Published: March 07, 2008 12:29 pm            

Want to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Make corned beef and cabbage

Corned beef and cabbage are traditional St. Patrick's Day food.

Prepare a corned beef brisket large enough for leftovers to make hash and Reuben sandwiches.

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Corned Beef With Apples, Sauerkraut, Onion and Cabbage for 4, with leftovers

5-6 pounds corned beef (buy 2 small ones if necessary)

16 ounce package refrigerated sauerkraut

3 large apples

3 medium onions

1/2 small to medium sized cabbage

2 tablespoons brown sugar or Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

1 cup apple juice

1 apple for garnish

1 orange for garnish

Spray oil inside 5 or 6 quart plus crockpot.

Drain sauerkraut. Scatter evenly over bottom of pot.

Peel and quarter onions. Core and quarter apples. Arrange with onions over sauerkraut. Sprinkle apples, onions and sauerkraut with brown sugar.

Rinse corned beef. Pat dry. Place on apples, onions and sauerkraut, fat side up.

Scatter pickling spices in tiny package with corned beef over all.

Cut cabbage in half lengthwise. Slice one half into 4 wedges. Keep stalk intact to hold cabbage wedges together. Arrange cabbage around sides of corned beef.

Cover and set crockpot on low for 12-14 hours.

Remove corned beef from pot to platter. Surround beef with sauerkraut, apples, onions and cabbage. Garnish with slices of orange and apple.

To serve: Slice corned beef in long thin strips across the grain.

For leftovers:

Remove apples and onions from sauerkraut. Discard fruit. Refrigerate corned beef and sauerkraut separately.



• • •

Corned Beef Hash

(adjust ingredient quantities according to amount of leftover corned beef)

For Hash:

4 tablespoons butter

2 cups cooked corned beef, chopped

3 cups frozen diced hash brown potatoes, thawed (may use leftover boiled, cooked, diced potatoes)

2 tablespoons finely chopped or diced onion

Pepper

White sauce

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add corned beef, potatoes and minced onion. Spread evenly in skillet.

Brown on one side. Turn with a spatula and brown other side. Continue flipping hash until most of meat and potatoes are well browned. Drain off fat.

Stir in enough white sauce, starting with 1/4 cup, adding more if needed, to moisten hash as much as you wish. Reserve remaining sauce to serve with peas or chipped beef.

Sprinkle with pepper to taste. Add salt if you must, but do it sparingly.



For White Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup milk

Over medium-low heat in a small sauce pan, melt butter. Add flour. Stir until flour and butter are amalgamated and begin to darken. This "cooks" flour until it no longer tastes "raw". Careful not to scorch.

Remove from heat. Add milk slowly and whisk until smooth. Return to medium heat and whisk constantly until sauce is smooth, thickened and the consistency of country milk gravy.

You will not need a whole cup of white sauce for hash. Refrigerate remaining sauce for other use.



• • •

Reuben Sandwich

For Russian Dressing:

1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise

1/4 cup Heinz red chili sauce

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 tablespoon minced celery

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 tablespoon heavy cream

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Pinch sugar or Splenda

Whisk until creamy. Makes tasty salad dressing as well as Reuben dressing.



For 2 sandwiches:

4 slices rye bread (buy wide, thin rye)

4 slices Swiss cheese

Paper thin slices corned beef

Sauerkraut

Unsalted butter, melted

4 tablespoons Russian Dressing

Spread 1 tablespoon Russian dressing on each of 4 slices of bread. On 2 slices of bread, layer 1 slice cheese, 1/2 cup sauerkraut, several paper thin slices corned beef. Top with another slice of cheese. Top each slice with second slice of bread.

Press sandwich together with your hands.

Brush top and bottom of both sandwiches with melted butter.

Heat a grill or skillet on medium heat until hot. Place sandwich in skillet. Brown on each side (on low if need be) until cheese begins to melt. Press with spatula as sandwich grills.

Repeat with second sandwich. Yum.

        

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