Corned Beef and Cabbage
Sandy Goldberg
I am Jewish and my wife, Anne Bernadette, was born in Dublin. So, we have this mixed culture going where traditional Irish and Jewish foods are both served. I do all the cooking and when I planned to serve Corned Beef and Cabbage my wife told me her Irish family eats Bacon (Ham) and Cabbage. A little research quickly explained.
The proximity of the Irish and Jewish communities in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the mid-1800s and early 1900s is said to be largely responsible for the popularity of corned beef among the Irish immigrants. When the Irish arrived in America, they couldn’t find a bacon joint (pork store) as they had in Ireland, so they gravitated toward the Jewish corned beef like their Jewish neighbors ate.
We settled on Corned Beef because we both prefer it.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
1 Corned Beef
Seasoning package or
2T pickling spice.
Quartered large onion
4 cloves smashed garlic
2 whole carrots, peeled
2 stalks celery, with leaves,
cut in 3 pieces each
1 can of beer
Water to cover
Directions
The day before you plan to serve, place all ingredients into a large pot and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 2 hours, or until slightly fork tender.
Remove corned beef carefully to avoid breaking. Place in lasagna pan and add broth from pot.
Save the rest of the broth to boil cabbage and potatoes. Refrigerate overnight.
While cold, place on cutting board and use very sharp knife to slice. MUST cut across the grain for tenderness…with the grain is stringy and tough. Place slices back into pan with broth, cover with foil and heat slowly in a 225 oven.
Serve with boiled cabbage and potatoes.
Sandy Goldberg has taken cooking classes throughout the world including in Paris, Rome, Florence, Bangkok, Barcelona, Dublin, Los Angeles, and at the Kitchen Barn in Virginia Beach. During the day, he’s the lead account executive for Jewish News.
Photography by Terri Denison.