Not Really Corned Beef & Cabbage

St. Patrick's Day - the day when we're all "Irish for a Day". I'm not sure how or when that rule came into effect, but hey, if that means I get to make Corned Beef & Cabbage then so be it!

I've actually got two recipes for you. Today's is the traditional-ish version and tomorrow I'll share one for the nonmammaltarians of the world.

I'd never made Corned Beef & Cabbage before but I knew I didn't want to have a recipe that called for boiling cabbage for hours on end (bleah!) Here's what I came up with:

Traditional-ish Corned Beef & Cabbage

Corned Beef:
- 1 package TJ's Uncured Corned Beef Round Flat - the largest one you can find (mine was 4lbs)
- 2 bottles Guinness (the ones I used were 11.2 oz each)
- Brown Sugar
- Crockpot

Put the Corned Beef (including all the spices) in the crockpot, fat side up. Pat brown sugar onto the Corned Beef (I used about 3/4 of a cup). Pour both bottles of Guinness around the Corned Beef (just up to the top, being careful not to wash away the brown sugar). Cook on low heat for 8hrs.

Pull the Corned Beef out of the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle (hey it shrunk!). Pour the lovely Beefy-Guinnessy goodness through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan. Add approx. 1/2 cup of brown sugar and heat to a roiling boil to let it reduce some*.

Once the Corned Beef is cool enough to handle, rinse off the remaining spices and any fat that is still hanging on (it should slide right off). Slice it on the diagonal and serve on a bed of sauteed cabbage.

* If I'd had more time I would probably have let the sauce boil longer & added some cornstarch to thicken it a little.

Sauteed Cabbage

- 1 head Savoy Cabbage (I like the thinner leaves of the savoy vs a standard green cabbage) - thinly sliced
- 1 large sweet onion - thinly sliced
- diced garlic
- olive oil
- butter
- salt & pepper

Heat the olive oil (enough to coat the pan, about 2 Tbsp) in a large saute pan or dutch oven with about a Tbsp of butter. Add the sliced onion, season with salt & pepper and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the sliced cabbage and diced garlic to the pan and season with salt & pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring and flipping often, until the cabbage is mostly translucent but still has some crunch to it.

Serve with the Corned Beef and don't forget some of the Guinness Sauce!