ironpeddler
Ye Old Newbie
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2008
- Messages
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Guys, I originally posted this in Andy's (Gonz) Chef's Pass back in 2009 and I still make this a few times every Summer, except on the grill. I love corned beef and buy it any time I see it at the supermarket....so what better way to make it than combine two of my great food loves...corned beef & bacon!
I started out by seasoning both sides of a 4lb brisket with a non-salted herb rub that I make, fat side up, and put a little light olive oil on the bottom of the pan...
If you use a rub with salt, it comes out too salty because I covered it with the now infamous 'bacon mat' made from thick cut bacon and seasoned with more herb rub...
Very simple...now cover the corned beef with foil and put it on the center rack of a pre-heated oven of 250F. It will cook for about 6 hours total, 2 hours covered and 4 hours uncovered. After you remove the foil at the 2 hour mark, use a turkey baster and remove most of the liquid fat from the pan and save it off to the side. You can repeat this as needed.
For the BBQ'd cabbage, this recipe I took from Steven Reichlin. I got a nice firm 2-3lb head of cabbage and cored it out with a sharp knife to 4" deep and 4" round. I chopped up the remainder of the thick cut bacon (trim off the large amounts of fat), about 6 slices, a small finely chopped onion and about 3/4 of a stick of lightly salted butter. You'll need about a 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce and a little Worcestershire sauce as well. You can see the core plug and the basting brush we'll use later.
Now you'll need a foil pie plate and you have to make a foil ring to hold the cabbage upright. I used Reynolds Heavy Duty foil for the ring...just reel off about 18-20" and loosely roll it up on it's longest side, then make a ring out of it. Once the cabbage is prepped, you place it on the ring and push down a bit to assure it's upright position.
Now, melt 2 tbs of butter in a 12" frying pan, add the bacon and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the onion and cook until it's lightly browned. If you cut the bacon lean enough, there is no need to drain it. At this point add your favorite BBQ sauce & a few squirts of Worcestershire and cook about 5 more minutes. Also, slice & dice the rest of the butter and put it in the freezer to use later.
At this point, you put the cabbage on top of the foil ring and spoon the bacon/onion mixture into the cabbage cavity. Now take the retained fat you sucked out of the cooking corned beef and paint the outside of the cabbage. Right before you put it in the oven, put the frozen butter into the mixture and push down some of it deep inside. Put the cabbage in the oven with 2 1/2 to 3 hours to go before the corned beef is done. Using the turkey baster, take some juice from the brisket pan and put it on the ouside of the cabbage every 1/2 hour...just keep it out of the center BBQ mixture.
At this point we need to add the potatoes. I peeled about 3 pounds of baby whites that I par boiled for 30 minutes and added to the pan with about 1 1/2 hours ago. Put them around the corned beef, cover them with pan drippings from the pan using the turkey baster, then sprinkle some of the herb rub on them.
ETA: At this point you could brush the corned beef with some BBQ sauce...and I have done this on occasion...but only if I don't make the BBQ'd cabbage. The flavor of the BBQ sauce on the cabbage is plenty when eating the corned beef. My alternative to BBQ'd cabbage is to fry up some diced bacon with the bacon grease of the meat cooking, throw in some butter, and pour that into the cabbage that I cored out...and slow cook that on the grill while basting it with the meat drippings. OMG is it so good!...and if eaten too much, will eventually kill you.
With the correct timing, it's all done in 6 hours. Take the corned beef out and put it on a platter covered with foil for 10 - 15 minutes while you quarter the cabbage and remove the potatoes to a bowl. Slice up the brisket...
Quarter the cooked cabbage...
Now plate up the corned beef, BBQ'd cabbage and roasted potatoes. I got a great loaf of freshly baked Jewish rye bread from our local bakery, a couple bottles of beer (Yuengling Black & Tan) and there you have it...comfort food.
I hope you try this, it's simple to make, the timing between each part is manageable, and the meat is so tender...with a different flavor from the traditional boiled version by adding the bacon. The cabbage has a tender, slight crispness to it that is topped off with the BBQ twang and the potatoes are more firm and flavorful that the mushy boiled version.
