Hook to Cooking with Mark & Debbie

Simple, Easy, and Delicious!

Published: Sunday, April 8, 2012 7:00 am
By: Mark & Debbie Hagendorff

Hello Mates! For the most part we’ve been pretty lucky this winter with the warm weather, and with any luck we’ll be boating a little sooner this year. Speaking of luck, it was St. Patty's Day last month, and with that came green beer, Irish whiskey, and of course Corned Beef and Cabbage. As I was growing up Corned Beef and Cabbage was not one of my favorites. It seemed it was always boiled. Boiled everything, the cabbage, beef, carrots and potatoes. Well, Debbie and myself were on a mission to change the way we were taught to cook Corned Beef & Cabbage. Don’t stick your nose up at the humble cabbage because braised cabbage, with carrots and onion, deserves high praise. The long, low heat cooking draws out the sweetness of the cabbage, carrots, and onions while making it deliciously soft. Taking the foil off at the end and upping the heat produces nicely browned edges. It truly is delicious. We have made this recipe for years and like it so much we will often eat most of a pan ourselves!

This is the recipe I have chosen to showcase from the cookbook, All About Braising by Molly Stevens. This book has some of the most wonderful sounding, slow cookin’ goodness recipes. From vegetables to beef, to chicken, to fish, this book has a wide variety of dishes. Most of the recipes are quite easy to put together, they just need oven time. Slow cooked meals are perfect for this time of year. She also has very easy to follow directions, which is always greatly appreciated.

My notes to this recipe: Definitely follow the directions for the size of cabbage to use. If you use too big of one, it will not cook correctly. I also like to add several extra carrots, just because they are so delicious. Easy to do on the boat with a crock pot and finish on the grill. Even though St. Patty's Day has past, this is still a great meal to serve after working on the boat all day.

Braised Cabbage

Ingredients

1 Medium head green cabbage (about 2 pounds)
1 large yellow onion (about 8 ounces)
1 large carrot, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1/4 cup chicken stock, homemade or store-bought, or water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

Preparation

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a large gratin dish or a baking dish (9 by 13 inch works well).
Trimming the cabbage: Peel off and discard any bruised or ragged outer leaves from the cabbage. The cabbage should weigh close to 2 pounds (if you don’t have a kitchen scale, consult the grocery store receipt). If the cabbage weighs more than 2 pounds, it won’t fit in the baking dish and won’t braise as beautifully. To remedy this, cut away a wedge of the cabbage to trim it down to size. Save the leftover wedge for salad or coleslaw. Then cut the cabbage into 8 wedges. Arrange the wedges in the baking dish, they may overlap some, but do your best to make a single layer.
The Braise: Scatter in the onion and carrot. Drizzle over the oil and stock or water. Season with salt, pepper, and the pepper flakes. Cover tightly with foil, and slide into the middle of the oven to braise until the vegetables are completely tender, about 2 hours. Turn the cabbage wedges with tongs after an hour. Don’t worry if the wedges want to fall apart as you turn them; just do your best to keep them intact. If the dish is drying out at all, add a few tablespoons of water.
The finish: Once the cabbage is completely tender, remove the foil, increase the oven heat to 400, and roast until the vegetables begin to brown, another 15 minutes or so. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with coarse salt.

Serve along side the best oven roasted

Corned Beef with Whiskey Glaze

Yield: Makes 6 servings
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
½ cup Hook to Cook Tropic Sauce (www.hooktocook.com) (You can substitute orange marmalade)
1/4 cup Irish whiskey
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon All Spice
½ tablespoon Dijon mustard (plus more for serving)
1 2- to 2 1/4-pound piece lean fully cooked corned beef (according to directions on the package. This can be done ahead of time.)
Fresh parsley sprigs

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Boil next 3 ingredients in saucepan until reduced to generous 3/4 cup, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Mix in 1/2 tablespoon mustard. Generously brush corned beef all over with glaze; place in center of prepared sheet. Roast until beef is golden, brushing occasionally with more glaze, about 35 minutes. Transfer to platter, garnish with parsley, and serve with Dijon mustard.