A tribute to St. Patrick: tender corned beef the smart, lazy way - includes recipes on Irish cooking

Sunset, March, 1999 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

Irish immigrants plunked corned beef and cabbage into our culinary melting pot because it was good, cheap food. In my youth, it was also good for a chuckle in the Sunday funnies with Maggie and Jiggs. The couple had won a bundle in the lottery, but Jiggs hankered for the simple life. Wife Maggie, on the other hand, had social aspirations; she planted a silk top hat on her husband's head and banned his beloved corned beef in their mansion. Invariably, though, her moments of triumph in society were blown by Jiggs's secret attempts to boil a hunk of corned beef. As its unmistakable lowbrow aroma drifted among Maggie's grand guests, their noses tilted even higher, and they marched out. The last cartoon frame usually had Maggie pursuing Jiggs, flinging pans angrily and shouting something like "Where's the (corned) beef?."

If Jiggs had just used the oven, he could've joined Maggie and their guests and diverted their attention as his untended corned beef baked discreetly, with little bouquet but exceptionally tender results. It's a practical choice. You can bake potatoes with the beef and make a handsome red cabbage salad (all of the recipes follow) for a St. Patrick's Day celebration fit for the classiest guest.

Oven-Braised Corned Beef Brisket

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 41/2 hours

NOTES: The weight of the meat shrinks by about half as the brisket cooks.

MAKES: 6 to 8 servings

1 piece (about 4 lb.) center-cut corned beef brisket

1 lemon, ends trimmed

1 onion (about 1/2 lb.), peeled

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon whole allspice

6 to 8 whole cloves

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Trim and discard most of the surface fat from brisket. Rinse meat well under cool running water, rubbing gently to release its corning salt.

2. Lay meat, fattiest side up, in a 2-inch-deep, 11- by 15- or 16-inch roasting pan. Thinly slice lemon (discard seeds) and onion and lay slices over meat. Sprinkle with peppercorns, allspice, and cloves.

3. Set pan on middle rack in a 325 [degrees] oven. Pour about 8 cups boiling water around brisket, seal the pan with foil, and bake until meat is very tender when pierced, about 4 hours. Uncover and drain off all but about 1 cup of the liquid. If desired, reserve the lemon and onion slices and rearrange them on top of the meat.

4. In a small bowl, mix the mustard and brown sugar; spread evenly over meat, on top of the onion-lemon mixture. Broil about 8 inches from heat until the mustard mixture begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the brisket to a platter. Serve hot, warm, or cold; slice meat across the grain.

Per serving: 330 cal., 60% (198 cal.) from fat; 21 g protein; 22 g fat (7.2 g sat.); 9.8 g carbo (0.5 g fiber); 1,471 mg sodium; 111 mg chol.

St. Paddy's Potatoes with Green Sauce

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 11/4 hours

NOTES: Add potatoes to oven for the last hour the corned beef bakes. If the beef is done before the potatoes, let it continue cooking until potatoes are ready. If making green sauce up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill.

MAKES: 6 to 8 servings

12 to 16 round red thin-skinned potatoes (21/2 in. wide; 2 to 21/2 lb. total)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped parsley

3/4 cup lightly packed rinsed and drained watercress sprigs

1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

3/4 cup sour cream (or half sour cream and half plain yogurt)

Salt

1. Scrub potatoes and pierce each with a fork.

2. Set potatoes directly on the rack in a 325 [degrees] oven and bake until soft when pressed, 1 to 11/4 hours (about 45 minutes in a convection oven).

3. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, combine lemon juice, parsley, watercress, tarragon, and sour cream. Whirl until mixture is smoothly pureed, scraping container sides as required.

4. Cut a slit across the top of each potato and pinch sides to pop open top. Set potatoes on a platter and spoon a little of the green sauce into each. Serve with remaining sauce and salt to add to taste.

Per serving: 140 cal., 30% (42 cal.) from fat; 3 g protein; 4.7 g fat (2.8 g sat.); 22 g carbo (2.1 g fiber); 24 mg sodium; 9.5 mg chol.

Putting cabbage in the red

Flaunting the hue of certain red vegetables is simple if you know what turns it on. The red in cabbage and onions is enhanced by acid, like that in vinegar, fruit juice, and wine. Without acid, red cabbage and onions turn purple-blue as they stand; when cooked, cabbage gets bluer, onions fade. The dressing in this recipe makes a salad brilliant.

Red Pear, Onion, and Cabbage Salad

PREP TIME: About 20 minutes

NOTES: You can substitute green cabbage, white onions, and yellow- or green-skin pears. If making up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill.

MAKES: 6 to 8 servings

1 head red cabbage (about 11/2 lb.)

About 6 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped crystallized ginger

Salt

2 firm-ripe red-skin pears (5 to 6 oz. each)

1/2 cup chopped chives or green onions

1. Pull off and discard the bruised cabbage leaves. Rinse cabbage and thinly slice.

2. In a large bowl, mix 6 tablespoons rice vinegar, sugar, horseradish, red onion, and ginger. Add cabbage and then salt to taste; mix well. For mellower flavor, let salad stand at least 10 minutes, then mix again.