A 100% American dish for dedicated meat lovers.  I saw this piece of meat at the market last week and it just looked too good. I had to get it. I finally got it out of the freezer two days ago to get ready  for the hubby-welcoming dinner along with the rosemary potatoes and string beans salad. It takes for ever to make but still busy mum friendly because while it’s cooking you set the family ready for dinner, catch-up with the news, help the kids with their homework, give them a bath, read them a story, kiss them good-night  and then go down and turn off the heat. Store it in the fridge overnight, as you should if you want to slice it easily, and reheat when you’re ready to serve. The best part,  if you live on this side of the world, is that this meat comes already beautifully marinaded with spices.  I guess marinaded is not the right word as there’s no liquids but you know what I mean, kind of cured with spices. My piece was spiced with garlic, clove , beet, and mustard seeds. The husband was ecstatic. Even my daughter ate it  who’s not a great meat lover.  For cooking times and other brisket information I consulted Kathy Maister’s blog, who seemed to know what she was talking about and she did. It came out fantastically tender and yummy. About cutting, follow her advice and be sure to slice across the grain. It does make a difference.  And here’s maybe the simplest cooking instructions, ever!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4.5 pounds corned beef brisket

How to make: Put  the meat in a deep pan. Cover entirely with water and boil for 3 hours (or more if needed, for mine 3 was more than enough).

Notes and tips: I placed the meat in the pan with the fat side on the bottom. When I sliced it, I discarded the extra fat. “Brisket” is the name of the cut, the part below “chuck”. See the photo in Maister’s blog.  In the photos below, you see the meat when it first went in the pan and then served with the potatoes at the table.