If you are as cheap as me, you will have stocked up on the Irish holiday Corned Beef sales. Not the biggest BBQ day of the year, the 4th of July has such a good deal on beef (even hamburger was at least $2.89 per pound, if I remember last year's prices right).
Corned Beef is normally in the 5 dollars per pound range, but this week it drops to around 2 bucks, or less, per pound! You can get a whole cabbage for about a buck as well. And carrots and potatoes are always cheap.
My Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe couldn't be simpler to do. When you buy Corned Beef from the market it is ready to cook. Cover the Corned Beef with water and add the packet of herbs contents that come with it, then boil the beef for about 4 hours.
When the Corned Beef is nearly fall-apart tender remove it from the cooking broth. Now a typical Corned Beef is super salty and the broth will be too, give it a taste to make sure. I usually pour out half the broth and add fresh water to replace. This will lighten the salty brine flavor. When you add water give the broth a quick taste to see if you can handle it.
All you need to do is add the chopped veggies to the broth, including cabbage, red potatoes, and a whole chopped carrot. You cook the veggies until tender - this only takes about 20 minutes. If you like crunchy cabbage, cook the potatoes and carrot for 15 minutes then add the chopped cabbage and cook until desired tenderness, about 10 to 15 minutes.
I use red potatoes, but you can use any potatoes you find on sale. I chop them in quarters (4 pieces) so they will cook faster. I like big chunky carrot slices, too. The cabbage can be chopped roughly into large chunks.
It does take a bit of patience to cook my budget Corned Beef and Cabbage but it's well worth the wait. My budget one-pot meal is really easy to make, that's why so many families have embraced this classic Irish meal. Sometimes this Blarney Chef is full of it, but not this time, my cheap$kate holiday dish is one I make every year, and you should too!
Corned Beef and Cabbage - Video
Play it here. video runs 2 minutes, 22 seconds.
Ingredients
- 1 corned beef - I use cheap point-cut corned beef on sale. They usually weigh 3 to 5 pounds. You can follow package directions for cooking corned beef.
- 1 whole cabbage - chopped. They have a tough root stem you can remove, but it will tenderize. I only remove if it's discolored brown and extra tough.
- 1 carrot chopped - You can add another carrot or two, depending on the size. Sometimes I like more veggies.
- 2 red potatoes chopped - You can boil red potatoes whole, but they will take an extra half hour to cook. Okay to use white or russet potatoes. Also, add more potato if you like.
- Water to cover corned beef - When corned beef is cooked, taste broth for saltiness, if too much then replace half the broth with fresh water and taste again - repeat if necessary.
Directions
Corned Beef is a thick and tough piece of meat, so you need to low boil it for about 3 to 4 hours until tender. Time will vary depending on the size of whole Corned Beef brisket. Mine was about 4 pounds. Cheaper cuts of Corned Beef can be fatty, so it's okay to trim off some of the fat.
You can follow Corned Beef package cooking directions. Usually, you cover Corned Beef with water, about 5 cups worth. Most times you have a small packet of spices and herb included, so open and empty the contents into the water. Sometimes I leave out the packet, as the corned meat is seasoned enough for me.
In a large pot, bring the Corned Beef in water to a boil, lower to a low simmer or low boil and cover the pot. Cook about 3 to 4 hours. Check on the pot every hour or so to make sure liquid does not cook out, and add more water if needed. It's okay if the liquid cooks out by half, this will make an intense broth for the veggies.
After about 3 hours you can chop the cabbage, carrot and potatoes.
When the Corned Beef is done, remove it and set aside. Taste the broth to see how salty it is. More than likely it's too salty, so pour out half the broth and add an equal amount of fresh water. Now taste to see if the broth is milder. Repeat this step if necessary to reach your desired flavor.
Once the broth meets your tastes, then add the chopped veggies. Bring to a low simmer, cover the pot and cook veggies about 20 minutes.
If you like crunchy cabbage, first cook carrot and potato about 15 minutes, then add chopped cabbage. Cook until cabbage reaches desired crunchiness, usually 10 minutes or so.
Finally, return the cooked Corned Beef to the pot with veggies and let it reheat for about 5 minutes.
This is a one-pot meal, so just slice off hunks of Corned Beef and serve with the cooked veggies.
Sliced Corned Beef is great in a sandwich too, just click here to see how I make mine, with Homemade Coleslaw!
