes or so to make sure there’s still water in the pan.  When the time is up, remove the roast from the pan.  It won’t be falling apart tender yet, which is ok because it’s still going to cook some more. 

Cover it and allow it to cool while you cut up everything else.  After it’s had a good 20 minutes or so to rest, cut it into bite size-ish pieces.  To make sure they’re as tender as possible, first cut the brisket into strips in the direction of the grain. 

Next, slice each of those strips into half inch pieces, this time you’ll be going across the grain.

Throw the pieces of meat back onto the cooking liquid. 

Add the third onion.

The diced potato.  I used yukon golds, so I just left the skin on.

And on top, goes the cabbage.  I know, it’s piled up, but it will cook down.   

Sprinkle on the last teaspoon of salt and put on the lid.  With the heat on medium low, just walk away for 20 minutes.  Don’t stir, don’t peak, just leave it alone.  After 20 minutes, remove the lid. 

Look at that, the cabbage is already wilted.  Now stir everything together and add the carrots.  Put the lid back on and leave it for another 20 minutes. 

During that time, chop up some parsley.  When the 20 minutes is up, stir again.  Turn off the heat, sprinkle over the parsley, put the lid on and leave it for 10 more minutes. 

I know corned beef and cabbage is usually served with everything separate, but I kind of like it just all piled in a bowl with a nice pool of that delicious cooking liquid. 

By now the brisket will melt in your mouth, the potatoes are nice and soft, the carrots perfectly tender, and the cabbage sweet and delicious.  You are going to be blown away by what an amazing meal you’ve made, and in one pot, no less. 

What are your St. Patrick’s Day traditions?

Mouthwatering Mini Meatloaves

I don’t know about you, but I think the best parts of a meatloaf are the edges.  So when I was considering making a meatloaf, I thought, why not make little ones so that there’s a much higher edge to middle ratio.  And well… why not wrap them in bacon?  Bacon is always a welcome addition. 

Here’s what you need:

1 lb. ground turkey breast
2-3 small onions (they have to be small)
½ of a red bell pepper
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 egg
12 strips of bacon
Salt and pepper

 

In my world, bacon isn’t cooked unless it’s crispy.  Nothing bugs me more than something wrapped in a soggy piece of bacon.  With that in mind, you’ll need to par-cook the bacon before doing anything else.  Lay the slices on a foil lined sheet pan.

Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes.  Or until it looks about like this.

Remove it to some paper towels to drain and cool.  Next, dice your onion and bell pepper and mince your garlic.  You’ll want the pieces to be pretty small. 

Now, pull out your meat.  Drop it into a mixing bowl with an egg. 

Mix them until the egg is fully incorporated. Hubby likes things spicy.  Since I don’t really, I compromised and put in about a teaspoon of hot sauce.  You can as much as you like… or none.  This is a good time to add the salt and pepper as well.   

Once that’s mixed in, go ahead and stir in the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. 

Now, this is where the importance of having small onions comes in.  If you can’t find any really small onions, you can just remove some layers to make them fit.  Place a thin slice, about ¼ inch, into the bottom of each muffin cup. 

Now comes the bacon.  Place one strip around the edge of each cup.  Mine was center cup, so it didn’t quite make a complete circle, but close enough.  Look at that, a perfect little cup for your meat. 

Fill each one and press it with wet fingers to smooth out the top. 

I had two extra strips of undercooked bacon, and I’m pretty sure it’s blasphemous to waste bacon, so I just cut them up and topped each cup with a little piece. 

Bake, uncovered, in a 350° oven for 45 minutes.  I placed my muffin tins on a sheet pan just to be safe.  When they’re done, they won’t really be brown, but the bacon on top will be cooked as well as the strips around the edges.

If you’re careful, you can flip the meatloaves over and serve them with the onions on top.  The onions are sweet and caramelized, and I think they look fabulous that way.  I plated them both ways so you could see the difference.  Aren’t they cute? 

I served mine with a slice of potato and zucchini pie, which was a fabulous accompaniment. 

What full size recipe would you like to see miniaturized?