One of my personal favorites during the cooler
and windy months is New England Boiled Dinner. This version is from Betty
Crocker. The leftovers are absolutely wonderful made into a "skillet hash" the
following day for breakfast or lunch. The Skillet Hash is MY recipe. This is truly Comfort Food for the
soul.
Our Sam's Club had corned beef briskets on
sale this month, so we bought a few for the freezer. Here is the recipe for the
New England Boiled Dinner AND for the Leftover Hash.
3-5 pound trimmed corned beef
brisket
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion quartered
1 medium head green cabbage, cut in
wedges
smaller onions approximately 3-4
carrots, approximately 10 medium
6 potatoes pared and halved or
quartered
Place meat in large kettle, cover with cold water. Follow
directions on corned beef for using the season packet if the seasoning is not
already dispersed on the corned beef. Add garlic and onion, heat to boiling.
Reduce heat and simmer 3 hours or til tender. Add small onions, carrots,
potatoes. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add cabbage wedges and simmer
uncovered 15 minutes or til vegetables are tender. Remove meat to platter and
surround with vegetables. I like a lot of fresh ground black pepper. Serve with
crusty french bread loaf along with some room temp butter for easy spreading on
the bread. We also like Honey Butter. Corned beef should be sliced in thin
diagonal slices across the grain at a slanting angle.
Leftovers make an excellent skillet hash served with
scrambled eggs or as a lunch treat. Simply cut everything into "cubes" as best
you can, hoping there are plenty of potatoes, carrots, and meat left over.
Sometimes I get excited to have hash but find we ate everything for dinner the
night before! No matter, just get another corned beef and reserve for the hash
cause you have to try it! Place 2-4 TBS butter in a large skillet, and place the
cubed leftovers in the skilled. Use a spatula, and gently cook and simmer,
add black pepper as desired, and let brown lightly before turning. Don't be
afraid of getting some nice browned crust as you go, as long as you don't burn
it. Use the spatula to dice further as you cook. Serve on warm toast with
eggs on the side, or with more crusty buttered bread.
