Sunday, March 20, 2011

Not Really Corned Beef & Cabbage - Part 2

Corned Turkey. It sounds strange, it sounds unnatural, but hey, we corn beef, so it must be possible. Right?
I have it on my list of something I'm going to make "someday" - but for today I cheated and used prepared Turkey Pastrami.

I realize they aren't the same thing. Besides the fact that Pastrami meats are smoked and Corned meats are usually boiled, they also use different spices to impart different flavors (usually you'll find a lot more pepper in the Pastrami) but they are both salt-brined so hey, let's give it a whirl!

Pastrami is pre-cooked so there's no need for an hours long cooking process as you would for Corned Beef, but I didn't want to just slice and serve so here's what I did to "Corn" it up:

St. Patrick's Day "Corned" Turkey Pastrami & Brussel Sprouts
Serves: 2

Jennie-O Turkey Pastrami*
1 bottle of Guinness (11.2 oz)
Brown Sugar
1/2 lb Brussel Sprouts
1 tbsp. 1 Olive Oil
1 tbsp. Butter
salt & pepper

Cut off the woody end of the brussel sprout stems and remove the loose outer leaves. Slice from the head down into thin slivers. Rinse off the sliced sprouts and drain (just to make sure there's no bits of dirt stuck between the leaves).

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saute pan. Add the brussel sprouts and season with salt & pepper. Cook until the leaves turn bright green and start to wilt - usually about 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the Guinness into a medium saucepan with about 2 Tbsp of brown sugar. Heat to simmering. Slice the Pastrami (approx. 3-4 slices per person) and add to the Guinness mixture. Cook until just heated through. Serve on a bed of the sauteed brussel sprouts.

Easy Peasy!

*Let me just take a moment to sing the praises of Jennie-O Turkey Pastrami! It can usually be found at Safeway, next to the ham and sausage. Sliced thinly (ah my Mandolin how I love thee!) it makes a killer Reuben sandwich (of which I will post my super easy prep "someday")

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