It’s Hunk of Meat Monday. What’s cooking at your house this week? With my husband’s St. Patrick’s Day birthday, I ventured into making corned beef for the first time. And not just 3 lbs. of corned beef. It was more like 37 lbs. of corned beef to feed 54 people.
The recipe I started with came from AllRecipes.com and the reviews were strong.
Apple and Brown Sugar Corned Beef is a keeper. I followed the directions but increased by 10, cooking in 5 Crock-Pots (thank you friends who loaned a few to me) and more pans slowing cooking in my double ovens.
Apple and Brown Sugar Corned Beef is a keeper. I followed the directions but increased by 10, cooking in 5 Crock-Pots (thank you friends who loaned a few to me) and more pans slowing cooking in my double ovens.
Start with Corned Beef with the spice packet included. Most are 3-4 lbs. of meat per package.
Then all you need is 4 cups of apple juice, 1 TSBP of prepared mustard and 1/2 cup of brown sugar per 3-4 lbs of corned beef.
Add all three ingredients into your slow cooker and stir to dissolve sugar.
Add your corned beef and the spice packet. In the above Crock-Pot, I added two hunks of meat, doubling the recipe but it got quite full. The meat was tender and juicy though. You can pull it off if you need a large amount like I did.
The remaining Crock-Pots just had one recipe per pot.
The meat cooked for 4 hours on high and then I turned it down to low. Next time I’ll start it in the morning on low and let it simmer all day. I didn’t add the cabbage and potatoes to the Crock-Pot like the recipe called for and instead did those separately.
The birthday man was impressed with how tender the meat was while he was cutting.
Helping with all the fixings of our St. Patrick’s Day feast were my Spring breaking brothers. Joe frosted cupcakes and buttered buns.
The cabbage recipe came from my friend Jill. It was fantastic. Her directions to me were “Take the large chopped cabbage and lightly saute on the stove with a bit of oil and a few tablespoons of broth from the corn beef. Now this is important: add a very light sprinkling of sugar. Toss as you saute and serve while still crunchy – don’t over cook!”
I had raving reviews on the cabbage, thanks to Jill!
With the huge amounts of cabbage and potatoes to cook I was grateful my brother Robbie was there to chop for me.
Please note: both of my brothers are single, educated or being educated, attractive men. And single ladies…they are GREAT help in the kitchen. (They were properly warned when I took their photos I would be promoting this aspect of each of them today on this blog.)
Limeade plus Lemonade plus Gingle Ale plus sliced limes and green food coloring equals fantastic punch.
My siblings and me…and yes I am six feet tall and look like the old, short sister. They were such awesome and fun help.
The potatoes were roasted with garlic, butter and season salt .
Plus we had had an array of green food to add to our feast. It is sure to become an annual ritual.
Above is the chief decorator and a superb stager of food, my sister Kirsti.
My most impressive feat was the hunk of meat, Apple and Brown Sugar Corned Beef.
Flavorful, tender and my favorite part…easy.
I’ll be making this year round whether we have a house full of guests to feed or just for some yummy Rueben sandwiches to feed my family.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
What’s cooking at your house this week?
I also linked up to Melt In Your Mouth Mondays for the first time today. Check out more great recipes there!
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