Buon Appetito!
I started out by seasoning both sides of a 4lb brisket with a non-salted herb rub that I make, fat side up, and put a little light olive oil on the bottom of the pan...
If you use a rub with salt, it comes out too salty because I covered it with the now infamous 'bacon mat' made from thick cut bacon and seasoned with more herb rub...
Very simple...now cover the corned beef with foil and put it on the center rack of a pre-heated oven of 250F. It will cook for about 6 hours total, 2 hours covered and 4 hours uncovered. After you remove the foil at the 2 hour mark, use a turkey baster and remove most of the liquid fat from the pan and save it off to the side. You can repeat this as needed.
For the BBQ'd cabbage, this recipe I took from Steven Reichlin. I got a nice firm 2-3lb head of cabbage and cored it out with a sharp knife to 4" deep and 4" round. I chopped up the remainder of the thick cut bacon (trim off the large amounts of fat), about 6 slices, a small finely chopped onion and about 3/4 of a stick of lightly salted butter. You'll need about a 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce and a little Worcestershire sauce as well. You can see the core plug and the basting brush we'll use later.
Now you'll need a foil pie plate and you have to make a foil ring to hold the cabbage upright. I used Reynolds Heavy Duty foil for the ring...just reel off about 18-20" and loosely roll it up on it's longest side, then make a ring out of it. Once the cabbage is prepped, you place it on the ring and push down a bit to assure it's upright position.
Now, melt 2 tbs of butter in a 12" frying pan, add the bacon and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the onion and cook until it's lightly browned. If you cut the bacon lean enough, there is no need to drain it. At this point add your favorite BBQ sauce & a few squirts of Worcestershire and cook about 5 more minutes. Also, slice & dice the rest of the butter and put it in the freezer to use later.
At this point, you put the cabbage on top of the foil ring and spoon the bacon/onion mixture into the cabbage cavity. Now take the retained fat you sucked out of the cooking corned beef and paint the outside of the cabbage. Right before you put it in the oven, put the frozen butter into the mixture and push down some of it deep inside. Put the cabbage in the oven with 2 1/2 to 3 hours to go before the corned beef is done. Using the turkey baster, take some juice from the brisket pan and put it on the ouside of the cabbage every 1/2 hour...just keep it out of the center BBQ mixture.
At this point we need to add the potatoes. I peeled about 3 pounds of baby whites that I par boiled for 30 minutes and added to the pan with about 1 1/2 hours ago. Put them around the corned beef, cover them with pan drippings from the pan using the turkey baster, then sprinkle some of the herb rub on them.
ETA: At this point you could brush the corned beef with some BBQ sauce...and I have done this on occasion...but only if I don't make the BBQ'd cabbage. The flavor of the BBQ sauce on the cabbage is plenty when eating the corned beef. My alternative to BBQ'd cabbage is to fry up some diced bacon with the bacon grease of the meat cooking, throw in some butter, and pour that into the cabbage that I cored out...and slow cook that on the grill while basting it with the meat drippings. OMG is it so good!...and if eaten too much, will eventually kill you.
With the correct timing, it's all done in 6 hours. Take the corned beef out and put it on a platter covered with foil for 10 - 15 minutes while you quarter the cabbage and remove the potatoes to a bowl. Slice up the brisket...
Quarter the cooked cabbage...
Now plate up the corned beef, BBQ'd cabbage and roasted potatoes. I got a great loaf of freshly baked Jewish rye bread from our local bakery, a couple bottles of beer (Yuengling Black & Tan) and there you have it...comfort food.
I hope you try this, it's simple to make, the timing between each part is manageable, and the meat is so tender...with a different flavor from the traditional boiled version by adding the bacon. The cabbage has a tender, slight crispness to it that is topped off with the BBQ twang and the potatoes are more firm and flavorful that the mushy boiled version.
Buon Appetito!
