I remember as a child, having huge St. Patrick's Day feasts. My Mother and Grandmother would never let us forget our Irish Catholic heritage. They would set a beautiful table and serve Corned Beef and cabbage with potatoes and onions . What I remember the most about the feast, was my Grandmother would add green food coloring to certain parts of our meal. She made homemade rolls that were green in color and she always had a stick of butter that was a lovely shade of green sitting on a serving dish in the middle of the table. She would literally soften a stick of butter and mix green food coloring in it. Then mold it back into a stick to put on the table. She really went all out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Because of these childhood memories, I will always try to make St. Patrick's Day a festive day for my boys. I would hope that they will always remember and appreciate the time and care that it took to put on this feast. I will however, draw the line at adding food coloring to my rolls and butter. That image is better left for my old memories, not the ones I am trying to create today.
spice packet or 1 tsp peppercorn & 2 bay leaves
12 red potatoes
1 or 2 heads of cabbage
1 lb bag fresh carrots
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
1 bunch parsley
1 stick butter
In a large dutch oven or stock pot place the brisket best side up in the bottom. If your corned beef brisket came with a spice packet, add it to the pot. If not, then add peppercorns and bay leaves. Cover the brisket generously with water and a bottle of beer (optional - adds flavor and is a tenderizer). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
In the meantime, Scrub and rinse the new red potatoes. Leave as much of the peel as you can. Quarter them and cover with water until ready to use.
Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage until the leaves are entirely light green. Rinse and cut it into quarters through the spine so they stay together. Set aside.
Peel the carrots and cut into quarters. Set aside.
Peel the onion and cut into eighths. Set aside.
Rinse Parsley well. Remove the leaves from stems and chop the leaves finely.
After 2 hours, add the potatoes to the pot and cover with more water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add carrots, and onions to the pot. If needed add more water to cover everything. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer another 30 minutes.
Lastly, add cabbage and more water if needed. Return to a boil. Cover and simmer another 20 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Do not under cook and it's hard to overcook it.
When all is done, melt butter in a small saucepan and add minced garlic. In a large serving bowl, add the potatoes and pour the butter/garlic mixture all over. Add a generous hand full of chopped parsley and stir to combine well.
Slice the brisket cross grain and place on a serving platter. Arrange cabbage and onion on the side of platter. Serve with homemade Irish Soda Bread, mustard and horseradish on the side.
Enjoy!
In true Irish Catholic form, the dinner is cooked with carrots. But they are never served with the meal.
The carrot pieces are for flavoring and garnish only!
The Carrots remind Catholic Irishmen that the orange carrot piece is the color of Orangemen, the people they dislike.
Keep in mind however, If you wish to insult a Catholic Irishman, put a large, full bowl of carrots on the table in front of them.
