St. Patrick’s Corned Beef

It’s that time of year again when everything turns green for a day, the leprechauns reign, and there is a corned beef in every pot. Or is there?

For most of us the most traditional meal to eat or cook on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day is corned beef and cabbage. The corned beef is placed in a large pot with the seasoning packet provided and then covered with water and the meat is boiled for several hours adding in the vegetables around the last 1/2 hour. There is surely nothing wrong with cooking your corned beef dinner this way. After all it is basically a one pot meal, and tastes like the holiday it celebrates.

But a couple of years ago we tried making our corned beef a different way and have continued with this new method ever since. It was delicious! Instead of boiling the meat, we placed it in a roasting pan fat side up and added the provided seasoning to the meat. The pan was then covered with foil and the edges were sealed tightly so as not to let the steam or juices escape as it cooked. We placed the pan in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour per pound of meat. When it was done we allowed the meat to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it. The carrots and cabbage were placed on a baking sheet and drizzled with melted butter and placed in the oven with the corned beef for about the last 30 minutes of the cooking time. While the meat and carrots and cabbage were roasting we added potatoes to some salted water and boiled them for about 15 minutes. When they were fork tender they too were drizzled with butter and chopped parsley.

To serve, place the sliced meat on a platter with all the vegetables and pour any pan juices over all the platter and serve immediately with Irish soda bread. Then serve Irish Whiskey Apple Cake for dessert and you’re in luck!.

Enjoy your celebration and as the Irish say:
“May good luck be with you Wherever you go, and your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow. May your days be many and your troubles be few, May all God’s blessings descend upon you, May peace be within you, May your heart be strong, May you find what you’re seeking wherever you roam.”

Happy St. Paddy’s* Day dear chums!

* St. Patrick’s Day  can be referred to in informal contexts as “St. Paddy’s Day.” Paddy is the shortened form of the original Irish spelling of Patrick, which is Pádraig.