Typically, boil the meat, add the potatos and carrots later, then lastly the cabbage.
I make mine a bit different. I brine a brisket flat for 2 weeks and then smoke it for 10 hours. Once that is done and resting, I boil the carrots and potatoes for 20 minutes or so, then add the cabbage until it is softened.
A guy at work has been smoking briskets, and recently I have been bringing in corned beef for him.
The cut is the same, one is brined, or 'corned' and the other is not.
I'm sure you know this, but some may not, so there it is.
Both are delicious, but the corned is much better.
The fat turns into a jelly that makes the whole thing just melt in your mouth.
He is on vacation in Hawaii for two weeks, so missed this 17th.
We still all had excellent corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots at work- but we all agreed that next time the meat must be smoked.
The majority of us at work have bad teeth (loose, gone, whatever), so texture is very important.
As the manager would say, when you put the meat in your mouth, it should melt- like butter.
Chewing should be optional, lol.
After eating at the company functions for over a year, I have to agree.
I have become very particular, yet easy to please with food, especially meat.
The texture is most important, because even a fast food joint can make a pressed mess of body parts taste good.
But nobody wants to chew meat like bubble gum, and nobody wants to spend hours picking it out of their teeth after a meal.
Personally, I love a good rare piece of meat.
My ol'lady thinks that any red is blood (even though I have shown her the science as to why it is not) and so she makes all meat well done.
Interestingly enough, even when 'overcooked' it is tender and juicy, because she knows how to do that.
But, yet again, nothing can come close to a properly smoked piece of meat that literally melts in your mouth.
Damn it, now I'm hungry!
I hope that you have some Irish in you if only in spirit. Enjoy the day and share some love.
