Corned Beef and Cabbage
I've made my Portuguese New England Boiled Dinner many times, but have never used corned beef in what a lot of people call a traditional New England Boiled Dinner - or Corned Beef and Cabbage. When I saw that Cathy at Wives with Knives made it recently using her crockpot, I decided to give it a whirl. Cathy also let us in on a little secret to finishing the beef under the broiler, which is the way her mom has always prepared it.
I put a couple stalks of celery on the bottom of the crockpot, then layered whole peeled potatoes, sliced onions and peeled carrots. I put the beef on top of the vegetables then poured water in to almost cover the meat. I cooked this on high for 3 hours and then on low for 5 hours. I then removed the beef and vegetables to a roasting pan, covered it with foil and let it sit in a 250 degree oven to keep warm. I poured the broth from the crockpot into a pan and put the quartered cabbage in it to simmer until done, about 45 minutes.
Cathy's tip: Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons Dijon, a dash of cloves and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar. When the beef is done, remove the fat and spread with this mixture. Broil the beef until the topping is hot and bubbly. I sliced my beef first and painted the slices with the sugar mixture. It really added a nice finishing touch to the beef. I also mixed some sour cream and prepared horseradish to serve with the meal.
