Rather than keeping the meat hot, just keep it covered and warm. Use the cooking broth to reheat it. You can hold the broth hot in a crock pot. Corned beef may or may not be sliced on the bias; but it must ALWAYS be sliced at 90* to the grain of the meat. There are more detailed slicing instructions in the following recipe. Regular, that as a general rule corned beef should be sliced as thin as possible without falling apart.
The recipe may be multiplied to whatever final quantity you like.
CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
(Serves 6 - 8)
Ingredients, First Stage:
Packaged corned beef brisket(s), about 4 lbs – Flat, point or both
1 bottle Guinness Stout
1 qt beef stock, about
2 tbs molasses + 1 tbs sugar, or 3 tbs brown sugar
water as necessary
1 seasoning packet from the brisket package, or 2 tbs pickling spice
2 large carrots, washed and unpeeled
2 medium onions, white or brown, paper on
2 stalks celery
Ingredients, Second Stage:
2 carrots, peeled
1 large white or brown onion, peeled; or, 1-1/2 dozen boiling onions, or cippolinis; or package frozen pearl onions
2 lbs small red or spring potatoes
1 head cabbage, cut in eight
Technique:
Empty the contents of the package(s) into a kettle, rondeau or oval covered casserole, ideally just large enough to hold the brisket flat. Include the juices from the packaged meat. Most packaged corned beef comes with a seasoning pack, if yours does set aside.
Add the broth, stout, molasses and sugar to the kettle, and enough water if necessary to completely cover the brisket. Note: Without some sweetener the stout will turn bitter when it cooks. The amount specified here is about medium sweet, you may prefer more or less.
Turn on the flame and bring the brisket to a low boil. Either before or just after the boil, a scum will form from the fat and “impurities” in the meat. Skim the scum and discard it. Lower the heat to a simmer.
Rough cut the carrots, onions, and celery into sixths, and add them to the kettle. Add the contents of the seasoning pack or the pickling spice and the bay leaves.
Cover the pot and allow to simmer for two hours, or until beef is tender. Don’t panic, but “tender” means “very tender,” it doesn’t mean falling apart stringy. That means you’ll have to check the meat now and then as it cooks. Start at about ninety minutes and then check every 10 minutes or so by sticking with a fork. The progression goes: tough, just tender, very tender, and overcooked – with each stage lasting about 10 minutes. So, once you feel a difference, allow another ten or fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile scrub the potatoes and, if necessary, cut them into serving size pieces. Cover with water and set aside. Peel the “Stage Two” carrots, and cut them into bite size pieces, set aside. Core the cabbage and cut it into 8 wedges. Set aside.
When the meat is cooked, remove it form the the meat and set it on a plate or board. Cover it with foil and hold in a warm place.
Strain the broth into a bowl through a sieve. If you like, you may press the vegetables for their “essence.” If your pot has scum stuck to the walls, clean it. If not skip the cleaning and return the strained, clear broth to the pot.
Add the potatoes, carrots and onions, cover and simmer for ten minutes. Add the cabbage wedges, cover and simmer until the cabbage is tender – about fifteen minutes more.
Meanwhile, while the vegetables cook, set the brisket on a carving board and remove any excess fat. If the brisket was whole, i.e., point and flat, separate them.
To slice the brisket, ALWAYS cut across the grain. Cut slices from slightly less than 1/4" to a bit more than 1/2" thick. Thickness depends on tenderness. Very thin slices will seem more tender, thick slices will hold together better.
To serve the corned beef, arrange slices and vegetables in a large bowl or plate. Pour some of the broth over the meat to reheat it. A bowl works better or high sided plate works better than a dinner plate, allowing for more of the wonderful (if I say so myself) broth. If all you have are regular dinner plates, serve bowls of broth on the side.
Serve with horseradish-mustard sauce.
Hope this works for you,
BDL
PS.
As always, if you want to share or post this recipe elsewhere, you have my permission as long as you attribute it to me, Boar D. Laze. Also, I would consider it a kindness if you would mention my eventually forthcoming book, COOK FOOD GOOD: American Cooking and Technique for Beginners and Intermediates.