-- Joe Crea, Food and Restaurants Editor
Traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Boiled Dinner
Makes 6 servings, plus leftovers
A 5- to 6-pound flat-cut corned beef brisket
1 medium to large head cabbage, plus another head, stem left in, cut into six to eight wedges
6 medium-large potatoes, peels on, scrubbed and halved
12 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed, whole
6 medium onions, peeled, stem trimmed but intact, cut in half through the stem (so halves remain intact)
Spice packet; water to cover
Cook's notes: Corned beef shrinks while cooking, so plan on ¾ to 1 pound per person to allow for some leftovers. You'll need an oversize Dutch oven or pot with a tight-fitting lid; it should be large enough to hold the beef and vegetables plus water to cover. Have a kitchen fork, tongs and a slotted kitchen spoon handy, and a warmed platter to hold the finished dinner.
Preliminaries: Heat oven to 325 degrees, with rack positioned in bottom third of oven.
Cook the corned beef: Rinse corned beef under cool water. Place meat, fat side up, in Dutch oven. Add water to depth of about 2 inches. If the brisket came with a packet of spices, sprinkle them over the brisket, then cover tightly with the lid. Place in oven and bake for 3 to 4 hours until beef is tender and pierces through easily using the fork. (Midway through the braising, remove pan from oven and carefully turn over the brisket; cover tightly and return pan to oven, baking as directed.)
Cook the vegetables: Remove the pan from oven and transfer beef to a warmed platter; cover tightly with foil and keep warm. If needed, add 1 or 2 cups of water to the Dutch oven and bring to boil on top of stove. Add potato halves; cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes. Add carrots to potatoes and continue cooking until carrots are barely tender, then add cabbage wedges, cover and cook until all vegetables are tender (cabbage can be served still a bit crisp) about 7 to 10 minutes longer.
Presentation: Arrange vegetables around the corned beef on the warmed platter. Carve meat across the grain. Serve on plates or in shallow bowl (you may wish to spoon some of the cooking broth over each serving) along with mustard, horseradish and rye bread if desired.
