Circle B Kitchen
I encourage you to buy a good quality corned beef. I like the one from Costco. Ignore any cooking instructions that may come with the brisket because we're cooking ours in beer!
Serves 4
1 head cabbage
4-lb corned beef brisket
2-3 bay leaves
1 to 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
4 large carrots, cut in half lengthwise and then into quarters
8 medium red potatoes, quartered
1 bottle Guinness beer
1 bottle regular beer
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Good quality stone ground mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Pour the beers into a large heavy pot (I use my heavy Le Crueset) and place the brisket into the pot. Add enough water to cover (just to make sure it's submerged, but no more than that) and add the bay leaves and peppercorns and cover tightly. Bring to a simmer and place in the oven. Cook for 3 hours.
While the brisket is cooking prep the veggies as noted above. Halve the cabbage through the stem and then halve again, keeping the stem end intact. You should have 8 cabbage slices that hold together.
After 3 hours, remove the pot from the oven and place it on top of the stove over a low flame. Add the potatoes, cover, and let them cook for about 7 minutes. Add the carrots, replace the lid and cook for a couple minutes before adding the cabbage on top. Squish the lid down over the whole thing and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or so.
While the veggies are cooking, mix the melted butter and parsley together and place about half in a large-ish bowl. Remove the potatoes from the pot and place them in the bowl with the butter and parsley. Mix well and keep warm. Remove the cabbage and carrots from the pot, drizzle with the remaining parsley butter and keep warm.
Slice the meat and place in the center of a large serving platter, surrounded by mounds of the veggies. Drizzle the meat and veggies with some of the cooking liquid from the pot. Serve with more of the au jus and lots of stone ground mustard.