Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage

Platter of Corned Beef and Cabbage

Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage, what better way is there to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Living in Boston St. Paddy’s Day is a pretty big deal. Boston has one of the largest Irish populations in the US. Second only to Pittsburgh PA. (Huh, I thought New York City would be first?) So if you grew up in Boston, even if you’re not Irish, you have eaten a lot of Corned Beef and Cabbage. (BTW… me, not Irish, half Polish, half French). But you don’t have to be from Boston… or even be Irish to enjoy this classic.

Is Corned Beef and Cabbage Actually Irish?

Well, it depends on how you look at it. Like many of the recipes we associate with a particular culture or ethnicity, the actual St Patrick’s Day recipe we know is a result of immigration. The original recipe does in fact trace back to Irish Stew brought here by immigrants. However, pork is the preferred meat for the traditional stew. Upon arrival in the United States, Irish immigrants found that pork was financially out of reach. So beef became the stand in and Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage was born. So you could say that Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage is as Irish as Spaghetti and Meat Balls.

What Makes this Corned Beef Great

I’m going to be honest with you, for a long time I was never a fan of this dish. Every year someone would drag out their corned beef recipe and throw it on the table. Sometimes accompanied by green beer but that’s a whole other thing. Usually, the beef is hammered and dry. (How does boiled meat get dry anyway?). And the vegetables and potatoes are either massively over or undercooked, sometimes both. So I was not a big fan. My wife loves it. If you know about her, she is from the midwest so beef and potatoes in any form make her happy. Me, not so much on the hammered beef and mushy veg.

But then I ate a corned beef recipe at our good friend Linda’s house… and that all changed. This corned beef recipe creates tender and moist corned beef. And vegetables each cooked to perfection. I needed to know how this happened, so I asked her for the recipe. She sent me a PDF of a Boston Globe recipe, appropriately food-stained from a lot of use.

Reprint of Sally Vargas Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe

The originator is Sally Pasley Vargas. The recipe that changed my opinion on Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage comes from her, and can be found on her current website Simply Recipes.

These are some of the reasons I think it is great.

The Corned Beef Brisket is Cooked on it’s Own

The beef is not actually boiled as in most traditional recipes. First it is brought to a simmer on the stove top, and then it simmers slowly in the oven, long and low. And like a good braise, it develops flavor without getting dry. After the slow simmer the beef is baked for a short time in a hot oven to get a desirable crispy top.

A Great Stock to Cook the Vegetables

After the beef is cooked an amazing stock remains for use as the vegetable cooking liquid. The fat from the beef and the herbs and spices impart deep, rich flavor. Better than plain old water used in traditional recipes, the stock is then used to cook the cabbage and root vegetables.

Each Vegetable Is Cooked For an Appropriate Time

Instead of dumping it all in a pot at once and hoping for the best, the vegetables are added to the pot according to their required cooking time. Root vegetables like parsnips, turnip and potatoes are added first. Then cabbage and carrots. Each cooking for the right amount of time allows for total control over the texture. No hard or mushy bits (unless you are into that sort of thing).

Great Method for Entertaining

I mentioned that I first had this Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe at our friend Linda’s house. She is an entertaining maven, so no surprise she picked a recipe that is crowd-friendly (of course during COVID we skipped the crowd stuff for a bit). The heavy lifting of making the corned beef and developing the stock happens the day before. Then you simply reheat the beef with a little stock, boil the vegetables, and onto the table, minimum muss and fuss.

Oh, and there is a Sauce

This Irish Corned Corned Beef and Cabbage is accompanied by a wonderful horseradish and parsley sauce. Easy to make in about 5 minutes. Nice and creamy with a horseradish bite and brightness from added lemon. Also easy to make the day before. Once you know to make this sauce you’ll be thinking of ways to use it all year round and in all kinds of meals. I recommend trying it with Roast Prime Rib or Grilled Salmon.

Horserarish and Parsley Saucve in Mackenzie Childs bowl

So get out there and put your Irish on. If you have comments or questions we would love to hear from you. Please rate and comment below. If you want to email us (or even if you don’t) please subscribe by using the form below. Thank You!

Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Mark Michalski Course: MainDifficulty: Moderate
Servings

6

servings

Corned Beef and Cabbage is famous as an Irish St Patrick’s day favorite. This recipe from Boston is worth making any time of the year.

