Need a cozy one-pot meal? Try New England boiled dinners with corned or fresh beef brisket, cabbage, carrots and potatoes. Also great in the slow cooker! It will warm your soul and fill your belly.
New England Boiled Dinner is a one-pot meal consisting of corned beef or fresh brisket or smoked picnic shoulder ham with cabbage, carrots, and potatoes.
What is New England Boiled Dinner?
When prepared with corned beef, it is an Irish-American dish of corned beef and cabbage traditionally prepared around St. Patrick’s Day.
My parents like cooked dinners with fresh, uncured breast. Others do it with smoked ham shoulder. The following recipe is for a cooked dinner of corned beef or fresh brisket.
History of the traditional New England cooked dinner
This dish originally came from New England, probably from Irish immigrants who used ham in Ireland but got brisket more easily in the US. And let’s be clear, the Irish didn’t invent cooking meat and vegetables. The method can be found in most food cultures because it’s a way of stretching meat and vegetables to provide those at the table with a hearty, filling meal.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about its New England origins is the ruffled feathers, if those who grew up in the Northeast debate the ingredients Got to be and what ingredients should never be in the pot. In reader comments, the word “blasphemy” appears in reference to the use of kielbasa. But that’s the beauty of regional dishes. Within the region, communities and even individual families make variations of the dish. For some New Englanders living near the Atlantic Seaboard, cod, not ham or beef, goes in the pot.
Buy corned beef or brisket
Corned beef is a salted and cured version of brisket. The meat is cured in brine and ‘grains’ of rock salt (hence the name). You can find it in the meat section of your grocery store, vacuum packed and ready to cook.
In general, we recommend planning on about 1/2 pound of meat per person. However, in the case of corned beef, allow for 3/4 pounds as it tends to boil down severely.
If you’re buying regular fresh brisket, look for the point cut, which comes with some fat, which makes it more flavorful. If you can only find the flat (slimmer) cut, it will work just fine too. Don’t worry about marbling in the meat as brisket doesn’t actually have it. The fat only comes in one big chunk.
Make it in the slow cooker
The beauty of cooked New England dinner is that it can also be prepared in the slow cooker. Place the corned beef and seasonings in your slow cooker and cover with water. Cook on high for 4 hours.
Then remove it for a while while you add the veggies. Lay the potatoes, beets and carrots on the bottom. Place the corned beef back in and tuck in the cabbage along the sides of the meat.
Cook on high for an additional hour (or 2 hours on low) until vegetables are cooked through and meat is tender.
How to save and reheat this recipe
Refrigerate, tightly closed, for three to four days. Heat on stovetop over medium-high heat until hot and beef reaches 165°F.
More comforting one-pot dinners
- One pot chicken and orzo
- pot roast
- Slow roast pork shoulder with applesauce
- Turkey Chili with Black Beans
- Smokey vegan lentil stew
From the editors of Simply Recipes
New England cooked dinner
Corned beef can be quite salty. So if you’re making a cooked dinner of corned beef, you might want to place it in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, and then discard the water before beginning the recipe. If the broth gets too salty, you can serve just the meat and vegetables without the broth, or add water to the broth to thin it out.
ingredients
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1 (3 1/2 pounds) Corned beef brisket or fresh beef brisket
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fifteen peppercorns
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8th all cloves
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1 bay Sheet
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Kosher saltif you use fresh brisket
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2 Middle beetspeeled and quartered
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4 red new potatoespeeled and quartered
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3 big carrotsCut into thirds and quarter the thickest pieces lengthways
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1 small head cabbagecut into quarters
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horseradish sauceMustard or both to serve
method
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Cooking Corned Beef and Seasonings:
Place the brisket in a 5 or 6 quart Dutch oven and cover with an inch of water.
If you’re using corned beef brisket and it doesn’t already come packed with seasoning, add peppercorns, cloves, and a bay leaf to the saucepan.
If using fresh brisket, add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart of water.
Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat until barely simmering. Simmer on low for 4 hours or until meat is tender (a fork goes through easily).
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Remove the meat and add the vegetables:
Remove the meat and set aside, keep the meat warm. Put the vegetables in the pot. Check the broth for taste. If it’s too salty, add a little more water to taste.
Increase the temperature and bring the soup to a simmer. Cook over high heat, about 15 to 30 minutes longer depending on the size of the vegetable.
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Cut the meat across the grain:
Cut the meat into thin slices across the grain. It may be easier to slice the roast if you first cut it in half, in the same direction as the meat’s grain. Then cut smaller pieces across the grain.
Arrange in small bowls, put a few pieces of meat in each, add some vegetables and some broth. Serve with horseradish sauce, mustard, or both.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 168 | calories |
| 7g | Fat |
| 23g | carbohydrates |
| 6g | protein |
