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Are you still boiling the flavor clear out of your corned beef? How about spending three hours roasting? We’ve got recipes for both and we’re not afraid to say that they have their advantages and disadvantages. Our Guinness Corned Beef for example, is a delicious alternative for our favorite cured meat while Mrs. Higgin’s kettle simmer is the way a lot of people have been cooking this dish for a long, long time.
In my family, my mom has always used a pressure cooker to get the best out of this tough cut of beef. To my knowledge, it’s just about the only time of the year the pressure cooker comes out of the cabinet. I myself borrow it a few times a year exclusively for corned beef… it’s really the only thing I know how to use the cooker for. In summary… a pressure cooker works by capturing the normally escaping steam during cooking and raises the boiling point of water from 212º F to 250º F. The higher temperature shortens cooking times and, due to a lack of evaporation, extracts more flavor from foods. The increased pressure helps to break down the briskets’ connective tissue so you can have tender results in less time. If I had to round, it get’s the job done in about 1/2 the time.
Keep in mind, there is a small learning curve to pressure cooking. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, they can be had for as little as $40 for simple hardware or more for an instant pot that can handle the pressure.
Here’s what you need…
- 3lb corned beef
- 1 small onion
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 1 cabbage head, quartered
- Optional, but not really are:
- 4 large white potatoes, cut into small pieces or
- 1-2 lbs of small golden ready-to-cook potatoes
- 1-2 lbs of baby carrots or 2-inch pieces.
You can choose your cabbage, potato and carrot count independently as desired. And of course, your brisket count… one 3lb corned beef is truly only good for 2-3 hungry people without leftovers.
To your cooker, add the trivet that it hopefully came with and place the corned beef–fat side down–on the trivet. Add two cups of water. If the corned beef came with a spice packet, sprinkle that now, otherwise add pickling spices which can be bought in a spice isle and contain mustard seed, coriander, ginger, clove and other spices. Place half the chopped garlic and half the chopped onions on top. Seal the pressure cooker according to the manufacturer (and common sense) and place on your stove on high until the rocker is rolling steady (viewed 47K times!).
When this occurs, lower your heat to medium and cook a 3lb corned beef for 60 mins. I usually try to buy beefs in this weight range, but I subtract about 10 minutes per quarter pound or add about 7 mins per quarter pound. It’s easy to overcook, so try to adhere to these numbers.
Have a Guinness or a Jameson as you listen to the gentle rocking of the pressure cooker weight while Black 47 plays in the background. Then have another since it’s gonna be an hour.
After the cook time, remove the pot from heat and depressurize. Remove your beef. If your cooker has a vegetable tray, add this and now add another cup of water, the potatoes, carrots, the other half of the garlic and onion, and cabbage quarters on top. If your quantities don’t fit, only do the potatoes and cabbage and do the carrots next as a separate pass.
Reseal and heat on high again until the rocker is rolling. Cook for 5 mins only.
That’s it! Serve and enjoy! Slainte!
