DIY Baked Corned Beef with Sauteed Cabbage and Baked New Potatoes

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
This is last year's post which we're doing again this year. Just wanted to share it with our foodie friends!
Naturally being of Irish descent, I cook Corned Beef and Cabbage at St. Patrick's Day every year. Until this year it was a traditional boiled Irish Dinner. But times they are a changing; and so this year we decided to try baking the corned beef and sauteing the cabbage and onions. And to top it all off, we baked a few new potatoes which we served with butter.
The recipe was modified from a posting of Corned Beef and Cabbage on Simply Recipes. This recipe included baking and boiling. The baked corned beef was delicious and the sauteed cabbage and onions was also. So we will do this again.

This is what the corned beef looked like on the cutting board ready for slicing. The cloves and glaze are beautiful on the browned beef fat cap.

The baked corned beef being sliced. The firm texture and beautiful crust make my mouth water even looking at this picture.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time:
Corned Beef: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Sauteed Vegetables: 20 minutes - Cooked while baking the beef
Baked Potatoes: 1 hour, 30 minutes - Cooked while baking the beef
Total: 1 hour, 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
Corned Beef:
2# of corned beef, we used one that was pre-packaged and seasoned
1 package of whole cloves, about 3 dozen or so will be used
¼ – ½ C of Sweet-Hot mustard
2 – 3 T of brown sugar
Vegetables:
1 head organic cabbage, sliced radially about 1 inch at outside
1 yellow onion, sliced radially about ½ inch at outside
4 fairly large new potatoes
6 large cloves of garlic, sliced thin
2 T caraway seeds
Black pepper to taste
Apple Cider vinegar

PREPARATION:
Corned Beef:
1. Since baking doesn't remove any salt from the corned beef, it should be put in a pot of water, brought to a boil, the water discarded and these steps repeated once to reduce the high salt content.
2. When the meat has cooled, insert the cloves into the fat cap every inch or so after poking a hole with a pointed knife.
3. Spread the mustard evenly over the whole fat cap, then sprinkle with the brown sugar.
4. Preheat the oven to 350*F, Then spray oil in a suitable Dutch oven, place the meat inside glazed fat cap up cover and place into the oven for about 1 hour and 45 minutes or until the top starts to brown and the internal temperature is at least 140*F.
5. Cool meat on a tented cutting board for at least 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
New Potatoes:
1. Wash the new potatoes and place on a rack in the oven with the meat after 15 minutes. They will cook in about 1 ½ hours.
2. When cool enough, cut in half and top with butter and parsley or chives.
Cabbage and Onions:
1. Cut the cabbage in half then slice it radially so that the outside is 1 inch wide.
2. Cut the onion in half then slice it radially, so that the outside is ½ inch wide.
3. Cut the garlic laterally into thin slices.
4. Using a large deep pan or Dutch oven, pour in 2 T of oil and saute the onions on medium heat until they start to turn clear.
5. Add the garlic and caraway seeds and continue for 1 minute.
6. Add about one third of the cabbage and continue until it starts to wilt and brown on the edges.
7. Add another third, stir well and continue as before.
8. Add the last of the cabbage and the apple cider vinegar, stir thoroughly and continue until it is pretty much all the same and is ready to serve.

PLATING:
1. Slice the corned beef and arrange the slices on the plate
2. There will be some blackened pan gravy in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir it, add a little water if necessary and spoon a little over the meat.
3. Lay some of the sauteed cabbage and onions next to the meat and sprinkle with a little Apple Cider Vinegar.
4. Cut the potatoes lengthwise, spread the edges and add a pat of butter and some chives. Arrange on the plate and serve that delicious meal.

The baked corned beef as it looks in the Dutch oven after cooking. The blackened pan gravy is delicious when spooned over the meat.

The corned beef in the Dutch oven before cooking.

The onions sliced and ready to saute. There is considerable shrinkage in cooking and we like large pieces that one can appreciate when eating.

Likewise for the cabbage. Once it is cooked, the large pieces are flexible and a bite has some substance.

Hope you all had a Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

Bon appetit,
Tom and Anita

DIY Baked Corned Beef with Sauteed Cabbage and Baked New Potatoes