Food on Friday: Feed me, I’m Irish

Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots: a traditional Irish feast. (Olivia is still working on her table manners).

I love St. Patrick’s Day. Not for any of the usual reasons (getting drunk on green beer is not my thing), but because it gives me an excuse to make one of my all-time favorite meals: corned beef and cabbage.

My mother’s family was Irish, so this was a very traditional meal growing up in our family, and it was my absolute favorite. I always requested it for my birthday, or when I came home from college. I don’t know what I loved more – the meal itself, picking at the leftovers, or eating the fried hash the next day.

Using a crock pot makes this meal incredibly easy. And with corned beef and cabbage on sale at the Hen House until tomorrow, it turned out to be super affordable. And it was really fun serving the meal to my daughter and thinking back on the generations of women in my family who had done the same.

I’ve included recipes for the main meal and the hash. I think you can figure out how to pick at the leftovers.

(Recipe’s after the jump).

Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Slow Cooker

Ingredients:
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into
matchstick pieces
5 yukon gold potatoes, cut into bit-sized pieces
1 onion, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 cups water
1 (4 pound) corned beef brisket
6 ounces beer
1/2 head cabbage, coarsely chopped

Horseradish sauce, for serving

Directions:
1. Place the carrots, potatoes, and onion into the bottom of a slow cooker, pour in the water, and place the brisket on top of the vegetables. Pour the beer over the brisket. Cover, and set the cooker on high.
2. Cook the brisket for about 8 hours. An hour before serving, stir in the cabbage and cook for 1 more hour. Serve with horseradish sauce.

Corned Beef Hash

Ingredients
2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup onion, chopped
2-3 cups finely chopped, cooked corned beef
2-3 cups chopped cooked potatoes
Salt and pepper

Fried eggs and ketchup, for serving.

Directions:
1. Heat butter in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium heat. Add the onion and cook a few minutes, until translucent.
2. Mix in the chopped corned beef and potatoes. Spread out evenly over the pan. Increase the heat to high or medium high and press down on the mixture with a metal spatula.
3 Let the mixture brown, then use the spatula to flip sections over in the pan and brown the other side. Press down again with the spatula.
4. Remove from heat. Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.

Serve with fried eggs and ketchup.