Colcannon and Corned Beef

Hope you all had a fabulous St. Patrick's Day. Not having an Irish bone in our bodies we celebrate anyway and used the day as an excuse to make corned beef.

We have a favorite tried and true method of preparation that we've posted here before so I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say the aroma coming from the pot for the entire afternoon was truly intoxicating and the end result definitely worth the wait. I'm re-posting the recipe below for your convenience so don't be turned off by the amount of spice or the use of soy sauce. It's incredibly delicious and you won't be disappointed, I promise.

Naturally I couldn't make just any old boiled potatoes and braised cabbage to go with our feast, now could I? It's strange how sometimes you think you see a recipe for something that only looks and/or sounds semi appealing, but you've just got to give it a go anyway. That's how I felt with this traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage.

Honestly, to my surprise colcannon is darned delicious - loaded with butter, cabbage, green onions and cream. (How can you go wrong with any of it?)

I followed the recipe exactly as written from Simply Recipes so hit the link to go directly to the source; however, I admit instead of using a fork to mash the potatoes I used my trusty Oxo potato ricer instead and added lots of freshly ground black pepper to the mix as well. The end result is amazingly creamy potatoes dotted with crunchy bits of cabbage and lovely pungent green onions. The flavor and texture's truly amazing.

We couldn't help but think we've deprived ourselves of this treat for far too long so there's some making up to do. Next time I'll try it with a mix of parsnips and russet potatoes and kale instead of cabbage. It'll go smashingly well with some of the Big Guy's homemade sausage, don't ya' think.

By the way, I'm sorry I'm late this morning. We've a storm raging, high winds and rain which is lovely and a perfect excuse to stay in bed to finish a book and cuddle. In fact, it was all I could do to pry Georgie off my lap and send her back outside to the wilds of the back yard because feral, semi feral or however she acts on any given day, she's smart enough to know she's safer with her Momma when there's a storm on. Dumped outside into her little hand made by Big Guy blanket nest out of the wind and rain, she's currently unamused. 

JBug’s Corned Beef

 1 brine cured whole corned beef brisket (or more to fill the pot)

3 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons mixed pickling spice

2 garlic cloves

1 Tablespoon dried mustard

1/2 cup whole black peppercorns (that’s right, a half cup)

1 cup soy sauce (make sure its good stuff – Kikkoman is good) 

 Remove corned beef briskets from packages, rinse well under running water. Place in large pot & cover with water. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly for 1 hour per pound, or until fork tender. Remove from heat and cool briskets in liquid. When cooled remove from liquid, slice and serve. Wrap remaining brisket well & refrigerate or freeze as desired. 

 A year ago -  Corned Beef and Oven Braised Cabbage

Two year's ago - Corned Beef and Cabbage

Comments

[Lorraine]

I have never made colcannon, but now I am going to have to try it out. I am with you in that I never thought the idea of it was all that inviting, but this looks so creamy and warming.

[June]

Lorraine - it is really delicious. Big Guy made some leftovers into cakes this morning and fried 'em up along with corned beef bits till it was all crispy. Topped with poached eggs, it was an amazing breakfast and best of all, I didn't cook a thing. It was exactly what I was going to make but he beat me to the kitchen. Boy I'm so spoiled!

[Lea]

You are sure to be lucky all year long! Us, on the other hand - had no irish food - we were busy in the yard all day - and to prove my bad luck - I fell and sprained my left ankle - boooooooooo. Shoulda cooked the same meal as you, my friend! And I don't blame Georgie one bit - she knows where she has it good - feral or no!

[June]

Lea - I guess it's pointless for me to ask why the heck you were in the garden in the first place being as you're supposed to be keeping the BROKEN right leg off the ground. I guess the good Lord decided to really make you immobile so you'd take it easy and let it all heal. Love ya' sweetie. Get better soon, OK?