Happy St Patrick's Day

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone. We had our celebration dinner yesterday, due to timing with other events that are happening in the afternoon.

However after 6 years of playing around with this one recipe that I found in my Irish Heritage cookbook, I think I have perfected the perfect corned beef and cabbage. Not that vacuumed packed corned beef. This is an Irish recipe that uses a fresh brisket. You cure/corn the brisket yourself in a brine. It sounds like a lot of work, but its not really. Its actually really easy, you just have to remember when to pull it out and cure it. Its also better for you, its not injected with nitrates and other crap, that turn it that bright pink color.

6 to 8 lb fresh beef brisket
1/4 cup malt vinegar
1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
2 cups Kosher salt
1 gallon water
1 Non corrosive stock pot

Pour salt into pot. Pour about 1 quart HOT water to "melt" the salt, then the rest of the water COLD, stir to disolve. Add in the vinegars. Put the meat in fat side up. The meat will "float". Allow to cure 48 to 72 hours at room temp or in fridge. I've done both, both work fine and taste fine.

When ready to cook. Drain and rinse meat well with cold water.

In either a crock pot or the same stock pot, put generous pinch of tarragon and marjoram, garlic, pepper, 3 to 4 bay leaves, 1/4 cup of malt vinegar and about 6 to 8 cups of water, then the meat in fat side down. I use a crock pot 6 to 8 hours on low, it falls apart when you take it out. About 3/4 way through the cooking put 1 head of chopped cabbage under the meat and finish cooking.

I normally don't like cabbage but I'll eat this cabbage. I used to HATE corned beef, until I used this recipe. It's NOTHING like the vacuumed packed briskets. It will NOT be pink. It will be brown just like a regular roast. It doesn't have a strong vinegar taste or smell.

We normally eat this with some form of potato and Tastefully Simple beer bread (Thanks Becki). The beer bread really brings out the flavor I think. ...Maybe I should have posted this a few days ago, but hey worth it for next year. I don't post recipes unless I feel they are worth sharing and are that awesome.