Happy St. Patrick’s Day

It’s kind of interesting that a meal closely associated with St. Patrick’s Day in America, corned beef and cabbage, is rarely eaten in Ireland. Historically, pork was the favored meat, and cows were kept mainly for milk production. An Irishman’s wealth used to be based on the number of cattle in his herd, and killing a cow to eat it effectively diminished a person’s wealth, and status. In later years, beef was still much too expensive for most people, and corned beef was considered a delicacy to maybe be eaten at Easter.

Where Did Corned Beef Get Its Name?

You might be wondering where corned beef got its name. After all, it doesn’t contain any corn! Beef used to be cured by packing it with corn-sized rock salt, and the name just stuck.

While the Irish were the first exporters of corned beef, many Irishmen got their first real taste of it for themselves upon emigrating to America at the end of the 19th Century, where both beef and salt were much cheaper. They tended to cook this salt-cured (corned) beef much as they would pork back home: soaking it to remove some of the salt and then braising it with some cabbage.

If you are lucky enough to be in Ireland for the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, you will certainly find corned beef and cabbage, but most of it is prepared for North American tourists. Oddly enough, on this decidedly Irish holiday, the Irish themselves don’t really seem to have a traditional dish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Since I live in the United States and intend to celebrate as an Irish-American, I will be serving corned beef and cabbage on Tuesday. At its heart, it is a very simple dish and is often simply spiced. To make it a true celebratory meal, I’ve added some complexity by beer braising and enriched the dish by finishing it with some melted butter.

How To Make Your Own Corned Beef From Scratch

1 pound kosher salt
1 gallon water
8 pounds beef brisket, trimmed of most of its fat

Heat water and salt together until salt is dissolved. Cool, and put in a large container. Submerge the meat in the brine for seven days. The meat must be completely submerged, so either place a weight on top of the meat (such as a heavy jar or can in a plastic bag) or double the water and salt.

After a week, rinse the brine off the meat and pat dry. Discard the brine, and continue with the recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage.

A true corned beef is cured with sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. This is what gives the cooked beef its traditional pink color. If you want to corn beef using a sodium nitrate mixture, rub the brisket with a mixture of 5 tablespoons Morton’s Sugar Cure , 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of corned beef spices.

Place in a plastic zip top bag, squeeze out the air and place the meat in a dish in the refrigerator for 6 days, flipping the bag over twice a day. Liquid will collect in the bag; do not drain it. After six days, rinse the meat off and soak it in water for an hour to remove some of the salt.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe

1 beef brisket (6-8 pounds), patted dry
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 ½ teaspoons whole peppercorns
3 dried bay leaves
1 heads of cabbage, trimmed of outer leaves, cored and cut in quarters
12-15 medium red potatoes, skin on, halved or quarterd, depending on the size
½ pound carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Harp’s lager (or similar lager)
Water
3 Tablespoons fresh minced parsley
3 Tablespoons melted butter
Fleur de Sel, to taste*

How to Make Corned Beef & Cabbage

Preheat oven to 275F.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add oil and butter and heat.

Sear brisket on all sides until deep golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Pour beer over the beef. Add enough water to come halfway up the meat.

Wrap the peppercorns and bay leaves in a square of cheesecloth and place in the Dutch oven with the meat. Cover the pot tightly, and braise for 2 ½ hours, or until meat is tender.

Remove the peppercorns and bay leaves. Place the potatoes around the meat, followed by the garlic, carrots and cabbage. Add enough water to barely cover. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop, then cover the Dutch oven and braise until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

To serve, drain the vegetables with a spider or a slotted spoon, and arrange them on a serving platter. Drizzle melted butter over the vegetables.

Thinly slice the beef across the grain and place on top of the vegetables. Garnish with minced parsley and lightly sprinkle with just a pinch or two of Fleur de Sel.

*Generally speaking, corned beef and cabbage does not need any extra salt during the cooking process. Taste yours, though, to see if you think it needs a little kosher salt during cooking. If not, finishing with a sprinkle of flake salt, such as Fleur de Sel, will be sufficient.

Valentine’s Day Meat Course

photo credit

I hope you are enjoying my recent posts on preparing a Valentine’s Day Feast for that special person in your life. I know many of you are planning to go out but with the economy being as it is, this might be the perfect opportunity to dine in. I’ve created a special Squidoo lens that focuses in on this concept called A Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner and it includes recipes but suggestions for flowers, movies, music and cooking videos. I think you will enjoy it.

So far I have posted the following recipes and articles on the Reluctant Gourmet Cooking Blog:

Romantic Valentine’s Day Meal Suggestions

Romantic Cheese Course

Lobster Bisque Recipe

How to Make a Great Salad

and now we can look at an easy meat course.

When trying to come up with a meat dish, I looked at the rich cheese and the rich bisque and decided to lighten things up a little for the meat course. I chose pork because of its mild sweetness. After all, Valentine’s Day is all about sweets for the sweet. To up the sweetness ante, we’ll pair the pork with a very simple and flavorful apricot glaze that will play on the sweetness of the meat. Don’t worry, it won’t taste like candy. We’ll temper the apricot with some vinegar for a little zing and balance.

