I'm all for celebrating St. Patrick's Day like I was actually Irish, but honestly, I've never developed a taste for a traditional boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage.
In an attempt to embrace the tradition while making it more to my liking, I decided to treat it like a regular brisket. So instead of immersing in water, put the 5 pound corned beef into a roasting pan and slathered some Dijon mustard over the top. For liquid I used a bottle of beer and some beef broth,though not enough to cover the beef. I then mounded it with onions, carrots, and a few cloves of garlic.
Into the oven it went at 325º and stayed there for a good four hours, until it was meltingly tender. After it cooked, I processed the veggies, added them to the cooking broth with a little extra water and, voila! Corned beef gravy.
Next the cabbage. I do not like limp, slimy cabbage, which is what I've generally found to accompany corned beef. I love roasted Brussels sprouts, which are just tiny cabbages, right? So I cut a head of cabbage into wedges, drizzled them with olive oil and sea salt. Then dressed them up in little bacon hula skirts. The cooked in a 425º oven until they got crispy golden brown. Maybe 45 minutes.
The result was yummy. The beef was succulent and corny. But the cabbage was the superstar of the production. I could easily have made a meal of it.
Time for Leftovers
Of course there were leftovers. What to do, what to do? The idea of reheated cabbage, even this outstanding version, did not appeal. I decided to turn the whole deal into a strata to serve for brunch over the weekend. I took this recipe from the Cabot recipe files, and replaced the artichokes, spinach and sausage for my leftover corned beef and cabbage.
The crust was made with a layer of thawed Potatoes O'Brien, which I popped in the preheating oven for a few minutes to get them nice and dry.
I diced about a cup and a half each of corned beef and cabbage and layered them over the potatoes.
I added about 2 cups of grated Seriously Sharp Cabot cheddar.
Finally, I poured the egg and sour cream mixture evenly over the other ingredients.
I baked in a 350º oven for about an hour. It came out gorgeous and golden with crispy bits of cabbage peeking out from within.
I believe I may have discovered the perfect antidote for a green beer-induced hangover.
Éirinn go brách!