Cooking the Perfect St. Patty’s Day Corned Beef in the Oven? Here’s the Recipe

The St. Patrick's Day corned beef and cabbage dinner is a traditional favorite with America's Irish and non-Irish alike - It's actually much more of an American tradition than an Irish tradition. If you thought the only way to prepare this St. Patty's Day favorite is to stick it in a pot and boil it for a really long time, well...me too. But it turns out that's not the case at all!

For the first time in a decade, it's my turn to make the corned beef and cabbage this year.  While searching the internet to brush up on my cooking technique, I was surprised at how many non-traditional options there are for preparing the dish. People are cooking corned beef on the barbecue grill, in the crock pot, and in the oven . And that's what I decided to try this year...a dutch oven specifically!

Our St. Patrick's Day dinner party this year will consist of about ten adults and eight children (that should make for a joyful noise at my house!), so the dutch oven I'll be using is a big one, 8.5 quarts.

Here is the recipe I'll be following.  Because I'm serving more than the recipe calls for, I will be tripling it!

Listen to the Lite Rock Morning Show on Monday and I'll be sure to give you a re-cap on how things went!

Have you ever tried cooking a corned beef in the oven?  If so, I would love to hear your feedback before I give it a try this weekend! Leave your comments below..  Wish me luck!

Traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Boiled Dinner

Makes 6 servings, plus leftovers

A 5- to 6-pound flat-cut corned beef brisket

1 medium to large head cabbage, plus another head, stem left in, cut into six to eight wedges

6 medium-large potatoes, peels on, scrubbed and halved

12 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed, whole

6 medium onions, peeled, stem trimmed but intact, cut in half through the stem (so halves remain intact)

Spice packet; water to cover

Cook's notes: Corned beef shrinks while cooking, so plan on ¾ to 1 pound per person to allow for some leftovers. You'll need an oversize Dutch oven or pot with a tight-fitting lid; it should be large enough to hold the beef and vegetables plus water to cover. Have a kitchen fork, tongs and a slotted kitchen spoon handy, and a warmed platter to hold the finished dinner.

Preliminaries: Heat oven to 325 degrees, with rack positioned in bottom third of oven.

Cook the corned beef: Rinse corned beef under cool water. Place meat, fat side up, in Dutch oven. Add water to depth of about 2 inches. If the brisket came with a packet of spices, sprinkle them over the brisket, then cover tightly with the lid. Place in oven and bake for 3 to 4 hours until beef is tender and pierces through easily using the fork. (Midway through the braising, remove pan from oven and carefully turn over the brisket; cover tightly and return pan to oven, baking as directed.)

Cook the vegetables: Remove the pan from oven and transfer beef to a warmed platter; cover tightly with foil and keep warm. If needed, add 1 or 2 cups of water to the Dutch oven and bring to boil on top of stove. Add potato halves; cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes. Add carrots to potatoes and continue cooking until carrots are barely tender, then add cabbage wedges, cover and cook until all vegetables are tender (cabbage can be served still a bit crisp) about 7 to 10 minutes longer.

Presentation: Arrange vegetables around the corned beef on the warmed platter. Carve meat across the grain. Serve on plates or in shallow bowl (you may wish to spoon some of the cooking broth over each serving) along with mustard, horseradish and rye bread if desired.

Source: Recipe from Joe Crea, Food and Restaurants Editor, The Plain Dealer.