Pressure Cooker Corned Beef And Cabbage

My counter top oven is dying.  I know they don’t last forever (this is my second one) .  I bought it for about $55 dollars about 3 or 4 years ago and I use it atleast once daily, so I know I have gotten my money’s worth from this particular kitchen item.  It’s just that they no longer make this particular brand of counter top oven any more.  I am going to have to make a a decision on a new one soon.  I know it isn’t the worst thing I could have to happen to me.  I just suck at making decisions and I hate change, especially in my kitchen.

My dying counter top oven may not be the worst thing that has ever happened to me but it is currently the most annoying thing.  I wanted to make a baked corned beef brisket today.  With my unreliable oven, I didn’t want to take the chance of ruining it. I was so bummed because today was the only day I had time to do the long, slow cook that a corned beef brisket needs to become tender.  After a good pout,  it occured to me I could make a corned beef brisket in my pressure cooker.  A quick internet search for a recipe, I found one by Gutsy By Nature.  I absolutely loved how the cook tossed out the spice packet that came with the brisket and made her own.  I also loved how the pressure cooker cut the the cooking time from over 3 hours in the oven to just over 90 minutes in the pressure cooker. The corned beef brisket was very lightly flavored (I would probably double the spices next time) and not overly salty like corned beef brisket sometimes gets.  I will always bake my corned beef brisket whenever possible but when I can’t I will use this recipe and my pressure cooker.

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3-4 lb corned beef brisket

4 cups water

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

2 bay leaves

3 whole black peppercorns

1/2 tsp whole allspice berries

1 tsp dried thyme

1  1/2  lbs small potatoes

5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 small cabbage, quartered

In a 6 quart pressure cooker, add the water, onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice berries and thyme.  Lock the lid and set the timer for 90 minutes at high pressure.  Release the pressure with a 10 minute natural release.  Remove the meat and keep warm.  Add the vegetables.  Lock the lid.  Set the time for 10 minutes at high pressure.  Release the pressure with a quick release.  Server the corned beef with the vegetables and a side of soda bread.

Baked Corned Beef

If you don’t like corned beef, please move on. This post is not for you. Come to think of it tomorrows post isn’t for you either. Come back Sunday. I will definitely have a recipe for all the corned beef haters out there on Sunday.

Now all of you still with me must be corned beef lovers right? I have a recipe that is going to rock your corned beef loving world! We are going to make a spice rub, rub our brisket, then put it in the oven and bake it. That is right, bake, not boil it! Don’t get me wrong, I love boiled corned beef. Until this year it was the only way I had ever had corned beef. But this recipe blows boiled corned beef out of the water, pun intended.

This is the most time intensive recipe I have on my blog but it is not labor intensive. The total recipe took a little over 8 hours because I soaked the brisket for two hours before I baked it to reduce the salt content. The only other change I made was not to use the tin foil. This may have accounted for the longer cooking time.

The actual labor part of the recipe is about 10 minutes, if you are slow. The labor and patience required for this recipe is totally worth it. It makes the best corned beef I have ever eaten.

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients
2-4 lb corned beef brisket
Spice packet, included with your brisket
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder

About two hours before you want to start cooking, place the brisket in a large bowl and cover with water. Every 30 minutes or so change the water, for two hours. Remove the brisket from the water and pat dry. Don’t trim the fat cap. Pat the brisket dry. Rub the spices over both sides of the brisket and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 275 degrees for 4 hours or until the meat is fall apart tender. The time it takes the brisket to get to fork tender may vary due to variations in individual ovens. Be patient. It is totally worth it.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Pie

I don’t usually post two recipes in one day but in honor of PI day and as an early St. Patrick’s day recipe, I thought I would post a savory pie recipe for corned beef and cabbage pie.

I use corned beef and Swiss cheese from the deli where I work. If you have leftover corned beef brisket you could use that instead. If you don’t have thousand island dressing use 1 tablespoon ketchup and 1 tablespoon mayonnaise. I really like the thick biscuit like crust one this. If you don’t, use only half the dough. If you have liquid buttermilk, delete the buttermilk powder and water. Add 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons liquid buttermilk.

Corned Beef Cabbage Bake

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 TBS plus 1 ½ tsp buttermilk powder
1 ½ TBS oil
½ cup plus 2 TBS water

Filling:
2 TBS butter, cubed
2 cups shredded cabbage
6 TBS onion, chopped
½ tsp carroway seeds
6 oz deli corned beef
4 oz swiss cheese
2 TBS 1000 Island dressing

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and buttermilk powder. Add the water and oil, mix as little as possible. Spread into a 6 inch cake pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. In another small bowl combine the cabbage, onion, caraway seeds, corned beef, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing, mix well. Pour cabbage mixture into the pan onto the crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Slice and serve.