Ingredients

  • FOR THE CORNED BEEF
  • 5 to 6 LBS 5 to 6 Flat Cut Corned Beef Brisket

  • 1 1 Onion, Large (Peeled and Quartered)

  • 4 4 Black Peppercorns

  • 4 4 Cloves (whole)

  • 2 2 Bay Leaves

  • Cold Water (enough to cover beef and onions by 2 inches)

  • FOR THE VEGETABLES
  • 12 12 Boiling Potatoes (small, about a pound)

  • 2 2 Rutabagas (medium, peeled and cut into wedges)

  • 1 3/4 LBS 1 3/4 Cabbage (tough outer leaves removed, cut into wedges)

  • 6 6 Parsnips (small, peeled and left whole)

  • 12 12 Carrots (slender, peeled and left whole)

  • 2 TBS 2 Parsley (optional, for garnish)

  • FOR PARSLEY SAUCE
  • 1 CUP 1 Sour Cream

  • 3 TBSP 3 Milk

  • 1 TBSP 1 Lemon Juice

  • 1/2 tsp 1/2 Dijon Mustard

  • 1 TBSP 1 Prepared White Horseradish

  • 1/2 CUP 1/2 Fresh Parsley (chopped)

  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Process

  • FOR THE CORNED BEEF
  • Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C)
    Conversion Formula:
    (325°F − 32) × 5/9 = 162.778°C
  • In a pot with a tight-fitting top add the beef, onions, peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves. Add enough cold water to cover by around 2 inches.
  • Place pot on stovetop over medium heat pan over and bring to a slow boil.
  • Place cover on pot and carefully transfer to oven. Cook for 3 1/2 hours. (Note: this is a good time to prepare the Horseradish Parsley Sauce. It is best if it has time to rest and let the flavors meld. See Below)
  • Remove corned beef from pot to a shallow baking dish. Raise oven temp to 425°F (218°C). Reserve cooking liquid.
  • While waiting for oven to reach temp. Strain cooking liquid into a large container. Cool and reserve to refridgerator.
  • Once oven is at the correct temp, add pan with corned beef to oven and cook until top gets nice and crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes. (Note: placing rack in upper third of oven will help this process)
  • Remove beef from oven. Let cool. Cover with foil. Reserve to refrigerator.
  • THE NEXT DAY
  • Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
  • Remove stock from refrigerator and with a slotted spoon remove the fat from the top of the stock. Pour stock into a pot large enough to hold all the vegetables.
  • Remove beef from pan. Carefully slice beef into 1/4 ” slices. Return beef to pan. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the stock onto the corned beef in pan.
  • Cover pan with foil and place in oven to reheat beef through. While beef is heating up start vegetables. After about 20 to 25 minutes remove pan from oven and set aside, covered, to keep warm.
  • FOR THE VEGETABLES
  • Gather, peel and chop up vegetables.
  • Season stock with salt and pepper. Add potatoes and rutabagas to stock. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes and then add remaining vegetables. Continue to simmer for about 20 more minutes or until to desired tenderness. (Tip: Treat each vegetable on its own as cooking times may vary. Check each vegetable type as they cook. If one type is done remove it to a platter to keep warm while the rest catch up)
  • FOR THE HORSERADISH PARSLEY SAUCE
  • Measure all ingredients into a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly. This is best done the night before. Refrigerate until service.
  • FINAL PLATING
  • Arrange beef onto platter. Ladle a few large spoonfuls of warm stock from vegetables over beef. Arrange vegetables around sides of platter. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve with Horseradish Parsley Sauce at the table.

8 Comments

  1. Edye

    Great recipe! The corned beef was most and tender. I made Reuben sandwiches with the leftovers and the Horseradish Parsley sauce was a great alternative to 1000 Island. I’ll make the sauce in 2 weeks to serve with my beef brisket!

    • Mark Michalski

      So happy to hear you enjoyed it. We made a second batch tonight ourselves. Rueben sandwiches for dinner tomorrow!

  2. Susan Costa Doyle

    5 stars for sure!
    I can’t thank you enough for this awesome recipe! I’ve tried many times to make this dish in the past and it was always an epic fail!
    Today I was successful! 😄
    Not only was it delicious and tender, it kept my veggie portions in check too! In past attempts, I always went overboard ending up with way too many veggies and a rubbery corned beef! In my defense, I am Italian so, too much is the only way I know! Lol!
    This will be my go to recipe for the best corned beef ever!
    I didn’t make the sauce but I’ll definitely try it next time!

    • Mark Michalski

      Glad you liked it. Thank you for the kind words.

  3. Susan Costa Doyle

    5 stars for sure!
    This was delicious, tender and the perfect amount. The directions were easy to follow which was nice! I didn’t make the sauce but I’ll definitely try it next time! I will definitely make this again!

    • Mark Michalski

      Thanks you. You never know may not have to wait until next year to eat corned beef again.

      And I highly recommend the sauce with grilled salmon!

  4. Norma Newton

    How long will the corned beef cooked with cabbage and potatoes keep in the Refrigerator. I would like to use the meat to make a hash the corned beef was in the liquid with the vegetables from when I cooked it which has been about 2 weeks. Want to make sure the meat is safe. Smells and looks ok in the container. Thanks

    • Sizzle and Stem Admin

      This is a tough call. I usually let my eyes and nose tell me when food is still OK to eat. I would hate to give you the wrong advice. That said here is a link that might help you decide for yourself: https://www.stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/16967

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*