In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here's my favorite recipe for corned beef and cabbage, aka *New England Boiled Dinner*. It's adapted from "Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seasoned America".

You will need to start the preparation of this a day before you plan to serve it. What makes this recipe so good is that the meat is marinated with a dry rub for 24 hours before cooking!

I cannot stand overcooked cabbage, so I adapted this recipe so that the cabbage goes in last. If you like your cabbage more cooked than I do, put in in after the potatoes have cooked for ten minutes.

Some corned beef briskets come with a seasoning packet. If you like, you can use this instead of making Seasoning Mix #2. I usually use both, but I like big flavors!

Seasoning Mix #1

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Seasoning Mix #2

12 black peppercorns
6 allspice berries
4 whole cloves
4 small bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried dill leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seed

The Meat and Veggies...

1 (3 lb. or so) corned beef brisket, trimmed of any visible fat
8 cups beef broth
1 cup chopped onions
6 unpeeled garlic cloves
18 small new potatoes (or use 5-6 larger potatoes, quartered)
3 cups bite-sized pieces of peeled turnips or rutabagas (1 or 2 large)
6 each of carrots and parsnips (or just use 12 carrots), peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 small onions, peeled and cut into 8 wedges each
1 medium sized green cabbage, cut into 6 wedges, leaving a little bit of core on to hold each wedge together

Method

The day before you plan to serve this, combine all the ingredients for Seasoning Mix #1. Rub this all over the brisket, place the meat in a container, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the brisket from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. If making Seasoning Mix #2, combine all the ingredients for it in a small bowl.

Put the beef broth or stock in a large stockpot...an 8-quart pot is a good size, and bring it to a boil. Add all of Seasoning Mix #2 (and/or the seasoning packet that came with the brisket, if any), the chopped onions, and the brisket. Bring to the boil again, then cover and let simmer for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender, but not falling apart. Turn the meat in the pot once or twice during the cooking.

Add the garlic and potatoes to the pot, pushing them under the meat. Turn the heat up to high, bring to the boil, then cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Turn the heat up to high again, and add the turnips, carrots, parsnips and onions, pushing them down under the meat. Bring to the boil, then cover, lower the heat, and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Turn up the heat one more time, and add the cabbage, pushing it under the meat. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit, covered for 5 minutes.

Serve with mustard and horseradish. If you imbibe, make sure to have plenty of Guinness stout and Harp lager. Put on something green, and sit down to a nice St. Pat's Day dinner!

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