This delicious dish is my husband’s culinary claim to fame.  The first time he cooked this corned beef for one of our family holidays, it was such a hit with our immediate family, that there was nothing left to serve our guests.  We have since doubled the recipe to ensure that we have enough to go around.  I like to serve Steve’s corned beef with an array of colorful steamed vegetables such as red bliss potatoes, carrots, and Brussels sprouts. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 5 pounds corned beef brisket
  • 2 onions, coarsely chopped
  • 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 2 parsnips, coarsely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
  • 1 turnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 8 cloves garlic, sliced in half
  • handful of parsley, tied with kitchen string
  • handful of dill, tied with kitchen string

Glaze

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons mustard
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4  cup honey
  • 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 pound 4 ounce can of pineapple rings in pineapple juice, drained, juice reserved
  • maraschino cherries
  • green and red grapes

Rinse the corned beef and remove any pickling spices left on the meat.  Place the meat in a large stockpot and fill with water to cover the meat by about 2 inches.

Add the onions, carrots, parsnips, celery, turnip, garlic, parsley, and dill.  Bring all ingredients to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook meat and vegetables for about 3 hours until meat is very tender.

Allow the meat to cool slightly, then remove gently from the broth.  You will not need the broth—so it is ok to discard it.  The corned beef is now cooked and ready for glazing.  It can be prepared to this point up to two days in advance, and refrigerated until ready to glaze.

To make the glaze—place the oil, mustard, ketchup, vinegar, honey, brown sugar, and about 1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice into a saucepan.  Bring all ingredients to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.  You can prepare this glaze up to two days in advance.

When you are ready to glaze and bake the corned beef, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the corned beef, then place into a roasting pan. Brush some of the glaze on the corned beef. Arrange the pineapple rings and grapes decoratively on top of the corned beef, placing a maraschino cherry into each pineapple ring center. If necessary, you can secure the cherries with toothpicks. Bake for about 30 minutes.  Allow to rest for about 10 minutes, then serve.  Place the extra glaze in a gravy boat and pass around.

Serves 8.

Essex Fells Magazine

March 2013