BARRY SAYS: St. Patrick's Day is around the corner, so when we started talking about what to prepare in Courter's Kitchen this month, a Reuben sandwich seemed like the obvious choice so we didn't do that. We did, however, make corned beef in the slow cooker, which was later used to make the sandwiches.
KELLEY SAYS: Right. I had purchased a bag of sauerkraut a few days ago with the intent of making Reubens, but I thought we might get a couple of meals out of making the meat this way. The featured dish is slow-cooked corned beef served with fingerling potatoes and carrots and cabbage.
Corned beef prepared in the slow cooker along with cabbage, carrots and fingerling potatoes makes for a delicious meal, and the meat can be used again later for Reuben sandwiches.Courters' Kitchen
This monthly cooking series features husband and wife team Barry and Kelley Courter.
BARRY: Works for me. The meat was delicious, of course, but the cabbage, which seemed to take on a little Southern soul food flair when you cooked it with butter and bacon, was really good.
KELLEY: We both thought about putting the cabbage on the sandwiches, but I'm a sucker for kraut. I will, however, use the leftover cabbage, potatoes and carrots in a soup. I didn't discard the broth for just that reason. I do love using everything possible when cooking a large piece of meat or poultry. Barry and I can count on at least three to four meals this way. Probably wouldn't have gone so far when the kids where living at home.
BARRY: There is no way it would have made it past the one meal.
KELLEY: This meal is a no-brainer, simple to prepare and hard to mess up. Corned beef for us is like a turkey; we only have it once a year. It's a little pricey, but so well worth the money.
To customize it to your liking, you can always add more pickling spice to the broth and or any of your own favorite spices. I opted to cook in the slow cooker in lieu of the stove top. Boiling the meat would go quicker and the outcome would be the same.
And, when it comes to purchasing your brisket, don't forget about shrinkage.
Corned Beef with Potatoes and Carrots
1 packaged corned beef brisket with seasoning packet (as big or small as your family needs)
4 dried bay leaves
8 whole allspice berries
1 tablespoon of Kitchen Creole's Black Rose spice blend (available online)
1 onion, sliced
2 stalks celery
4 large whole cloves garlic
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 bottle Dark Stout Guinness beer
1 1/2 bottles of water
Fingerling potatoes, leave whole
Carrots, cut in large chunks
Place bay leaves, berries, kitchen creole, onion, celery and garlic in the bottom of slow cooker. Place brisket fat side up on top of mixture, along with seasoning packet. Spread mustard on top of brisket, along with more kitchen creole. Pour in beer and water. Cover and set to low heat for about 5 hours; at that time, check to see if brisket is tender. If it's tender, leave it in the cooker and add potatoes and carrots. Turn heat to high and continue to cook for about 45 minutes. When ready to serve, remove brisket and let it sit for several minutes before slicing. Serve with potatoes, carrots, cabbage and lots of butter. I also like additional mustard on the side.
Cabbage with Bacon and Butter
2 pieces thick-cut bacon, cut in 2-inch dice
1 tablespoon butter
1 leek
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
1/2 head green cabbage, sliced thin
3 large handfuls of pre-packaged cole slaw mix, or increase your green cabbage to of a head
2 ladles of brisket broth
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Cook bacon till almost done. Remove and drain on paper towel. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings from pan. Add butter to pan to melt, then add onion and leek. Sauté for about one minute, then add caraway, cabbage and cole slaw mix. Cook until all begins to wilt and caramelize just a little, about 4-6 minutes. Once mixture looks as though it's almost cooked add your brisket broth. Let that steam, add black pepper then cover and remove from heat until ready to serve.