St Patrick’s Day is celebrated with green bagels and green beer, parades and shamrock shakes all across America. It is also a day to enjoy a traditional corned beef and cabbage meal. The holiday celebrated on March 17th was transformed from a religious feast to a day of festivities by Irish immigrants. In honor of the occasion, Irish immigrants splurged on corned beef, traditional potatoes and affordable cabbage. The holiday meal became popular throughout the country when Abraham Lincoln chose corned beef, cabbage and potatoes to serve at his first Inaugural Luncheon. Truth be told, corned beef and cabbage is an “American thing”. In Ireland, you can expect to be served bacon and cabbage.
Corned beef is made with beef brisket. Most people purchase a “ready-to-cook” corned beef that has already been cured. The meat is cured using large grains of rock salt, or “corns” of salt, and a brine. The “corning” is what gives corned beef its unique, briny taste, infusing the beef with a salty, sour, spiced flavor. Look for corned beef packaged in a vacuum-sealed bag in the meat section at McCaffrey’s. Of course, you can always purchase a beef brisket and cure the meat yourself. However, this is a time-consuming process and most people opt for the ready-to-cook for convenience .
Nutritionally speaking, corned beef contains plenty of protein, but brisket is a fatty cut of meat. Corned beef has about 215 calories in a 3-ounce serving along with 15 grams of protein and 16 grams of fat. Because of the brining, corned beef is high in sodium with 827 mg per 3 oz serving. This provides 36% of the recommended 2,300 milligrams per day. Watching the portion size is recommended for those that are salt sensitive. Combining the main course with a healthy serving of cabbage and potatoes helps to balance this holiday meal.
Of note, most commercially prepared corn beef contains sodium nitrite as an additive. This contributes to the sodium content but mainly functions as a preservative for processed meats. Sodium nitrite helps maintain freshness by limiting the growth of bacteria that cause foodborne illness. The characteristic pink color of corned beef occurs with the nitrate reacts with the beef proteins.
Brisket is cut of beef is naturally tough, so it needs to be cooked with moisture at a very low temperature. Cooking the beef “low and slow” is the key to flavorful, tender corned beef.
- Corned beef is traditionally covered with water, brought to a boil and then covered and gently simmered over the stovetop over low heat. A 3 pound corned beef takes about 3 hours to become tender.
- Corned beef can also be prepared in a slow cooker. Cover the meat with water and mix with onions, carrot and spices. The long, slow cooking helps to create a tender and soft corned beef. This method will take from 8-10 hours, cooked on low, with the cabbage added in the last couple hours of cooking.
- Or try this crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe that offers a bit of a twist. A generous addition of winter root veggies makes for a satisfying dinner without a fat and sodium overload. A delicious sour cream mustard sauce brings out the best flavors of the tendered corned beef.
- For a quick, easy, foolproof method, corned beef can be cooked in a pressure cooker function in an Instant Pot. This method produces a perfect corned beef and creamy veggies in under 2 hours.
- Regardless of how your corned beef is cooked, it is important to let your meat rest for at least 10 minutes prior to slicing.
- To enjoy a totally classic corned beef and cabbage meal, enjoy a plate with corned beef slices, a wedge of boiled cabbage, thick potatoes and a big dollop of grainy mustard.
- Cooked corned beef leftovers can be wrapped or covered in the refrigerator, where they’ll keep for three to four days. In the freezer, cooked corned beef can last two to three months.
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