Corned Beef & Cabbage Followed by Irish Car Bombs

If you, too, are suffering from flu-like symptoms, you have my sympathy!  It has been years since I have been this sick and now to make matters worse, my baby boy is suffering through a fever, a new tooth coming in, and his very first ear infection. Not so fun! According to my son’s pediatrician, this is the worst flu and cold season we’ve seen in the last 30 years. 

It was a bummer to be sick and have a sick baby especially this week because my brother and his girlfriend were down for a visit. We made the best of it, though.  I attempted to make Corned Beef and Cabbage for the first time on St. Patrick’s Day.  According to my half-Irish husband, I succeeded but not without some quick last minute adjustments to the original recipe!  

Instead of boiling the meat in water, I decided to get creative and pour in a bottle of beer, beef stock and pour in water to cover the meat.  After what seemed like an eternity to boil, I cut off a little piece for my husband to try.  He did not look too thrilled.  He tasted the beer and wasn’t too crazy about it so I quickly pulled the cabbage and brisket out of the beer and stock bath to rid them both of the beer flavor. I, then, transferred just the brisket into a pot of boiling water since the cabbage was done cooking but the brisket still had a ways to go before it was fork-tender. The end result was a delicious corned beef which was flavored nicely by the beef stock minus the memory of it ever being cooked in beer for the past three hours. 

I followed the Grobbel’s Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe on the label of the Flat Cut Corned Beef Brisket package for the most part.  Here is a video from their website if you would like to follow their recipe.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

You will need 4-6 servings:

• 3-4 lb. Corned Beef Brisket
• 1 32 oz. carton of beef broth
• 1 head of green cabbage, quartered
• 6-8 red potatoes, cut into thirds
• 6-8 carrots, cut into thirds
• 2 bay leaves
• water
• 1 bottle of good beer, optional

Hardware:

• Large pot

Directions:

Prepare the vegetables:

• Peel the carrots and cut them up into thirds.
• Discard the wilted layers and core of the cabbage and cut into four pieces. 
• Wash the potatoes and cut them into thirds.

Corned Beef:

• Remove Corned Beef from package, rinse with water and place in a large pot.
• Pour in one bottle of beer (optional) and beef broth
• Pour enough water to cover the meat. 
• Pour in the spice packet that was enclosed with the corned beef, bay leaves, and bring to a boil.

• Reduce to simmer and cover the meat. Simmer for about 2 1/2-3 hours or until fork tender.  Towards the last 30-45 minutes, toss in the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. 
• Remove the corned beef from the pot and let it stand for 10 minutes.
• Slice thinly against the grain and serve.

To end the night, some of us enjoyed an Irish Car Bomb (or three!) made of Guinness beer and Bailey’s Irish Creme minus the Jameson Whiskey. A typical Irish Car Bomb is made by pouring in half whiskey and half Bailey’s into the shot glass. Here’s my version:

Irish Car Bomb

You will need for 4 servings:

• Bailey’s Irish Creme
• 4 Guinness Draught Beers

Hardware:

• 4 pint glasses
• 4 shot glasses

Directions:

• Pour the beer into the large glass a third of the way and allow it to settle.

• Fill a shot glass with the Bailey’s.
• Drop the shot glass into the beer!

• Chug quickly or it will curdle!

Next week, look for a fun way to delight your loved ones for April Fool's Day!