Pork Medallions with Apricot Glaze

Pork tenderloin, cut in 2” slices, 1-2 per person, depending on how many courses you are serving
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil
½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
½ cup Apricot jam
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon butter

Sprinkle both sides of the pork medallions with a little salt and pepper

Heat a lidded sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil to the pan.

Sear the medallions in the oil until nicely browned on each side, about 3 minutes per side.

Add chicken or vegetable stock, jam, mustard, ginger and vinegar to the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer over low heat until the internal temperature of the pork is 155-157 degrees, F, about 15-20 minutes, depending on your stove.

Remove the pork to a platter and cover with foil.

Return the pan to the heat, and turn the heat up to medium high. Bring to a boil and reduce the sauce until thick and syrupy. Taste, and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Remove from the heat and swirl in the butter, just until melted. This will enrich the sauce a bit and give it a really nice sheen.

Plate the pork and spoon the glaze over the medallions. You may serve this along with the Pear, Walnut and Goat Cheese Salad. The two will complement each other nicely.

Alternatives

Beef Course

If pork doesn’t work for you and you are looking for a decadent beef course, you may be interested in my Chateaubriand for Two recipe. Made from beef tenderloin, this dish will melt in your mouth. It’s a natural for Valentine’s Day, because it is the perfect size for sharing. I also have a recipe for Béarnaise Sauce on my Squidoo A Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner.

Crock Pot Short Ribs

Let’s say you don’t have time to cook a big meal because you work late or don’t want to eat at 9 pm, why not try preparing something in a crock pot? You might be thinking what can you cook in a crock pot that will be elegant enough for Valentine’s Day and I say any recipe that calls for braising like short ribs. I’m finding slow cooked short ribs on some of the fanciest restaurants all over the country.

All you have to do is take a half hour to prep all the ingredients in the morning, stick them in the crock pot and when you come home, you will have a delicious and romantic meal. All you’ll have to do is serve it up and then bask in the adoration of your Valentine. You can read my Crock Pot Short Ribs recipe here.

Bratwurst and Sauerkraut with Spicy Mustard

Sauerkraut and mustard are two very traditional accompaniments to a good wurst. Bratwurst is readily available in the United States, but feel free to use any wurst you choose. To learn more about the various types of wurst, be sure to check out my very first Squidoo lens called The Best of the Wurst, an introduction to German Sausages.

For those of you unfamiliar with Squidoo, it is a social networking community website where anyone can create “lenses” or pages focusing on a particular subject. These “lenses” are completely interactive and include content, Flickr photos, Google maps, YouTube videos on the subject being looked at. I’m brand new to the community and will be building more of these “lenses” dealing with cooking techniques and food subjects. If you have a moment, please take a look at my first lens, The Best of the Wurst and be sure to leave comments in the Feedback area.

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is eaten throughout much of the world, although it is most commonly associated with Germany and eastern Europe. Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage. The fermentation occurs naturally, and it is fairly easy to make your own, although it is a time consuming process.

Like yogurt, fresh, unpasteurized sauerkraut contains many beneficial bacteria that aid in digestion. As well, it also contains high levels of Vitamin C. As a matter of fact, German sailors always had sauerkraut at hand on their ships to help prevent scurvy!

When using purchased sauerkraut, try to find a fresh, unpasteurized type, as pasteurization kills the beneficial bacteria and breaks down Vitamin C.

Bratwurst and Sauerkraut with Spicy Mustard
Serves 4

For the Bratwurst
4 Bratwurst
2 dark beers
1 large onion, sliced
1 pound fresh sauerkraut
4 Pretzel rolls, hoagie rolls or other long buns
Spicy mustard—recipe follows

In a saucepan, bring beer and onion to a simmer. Pierce bratwurst casings with a sharp knife. Place brats in the simmering beer, turn down the heat to just below a simmer, and let brats poach for about 6 minutes.

Over medium coals, grill brats until they have good color, turning so they are evenly browned—about 1 minute per turn.

If not serving right away, return the cooked brats to the beer/onion mixture to keep hot.

Split rolls almost all the way through. Place, cut side down, on the grill just to get some grill marks.

Gently warm the sauerkraut over medium-low heat. Don’t let it boil, you just want to warm it through.

Spread spicy mustard to taste in each bun. Top with a brat and then some warm sauerkraut. Finish with more mustard, if desired.

Spicy Mustard -
*Mustard must “ripen” three days in the refrigerator before serving, so plan accordingly.

½ cup flat beer (you can use water)
1/3 cup whole mustard seeds
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons dry mustard powder (such as Coleman’s)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 tablespoons prepared horseradish (optional)

Combine beer and whole mustard seeds. Let sit for one or two hours.

Put soaked seeds and any remaining beer or water into the work bowl of your food processor. Add all the rest of the ingredients. Process for 30 seconds-4 minutes or so, depending on your texture preference. The longer you process, the smoother your mustard will be.

After processing, put the mustard in a small saucepan. Let it sit for an hour, then bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute.

Remove from the heat and cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate for three days to ripen. Mustard will thicken. After three days, adjust the consistency with another teaspoon or two of water or cider vinegar.

Well covered, the mustard will keep for three weeks in the refrigerator.

Makes about 1 ½ cups of mustard.