Greetings to all this on this auspicious day, the one day a year when the entire World comes together & wishes they were & strives to be Irish.
Indeed, the Irish are a noble breed noted for their wit/beauty/literature/music and possibly their most significant/magnificent contibution to Civilization, whiskey (fuck the lying Scots, it was the Irish)
Granted, the Irish do have an special affinity for the drink, and any drink will do actually, because it brings us closer to God (that's one reason we/me do love the Holy Water
)
Anyway, this is about that special food for a special day, the ubiquitous Corned Beef & Cabbage.
Now you either hate it or love it it seems & the major reason for that is that most people don't know the fuck how to ccok it.
Most people buy a shit cut of corned beef & then they throw it in a pot & think thats it & then walk away & come back to a boiled slab of fatty beef.
Yup, that's the way the majority prepares it, & even I at one point thought that was it, which was a mistake.
Now, what's the 1st thing you think of when you think of Corned Beef?
Could it be fat?
Probably & this recipe addresses that.
So, this is my own recipe that I'm sharing with my RIU comrades (your special
)
1st the ingredients you will need to serve 4 (make more than you think you'll need, you'll want some for sandwiches)
1 - large pot (large enough for the water to cover the meat)
12 - bottles Guinness Extra Stout (it HAS to be EXTRA stout or that special flavor will not be achieved.)
1 - bottle Irish whiskey (amount varys with ability to walk without falling down))
1 - tin Colemans English mustard, mixed caefully (not too much water).
1 - pint sour cream
2 - tbs mayonnaise
2 - tbs honey
1/2 - cup granulated brown sugar
1 large FLAT cut corned beef or 2 medium/small (I prefer 2 medium/1 for sandwhiches)
2 potatoes per person
1 - carrot per person, cut into 3 pieces
1 - cabbage, cut into 1/4's
Aluminum foil
Cookie sheet
1 bowl each for the sour cream/mustard
3 = bay leaf
3 - medium yellow onions
cloves
3 - cloves garlic/crushed
30 - peppercorns
Ok boy's & girls, let's put it together
1st turn on the tunes (I'll give you a few good ones
)
2nd - drink 1 bottle & 1 wee nip of the whiskey (these are only guidelines depending on skill)
In a bowl mix the sour/cream & the honey & around a tablespoon (more if you like it extra spicey) of the mustard.use the rest on the meat at the table)
The night before you will make the sauce so the flavors develop.
Prepare your cookie sheet by lining with foil.
Peel the potatoes & place in a pot of water immediately (otherwise they will turn brown)
Peel the onions a stick the cloves into the onions. around 10 per, and add to corned beef pot along with the garlic/bay/2 tbs peppercorns/spice packet that should come with the meat.
Drink again as noted above.
Place the meat in the pot with the spices & bring to a boil & then reduce heat to a simmer.
Cook for around 2.5 to 3 hours untill just fork tender, not too long or the meat will shread when slicing.
It takes around 45 min for the potatoes (do not overcook=mushy potatoes),, so bring to a boil at around the 2 hour mark.
When meat is done remove to cookie sheet fatside up & cover the top/fat especially with the brown sugar & place under your broiler.
After you remove the meat, you will then add the cabbage & carrots to that pot & simmer for around 20-25 min
So at this point once you have the cabbage & potatoes cooked, drink again & you now are going to turn on the broiler & brown the meat for around 5 min (be carefull/sugar burns easily)
The broiler is the secret in that it melts away the fat & dries the meat out a wee bit (I don't like really like that overcooked mush beef)
You will need soda bread of course to complete the meal
I alost forgot, you add 3 bottles of stout to the liquid .
The stout will create a foam that you should skim.
So, there you go
Easy & many people have told me it's the best they ever had.
So keep drinking until mission accompished/burn a few & listen these and probably wish you could be Irish
Side note
They don't eat corned beef in Ireland
Peace out & Happy St. Pat's
Cheers/slainte!
This tune is my 1st memory of music.
My father would play it over & over & I fell in love with it.
Lovely violin (my favorite instrument)
I saw these guys in 1982 on St. Pats at this little theater/club that held like 250 people in the Bowery in NYC where the opening act was The Ancient Order of the Hibernian NYPD bagpipe band
They were all fat drunken Sgts that just got back from the parade & they ROCKED!!!!
People were climbing on the stage & would'nt let them get off the stage.
It was fucking hilarious/great/memorable.
This one was their last song that night (my fav)
