I used to be in the ‘cook Corned Beef and Cabbage once a year’ club.
I cooked it like my foremothers before – boiling it. Actually, I progressed to putting it in a crockpot with pickling spice, water and onions, then later adding carrots, potatoes and cabbage to be cooked in the briny broth.
A few years back I applied my dislike to boiling away the flavor of things to my corned beef. So, I decided to do it two ways for a comparison. I cooked on the usual way in water in the crockpot and then the second roasted in the oven. The corned beef encased in tin foil, I added half a bottle of dark beer, a handful of brown sugar, a third of a cup deli/whole grain mustard along with the pickling spices and onions and cooked it on 350 degress for about 2 and ½ hours.
There was no comparison on the texture and taste. Although you can’t tell in the photo’s the roasted beef was richer in color, more flavorful and more tender. Truly delicious.
But what to do about the briny stock I need to cook my vegetables? Well, I guess I will always have to cook it two ways. Use the boiled beef to make Corned Beef Hash and serve the roasted.
If you really want to be crazy make soup with the leftovers. Take the juices from the roasted beef, strain it, add it to the strained broth of the crock pot, (straining gets rid of the peppercorns, bay leaves and cloves.). Add a small can of tomato juice, a ¼ cup of brown sugar and the cut-up leftover beef, cabbage and carrots. I leave out the Potatoes. What an amazing way to use leftovers and make an unusual soup. Sooooo good!
