Corned Beef and Cabbage
This classic dish is a great way to use up leftover corned beef. It's also a delicious and hearty meal that's perfect for a cold winter day.
This classic dish is a great way to use up leftover corned beef. It's also a delicious and hearty meal that's perfect for a cold winter day.
- Carbohydrate 644.643 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 3.321 g
- Fiber 81.1800017595291 g
- Protein 74.538 g
- Saturated Fat 0.9594 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (5051g)
- Sodium 221.4 mg
- Sugar 563.462998240471 g
- Trans Fat 0.7011 g
- Calories 2841 calories
Step-by-step
- Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water.
- Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef.
- Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.
- Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender.
- Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes.
- Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes.
- Place vegetables in a bowl and cover.
- Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want.
- Slice meat across the grain.
Package labels omit the structural reality of cured brisket, which requires low, prolonged heat to break down tough collagen networks without drying out the muscle fibers. Simmering at roughly 180 degrees Fahrenheit rather than a vigorous boil prevents the exterior from seizing before the center softens. Monitoring the pot closely ensures the water level stays above the meat throughout the multi-hour cook.
Slicing the resting brisket strictly perpendicular to the visible grain shortens muscle strands, yielding a tender bite rather than a stringy texture. Allowing the meat to rest uncovered for 15 minutes lets the internal juices redistribute so they do not bleed out onto the cutting board. Retaining the hot cooking liquid in a separate container provides an immediate storage bath to keep leftover slices moist.
Chilled leftovers retain exceptional quality for up to four days when stored fully submerged in their reserved cooking broth inside an airtight container. Converting extra meat into hash requires chopping the chilled brisket into uniform half-inch cubes and rendering them in a cast-iron skillet until crisp. Freezing cooked cabbage is not recommended because the cell walls rupture upon thawing, turning the vegetable watery.
Adjusting the sodium level in the final dish starts with soaking the raw brisket in cold water for two hours before cooking to draw out excess curing salt. Swapping standard potatoes for waxy varieties like red or Yukon gold prevents the starches from breaking down into the broth during the extended simmer. Utilizing a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven distributes heat evenly across the base, eliminating hotspots that can scorch the bottom layer of root vegetables.
