Corn Beef 'n Cabbage for Good Luck in 2012 or Just because We Like It!!

Corn Beef 'n Cabbage is one of the traditions for New Years Day as are black eyed peas and many more great dishes depending on your heritage.  At home we never had corned beef or black eyed peas, just the cooked cabbage.

After I was married I was introduced to corned beef at Shapiro's Deli In downtown Indianapolis and I was hooked!!  They since have an additional location on far west 82nd street which I have visited with just as much delight as ever. 

This year I cooked the corned beef in the oven at 325 degrees as it sat on a rack with about an inch of water added to the bottom of the low flat pan I used.  I sprinkled the fat side up piece of beef with about a tablespoon of pickling spices and covered it with a lid.  It was cooked for 50 minutes a pound of meat (it was a 4.5 lb. roast) and uncovered the last 30 minutes.  

After roasting I leisurely set it aside on a platter and covered it to reabsorb it's delicious juices while I removed the rack, added cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions to the remaining broth and added additional water to almost cover.   A sprinkling of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper was all that was necessary to complete the seasoning.

This boiled vegetable medley was set to a good simmer over medium low heat for about 30 minutes with a loose fitting lid.  By the time it was half way finished cooking the meat was sliced thinly across  the grain and a no fuss, easy on the cook, New Years Day feast was at hand.  We accompanied the meal with rye bread and fresh fruit and chocolates for dessert.  It was a feast!!

One thing I would like to add is that corned beef seems to shrink a good bit regardless of the cooking method.  I am confident it has to do with the curing.  It appears to lose a good third or more of it's volume so when planning a meal you might want keep that in mind,  especially if you are planning for leftovers to enjoy Rubens or corned beef sandwiches.  I would judge we had about 2 1/4 finished meat from a 4.5 pound volume packaged flat cut corned beef.  Also the curing liquid is counted in the weight of the package you are buying.  This is my observation over the years and various cooking methods I have used.