I’m told that corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish, but I don’t like being traditional so I had this a few weeks ahead of schedule. (People scoffed at the notion of having it outside the safe window of St. Paddy’s Day because no one likes anyone to move into uncharted territory. Not even by a few days.) Too damn bad, I say. And I ate this like a beast. (Extra flavor bonus courtesy of this insanely-good Maine Crafty Ale Mustard, courtesy of Stonewall Kitchen.)
A few mistakes were made in this virgin voyage into corned beef territory. The first and most important lesson I learned, sadly a little too late, was that there’s no need for additional salt in a corned beef dish. Whoopsie daisy. (I’m still bloated.) The second, not as egregious mistake, was adding all the cabbage and potatoes and carrots into the slow cooker at the same time. According to the Martha Stewart recipe I used, the cabbage should be save for the latter part of the cooking process. This was not so bad – I cooked it all to the point that it all kind of blended together in the end. This is not a terribly-refined sort of dish. There’s room for roughness, space for spillover.
There was barely enough for a sandwich the next day – which is the third lesson I learned: the original size is going to shrink down quite a bit, so err on the side of more rather than less when picking out a cut (and go for the flat cut instead of the point – unless you like things really fatty). A next-day sandwich is the best part of this whole deal. The meat is tender enough to melt into whatever you use it for – added to some rye bread, a healthy layer of Thousand Island dressing, and some sauerkraut (used sparingly), it made for a fantastic meal.
