Traditional Irish Boiled Dinner
This classic Irish boiled dinner recipe calls for beef brisket to be slow cooked on the stove top with fresh vegetables to create a hearty meal.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 8 persons
Ingredients
- 3 ½pounds beef brisket , patted dry
- 2(12-ounce) bottles lager beer
- 2cups water, or enough to cover
- 2bay leaves
- 10black peppercorns
- ½cup parsley, chopped
- 2teaspoons salt
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter, or olive oil
- 3cloves garlic , sliced
- 2cups leeks , white parts only, chopped
- 1medium yellow onion, sliced
- ¾pound large carrots, peeled, cut into large pieces
- ¾pound small potatoes (whole red, unpeeled)
- 1pound turnips, peeled, quartered
- 2pounds green cabbage , cut into sixths, secured with toothpicks
- 1dash salt, or to taste
- 1dash freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
Step 1
Gather the ingredients.Step 2
Place an 8- to 10-quart stove-top covered casserole dish (such as a Dutch oven) on the burner. Add the beef, beer, water, bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley, and salt.Step 3
Heat a separate frying pan and add the butter or olive oil.Step 4
Sauté the garlic, leeks, and yellow onion until translucent and transfer to the casserole.Step 5
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cover the casserole, simmering gently for 3 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender. This will normally take about 1 hour per pound of brisket.Step 6
In the last 25 minutes of cooking, add the carrots and red potatoes.Step 7
In the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the turnips, cabbage, salt, and pepper.Step 8
If the vegetables are not done to your liking, cook them longer, but do not overcook.Step 9
Thinly slice the meat and serve with the vegetables (remember to remove the toothpicks from the cabbage) and pot juices along with horseradish and grainy mustard if desired.Step 10
While not traditional, you can accompany this dish with potato bread or pumpernickel bread to sop up all those flavorful juices. Source: The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors by Jeff Smith (William Morrow & Co.). Reprinted with permission.