Corned Beef and Cabbage with Beans
1 large corned beef brisket
2 or 3 cans of cheap beer
a couple of dried chiles, perhaps serranos
1 or 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 or 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
a few dashes cinnamon
a few dashes of allspice
3 or 4 large potatoes, scrubbed and chopped in quarters
5 or 6 carrots, coarsely sliced
3 or 4 turnips, scrubbed and sliced
1 large cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 lb mixed dry beans
Buy a corned beef brisket at your local supermarket. In a pot, pour 12
ounces of beer. Add a bay leaf or two, a dried red chile or two, a
teaspoon or two of coriander seeds, a teaspoon or two of mustard seeds,
a few dashes of cinnamon, a few dashes of allspice, and all the juice
from the corned beef pack. Put the corned beef on a steamer rack in the
pot and add water to bring the liquid level up to the bottom of the
rack.
Cover the pot and put it on some heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
Steam for several hours (it took me five hours for a 4 lb brisket) until
the meat doesn't feel rubbery when you stick a fork in it. Add water or
beer or both as needed to keep some liquid in the pot.
Remove the meat and slice. Remove the steamer rack. Leave all the other
stuff in the pot and put in some potatoes and carrots and turnips or
whatever. Add water to cover and boil until the stuff is cooked. Remove
all the vegetables and potatoes. Put the steamer rack back in and put in
some cabbage wedges. Steam them for about five to ten minutes, depending
on how crisp or soggy you like cabbage. Serve.
Get out some beans which you have thoughtfully left soaking overnight in
water (white beans, red beans and black beans all mixed up). Drain
them and put them in a pot. Cover them with the liquid that you have
been using to cook the corned beef and cabbage and potatoes and
vegetables. The liquid should be about an inch higher than the beans.
Simmer for three or four hours or until the beans are as firm or as
mushy as you like them.
Note: The beans will not be ready with the rest of
the meal but, as the original poster noted, you can eat them reheated
the next day when the flavors have had a chance to "marry". |