St. Patrick’s Day is not only synonymous with parades, shamrocks and green beer, it’s also a sure bet that corned beef brisket, an Irish favorite, will be on many menus in both restaurants and at home.
Corned beef is sold in meat departments year ’round, but sales begin to pick up when cold weather hits in January and cooks begin to pull their crock pots out to slow-cook their comfort foods, one of which is corned beef.
“But at St. Patrick’s Day, that’s when about 80 percent of all our corned beef sales happen,” says Andrew Dinsmore, meat deparment manager at Publix in Hixson.
Anne BralyCorned beef gets its name from the “corns,” or large pieces of salt, used in brining it. Before we had widespread refrigeration, the most common way for people to preserve meat was by salting it. One way to do this was to submerge a piece of meat in brine. According to “The Joy of Cooking,” the kind of salt used to preserve the meat gives corned beef its name.
A whole brisket weighs between 10 and 12 pounds — far too much for the average family, so in supermarkets you’ll find it cut into smaller pieces, anywhere from two to around five or six pounds. For a family of four, three pounds is probably the right amount. Not only does it mean fewer leftovers, you’ll have more money left over in your pocket, especially this time of year when corned beef brisket is a bargain.
“We usually put it on sale for St. Patrick’s Day,” Dinsmore notes. “And it will run about $1.50 to $2 less per pound.”
St. Patrick’s Day dishes tend to be of the comfort-food, rib-sticking kind, and this recipe makes one that is no different. I found it several years ago, and it has to be the best corned beef I’ve ever had. It’s a two-meals-in-one recipe — the best kind there is. Any left over — there’s usually not much — is made into Reuben sandwiches for a casual dinner the following night. And if you have any of the honey-mustard sauce left over, put it in a small dish and pass it so diners can pour a little over the corned beef on their plates. It’s a deliciously simple recipe.
May the luck o’ the Irish be with you, and remember the old Irish proverb: Laughter is brightest in the place where food is.
Honey-Glazed Corned Beef
1 (3- to 4-pound) corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup grainy mustard, such as Koop’s ground mustard
Rinse brisket and pat dry. Place in slow cooker, add seasoning packet and cover with water. Cook on low setting for at least 8 hours or until fork-tender. Just before serving, heat broiler to high heat. Trim off any fat from the brisket and place in a baking dish.
Mix together honey and mustard and pour directly over the top of brisket, coating evenly. Broil for 5-7 minutes or until the glaze begins to brown and caramelize. Slice or pull apart and serve with any leftover honey-mustard sauce.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.