Corned Beef and Cabbage : Part 1 - An Explanation

I adore Corned Beef.  I call it Meat Candy.  Starting when I worked at a Kosher style deli at 15.  We would get in the full brisket, shave off the top, fattier, chunk to use in reubens or other warm sandwiches, the fat melting and keeping the meat from getting dry.  The leaner sections being trimmed up, by hand, in store.  I did my best to be an expert at slicing the meat so thin it should have fallen apart, but didn't.

When I moved (both to other work and to other places, particularly small towns) I gave up, to some extend, on having corned beef all together, because what's the point in getting the sort of stuff they have at Safeway...  it will pass if all else fails and you can get the attendant to cut it thin enough...

At some point a few years ago, I noticed all the briskets for sale around St. Patty's day.  I had never thought of getting one before, because the thing in the store looked so much different than what I had handled at the deli.  The pieces were all considerably smaller and I didn't quite believe they were the same thing...  or what to do with them if they were.

Research commenced.  The internet is an amazing place.  I read up on several variations for cooking them and went for it.  And it was good.

The last few years, around St. Patty's day I stock up on brisket, usually buying a dozen or so, and freezing them for the rest of the year.  A few days after the holiday, most stores will have them on sale for $1.50 to $2.50 a pound, which makes it seem slightly less ridiculous when I buy 40-50 pounds worth at once :)

Sometimes I just cook it and have it with whatever, but if I'm in the mood, or having guests, I make my version of Corned Beef and Cabbage.

Foil Wrapped Corned Beef
Braised Potatoes
Onion Glazed Carrots
Fried Cabbage

Sometimes I add corn bread or corn meal biscuits...

It's all very healthy...  anyway, I'm going to follow this with two posts, one on making the Corned Beef itself, and another highlighting the way I do the potatoes, carrots and cabbage to have them all come out perfectly together.  The corned beef takes 2 hours per pound, so the 2-3 pound chunks typically for sale in the grocery is a 4-6 hour affair, plus another hour after it comes out of the over to finish the potatoes and whatnot.  It may not be quick, but it's super easy.  It takes about four minutes to get it ready to go in the oven, so if I'm going to be home during the day it's not really THAT much work - And - the oven temp is just 250 F so it doesn't make the kitchen seem hot (if you're living in an older, rented home, and don't have a super new, well insulated over :)

And it plates beautifully...