- [Babish] A portion of this episode is sponsored
by Neutrogena Hydro Boost.
I'll share more on that later. Let's get down to basics.
(upbeat music)
All right, so if you're celebrating St. Patty's Day
with corned beef, first off,
you're probably not actually Irish.
You're probably like me and you scored a 7%
on your DNA Irishness test.
Second off, you're gonna need a piece of brisket.
I got a nice two-pounder here.
This one's got a nice, manageable fat cap,
but if it's very, very thick,
you might want to trim it down.
Next up, onto the corning part,
which at its most basic is just a brine.
I've got a half cup of kosher salt here
that I'm combining with eight cups of distilled water
in a large nonreactive container
like this stainless steel pot.
Now, what gives corned beef its signature pinkness
is Prague powder #1, or pink curing salt,
one teaspoon of which I'm gonna add to our brine.
Now, this is gonna vary
depending on how much water you're using
and how much beef you're curing,
so be sure to consult a curing calculator.
Next up, you could just add a quarter cup of pickling spices
but I like to add my own.
Just a tablespoon each of black peppercorns,
juniper berries, mustard seeds, and allspice berries,
plus one stick of cinnamon,
two small bay leaves crumbled into even smaller bay leaves,
quarter cup of brown sugar.
This is a good opportunity to use up
any dried-up brown sugar.
I'm also gonna add a half dozen optional cardamom pods.
And if you wanna make things ever so spicy,
you can add a couple crushed dried chilies.
These are chilies de arbol.
Regular size-whisk that all together
until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved,
and gently lower in our hunk of brisket.
Cover it up and then this guy's headed into the fridge
for anywhere from 5 to 10 days.
This is gonna depend on the salinity of your brine
and the thickness of your meat.
Once again, consult your curing calculator.
Give this guy a rinse under cool water,
and then the traditional method is to now boil the beef
for two to four hours, or until tender.
I wanted to try doing something decidedly nontraditional
and do a semi-submerged braise.
So I've got a large onion here that I'm gonna peel
and cut into quarters, preserving the onion's root.
We're gonna lay these down
as a sort of platform for the beef.
Along with a quarter cup of pickling spices,
or about a tablespoon of each element like we did before.
We're also gonna add three cloves of crushed garlic.
Our beef, of course,
gently nestled right on top of the onions,
fat cap side down.
And then we want to add enough cooking liquid
so it almost covers the beef.
I'm starting with beef stock,
and optionally a bottle
of everybody's favorite Irish stout beer.
Leaving only the top of the beef exposed
so that it can brown in our 300-degree Fahrenheit oven
as it braises for four to six hours.
Halfway through the braise,
we're gonna change into some more comfortable clothes
and take this guy out so we can give him a flip.
As you see, we've got some lovely browning on the beef,
but we're gonna flip it over
so that our fat cap can get the same
during the remaining one to two hours in the oven.
Once the fat cap is beautifully browned
and a paring knife passes through the meat
with little to no resistance, you are good to go.
Now, you could take the roast out
and let it cool to room temperature
while you prepare the vegetables,
or you could repeatedly snack at it
because you can't help yourself
before cooling and then fridging overnight,
which carries with it two advantages.
One, convenience,
you can make the whole thing the night before serving;
and two, easier slicing, reheating,
and serving of the beef.
Plus, like any other stew,
flavors are going to meld and deepen
after a night in the fridge.
And as you can see, even though it's very hot,
I can't seem to stop myself from enjoying this,
one forkful at a time.
No, don't eat that. That's hot.
Oh, Andrew, you prankster.
Anyway, the next day and we're getting ready to serve,
starting by preparing a head of green cabbage,
which, just like the onion,
we're gonna try to preserve the root and cut into quarters.
Then I got some pretty tricolored carrots here
that I'm gonna peel and cut into stew-sized pieces.
And some miniature waxy potatoes,
which I had the unfortunate idea to roast
rather than boil in the pot as per tradition.
Since corned beef is a very moist, brothy recipe,
when you apply all that moisture to roasted potatoes
it turns their texture pretty gummy,
so if you make this you're gonna want to make your potatoes
the same way you make your other vegetables,
that is simmered in the braising liquid.
But first we're gonna take out the chilled roast
and use this opportunity while it's chilled and firm
to cut it into slices for serving.
Over on the stovetop we've got the braising liquid
back up to a simmer.
We're gonna de-fat it,
the plop the cabbage and carrots in there
to cook for about 20 minutes.
If they don't all fit, don't worry.
Just cover it up and they'll steam.
Meanwhile I'm gonna make a quick and flavorful sauce
out of one cup of sour cream,
two tablespoons of horseradish,
two tablespoons of chopped chives,
two tablespoons chopped dill,
and two tablespoons chopped parsley.
Pinch of kosher salt
and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper
and a generous squeeze of whole grain mustard
and you got yourself a fresh braising sauce
that's gonna help offset all the richness.
Speaking of which, our vegetables are finished cooking
so we're gonna place the sliced beef on top,
cover it up, and let simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes
or until the beef is heated through.
Then all there is left to do is plate up and try it.
Once again, boil your potatoes, don't roast them,
or if you do roast them, serve them separately.
And plate everything up, pretty as you please,
to celebrate St. Patrick's Day
like an American: incorrectly.
Some more chopped chives make for a nice garnish.
Extra braising liquid ladled over top
along with the stewed onions,
some nice flaky finishing salt,
a few twists of freshly ground black pepper,
and there you have it,
house-cured and braised corned beef and cabbage.
Serve that up with some of our sour cream horseradish sauce,
and if you're me, get ready to have
one of the top three corned beefs
you've ever had in your life.
The semi-submerged braise really is spectacular.
Resting overnight really adds convenience
and cooking things separately
gives you control over textures.
And even with my unfortunately gummy potatoes,
this guy ended up a member of the very clean plate club.
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Thanks again to Neutrogena Hydro Boost
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(upbeat music)