Corned Beef & Cabbage

We ate this traditional Irish meal tonight. My kids did not care for the cabbage, I expected as much. The corned beef was good all around though. It would have been even better with potatoes.

Ingredients:

2-3 lb corned beef brisket

4 slices bacon

4 tablespoons butter

1 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Spices for brisket: (most corned beef comes with a spice packet)

Peppercorns

Allspice

Cloves

Thyme

Onion

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350ºF. Place brisket into pan and fill bottom with about 1 inch of water or enough to just cover brisket. Sprinkle with spices, cover with foil, and bake 50 minutes for every pound of brisket.

COOK the bacon in large pot over medium heat until almost crisp. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside. Melt the butter in the pot with the bacon grease. Add the cabbage, stirring well to coat the cabbage. Add about 1/3 cup water, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cover pot with a lid, and cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the bacon into small pieces.

REMOVE the lid from the pot, and scatter chunks of corned beef and chopped bacon over top of the cabbage. Cover and cook until desired doneness.

Gina's Tips

I adapted this from a Kraft recipe. If you want it as easy as the original recipe then use canned corned beef instead. Cabbage is one of those vegetables that naturally contains water in its leaves. Begin by adding just a small amount of water. As cabbage cooks, if it needs more liquid, then add more water.

I have also made this in the crock pot and it turns out beautifully.  I cover the brisket with water, pour the spice packet over the top of it and put it on low for 8 hours.