Corned Beef Brisket

 I've never cooked one of these before!  I bought this for St. Patrick's Day then cooked a Porketta roast instead, so this has been in the freezer since mid-March.  I started with a 2.38# brisket and trimmed a LOT of fat off before browning. (I’d rather add the type of fat I like than use a ½” layer of beef fat!) I browned it in about 2T butter and deglazed the pan several times leaving a lot of nice browning – but the meat was still mainly dark pink.

The next addition was 3 cups of water and the package of spices that came with the brisket. I wasn’t going to use those but I opened the packet and it smelled like my Gramma Anderson’s pantry! That did it! This simmered for an hour and a half in a covered cast iron pot. I then added the potatoes shown and half a head of cabbage, cut in wedges, and simmered an additional half hour. I transferred everything to a platter, strained out the spices and thickened the gravy with a roux of a couple tablespoons of flour and cold water. NOW I get corned beef! It was amazing! It may have been my first time to make this, but certainly not my last!  The sweet potato was wonderful - lately I've decided a sweet potato is always a good idea!

In the next day or so I’ll change this up and make my version of Hungarian Goulash. If there are any leftovers that is :o) . . . Lin