Yesterday I made corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots for dinner. I happened to be at Walmart’s grocery picking up a dairy product that only they carry locally and I grabbed one of their packaged corned beef briskets. Traditionally this is a boiled dinner but I prefer my sides cooked differently.
I started the meat fairly early in the morning so it would be ready for a 6 PM meal. I first soaked it in cold water for about 30 minutes changing the water at the 15 minute mark. This gets a lot of the saltiness from the meat. I then patted it dry and vacuum sealed the brisket. I wanted to try this one with no extras added to the bag. By the way I also discarded the seasoning packet that came with it. It went into a pot of water with the Anove preheated to 180° F. I covered the pot loosely with clear plastic wrap to minimize evaporation loss. My cooking time was 10 hours.
About 3 hours before the meat was scheduled to be done I started the cabbage.
I made 3 even cuts not going all the way through turned it 90° and made 3 more giving me squares. In each cut I put a pat of butter. I then placed the head of cabbage on a large piece of heavy duty foil and pulled it up. I then poured a half bottle of beer over the cabbage. Salt, pepper and some red pepper flakes were added. Finally I added 6 strips of thick bacon 3 in each direction. I wrapped the foil around it making a nice shiny ball. Into the oven for 3 hours at 350°
With about an hour and a half to go I cut up the carrots and potatoes into equally sized pieces. I tossed in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. I put them on a sheet pan and in the oven they went with the cabbage.
When the potatoes were done I removed the bag from the hot water and placed the cooked brisket on a cutting board… I then removed the cabbage and unwrapped it.
Using a sharp slicer I cut the meat into equally thick fairly thin slices.
I quickly plated the meal using the juice from the bag over the entire dish.
This was one of the best corned beef meals I have had. The meat was tender but still retained its texture, that is to say it was not falling apart. I think if it were cooled it would make perfect paper tin slices for a sandwich.
Going to have to try your cabbage. Sounds awesome.
While I’ve always loved corned beef, prepping it sous vide gives a new appreciation for it. Actually planning on doing a corned beef dinner for my mother and mother-in-law sometime when the weather cools.
Remember, with sous vide cooking, that the thickness of an item is what will determine the time it takes for them to cook. Tenderloin, being a naturally tender cut, will only need to be brought up to you desired doneness temperature. I will try for sure.
I do 10 or 12 corned beef briskets every year when the prices settle before St. Patrick’s Day from about six bucks a pound to $2.50. I am new to Sous Vide and will try that, but now I use a simple technique.
Open the brisket package, put the juice in a 6 quart stock pot and the contents of the seasoning pack. Add the brisket and pour one or two bottles of Guinness Stout in, enough to float the brisket. Set it for LOW, 8 hours. At the end of the time, poke it with a fork…if it goes easily into the meat, you are done. If it is still a little tough, cook it longer. This is a faultless way to do Corned Beef. I usually do two briskets at a time in the crock pot. Now that I am into Sous Vide, can’t wait to try that. We vacuum seal cooked Corned Beef into one pound packs and freeze them. When the brisket is done, let it cool and then wrap in foil and into the fridge for a few hours or overnight. They slice much better chilled.
If you try sous vide I would rinse the meat in cold water for a couple of hours to get some of the salt out. It can be too much if you do not soak. Also I never use the packet. I think it is meant to be used in the boiling water where it is diluted.
