I am Not Irish

Mama Kat gave us this writing prompt: Something You Ate...

Well, being the rebel that I am, I'm going to say something I cooked, and THEN ate... like a pig!

I like food. I don't particularly like to cook it but I don't mind eating it at all. Especially when it comes to some of my favorites. A good pasta. A rare steak. Nachos...

One of my favorites is Corned Beef. And I just love March for the fact that Corned Beef usually goes on sale. This year I damn near forgot. It was the day before St. Patrick's when the girls and I were in the store looking for dinner. This family came in decked out in green. They'd been to the parade, which I missed due to a previous engagement. (scowl)

When I saw them I rushed over to the beef section and scooped up the last corned beef. I almost missed out on it this year. 

I am not Irish. But I cook like one when it comes to this. Mine is better than a friend of ours who is straight off the boat from Ireland.

A good corned beef is pretty simple to make. I skip the cabbage, because none of us really like it, and I don't want to encourage THAT kind of gas. Here is a winner for ya.

@ 2.5 lb brisket

Couple of thick onion slices

2 bay leaves

Palm full each of salt and pepper

Baby red potatoes

Carrots

And the most important ingredient, 6 pack of BEER

Brisket, onion, bay leaves, salt and pepper go in the pot. Add 50/50 beer water until brisket is cover and or floating. I emptied two bottles of beer and added two bottles of water.

Cover and let simmer on low 6 hours

Add red potatoes to fill the excess room in the pot.

Drink the other 4 beers. Maybe you'll get a nice buzz and forget that you're cooking corned beef. Maybe it will keep you from taste testing the corned beef ahead of time. Just a theory.

Continue cooking on low another 2 hours.

At the 8 hour mark, remove the meat and potatoes from the pot. Slather REAL butter on beef and cover with foil to stand.

Add peeled chopped carrots to broth/water/beer. Bring to slow boil and cook 20 mins. If your potatoes get cold in that time, you can dip them back in the water when the carrots have cooked.

All done!

For my family, what takes more than 8 hours to cook, only takes 15 minutes to devour. It takes longer to clean up than it does to eat this meal. There aren't even any left overs.

But damn is it soooo worth it.

Now go play with Mama Kat. She likes it... trust me.