I’ve never made corned beef before. (Actually, I still didn’t technically *make* it, as I didn’t corn the beef myself. The better phrase is “I’ve never cooked corned beef before.”) However, it was on sale when I was grocery shopping, so I decided to try it out, even though it’s not St. Patrick’s Day (e.g. the only time I’ve ever had corned beef).
I didn’t really know what to do with it. Everything I Googled called for making it with a whole ton of spices and lots of cabbage, which I didn’t have. So I decided to treat it exactly like I would any other type of beef roast and braise it with potatoes and carrots.
It worked.
Earlier in the day, I had picked up a six-pack of Sam Adam’s Cranberry Lambic because I thought it sounded interesting. David suggested using that as the braising liquid.
The beer itself was pretty good; it had just a hint of fruit flavor. So I drizzled it in, and then tucked in chopped red potatoes and a cut-up carrot. Dinner is served.
Beer-Braised Corned Beef
2.5-pound corned beef brisket + accompanying spice packet
1 bottle beer (darker is better as it imparts more flavor)
4 red potatoes, quartered
1-2 carrot sticks, cut into chunks
Salt and pepper to taste
Place the corned beef in a large Dutch oven and sprinkle it with the spice packet accompanying it. Drizzle the beer over the beef and then add the potatoes and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil and then simmer it for 50 minutes per pound of beef. My 2.61-pound brisket took approximately 2.5 hours. Serve immediately.
