I love corned beef and cabbage. My grandmother has the best traditional CB&C recipe ever, and there really is no need to improve upon it. If that’s what you’re looking for, then here you go:
Cover your corned beef with water and the spice pack in a big pot and cook it at a simmer for as long as the package says to. About an hour before your time is up, add your cut up carrots and potatoes; at 30 minutes-to-go add the cabbage, then finish cooking. Slice the corned beef and place on a platter surrounded by your veggies. Now the secret: Make a roux, then add your corned beef broth a little at a time until you have a creamy gravy. Salt & pepper as needed. Then drizzle that yummy goodness all over your platter. There won’t be left-overs. It’s a step up from anyone else’s CB&C, and it’s delicious.
I was going to make basic CB&C, except that I went to an Indian buffet for lunch and had curried cabbage there. It was delicious, and I thought, “Why not make a curried corned beef and cabbage dish?” (CCB&C!) I googled such a thing, to no avail, so I knew I’d have to make it up. Honestly, I knew it could have been a bust, but I’m here to tell you that it definitely wasn’t. It might be the best corned beef dish I’ve ever had. So you heard it here first:
Ingredients:
- Corned Beef and spice packet (any size)
- 1 head of cabbage, chopped (cut in quarters, remove core, then cut those quarters in half, then make about 3/4-inch slices)
- several small red potatos, quartered (I left skins on)
- several big carrots, in 1 inch pieces
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. bacon strips, cut into 3/4-inch slices
- Cumin seeds (jeera)
- Indian curry powder (I used “hot madras curry”)
- 1–2 bay leaves
- Turmeric
- Mustard powder
- Chicken stock/boullion/broth
- salt & pepper
- Place corned beef into a pot and cover with water. (I used a corned beef round this time, but usually use the flat. They both work, but you get more meat with the flat, so do the math.) Add the included spice pack, bay leaf/leaves, a healthy dash of turmeric (at least a Tbsp) and a good dose of curry powder (about 2–3 Tbsp). Bring up to boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook, uncovered, for the amount of time indicated on the package. Add water during the cooking process if needed, but you will want the broth to reduce a bit.
- About an hour before the corned beef will be done, preheat oven to 375F. In a dutch oven, saute bacon until it starts to brown and there is a layer of bacon fat coating the bottom (about 7 minutes). Add a tsp or so of jeera seeds, and let them toast a bit (maybe 2 minutes), then add the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook until onion is soft and bacon is crispy (about 5 minutes), then remove with a slotted spoon and keep nearby.
- Place the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots into the dutch oven.
- Make 1 cup of stock/broth. Add 1 Tbsp of dried mustard, 1–2 Tbsp of curry powder, and any other spices you wish (cumin? black pepper? hot pepper? garam masala?) to the broth, then pour over the veggies. Add a few ladelfuls of the corned beef broth to the pot. Then add enough chicken stock to come just to the top of the vegetables, and top with the bacon/onion mixture (should not be submerged).
- Roast veggies, covered, for about 1 hour. If the corned beef finishes before the veggies are done, remove it from the broth and let it rest.
- Slice corned beef and add to the vegetables and serve with plenty of the tasty broth!
