Big cuts of meat scare me. I think part of it is seeing the remnants of the carcass or perhaps it's about all the fat and "funny stuff". Whatever it is I refused to deal with it and resorted to only cooking boneless chicken breast for the first six years of living on my own. I don't know what happened but this year things changed. Perhaps it was all that food network I was watching but most likely because of my tight budget I became brave and started to use bone in - skin on chicken breast. It was a baby step that lead me to realize once you get past all the "funny stuff" there really is something to using large cuts of the meat (and meat with bones). My meat dishes were more moist and flavorful without any additional effort. Since I only cook for one or two the the best part was all the new dishes I could make using the leftovers.
St. Patrick's day was approaching and while wandering around Pathmark I ended up picking up my very first corned beef. The verdict - corned beef was one of the easiest dishes I have ever prepared. It's a one pot meal where all you have to do is put it all in and turn your Crock Pot on. It does however, take forever and ever and ever to prep and cook. So, if your planning on making some for St. Patrick's day I suggest you start right now.
Recipe: makes about 4 servings
Ingredients:3 lbs flat cut corned beef
1 12oz. Guinness Beer
1 cup apple juice
1 lb cabbage
1 onion cut in half1 pound red potatoes
1/4 cup brown sugar
Method:
- Trim off excess fat.
- Soak beef in water for about an hour. Repeat with fresh water to get rid of some of the excess salt. (I skipped this step but found my corned beef a bit on the salty side)
- Dry off meat and rub with brown sugar.
- Place meat, beer, apple juice and onion in Crock Pot - add water if needed to cover.
- Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
- Add potatoes - cook on low for an additional thirty minutes (depending on size of your potatoes mine were rather large).
- Add cabbage (and any other root veggies at this time such as carrots or turnips) - cook about 10 minutes till veggies are tender.
Time: 10 hours and 15 minutes (10 hours of inactive time)
Nutrition Facts:Amount Per Serving
Calories 795.1 (YIKES!!!)
Total Fat 33.2 g (YIKES!!!)
Saturated Fat 11.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3 gMonounsaturated Fat 15.0 gCholesterol 237.2 mgSodium 222.8 mg (YIKES!!!)
Potassium 1,729.3 mgTotal Carbohydrate 41.1 gDietary Fiber 6.0 gSugars 1.1 gProtein 80.6 g*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Weight Watcher points: 18!!! If you are on WW you might consider a smaller portion size.
Not very healthy since even lean corned beef is pretty high in fat content. But I don't eat it much other than around St. Patrick's day as a holiday treat.