Boiled Dinner ~ a.k.a. corned beef and cabbage
Mouthwatering tender corned beef braised with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. The wonderful aroma of this meal while it’s cooking is deliciously comforting.
Why I love boiled dinner
I grew up on “boiled dinner”. It’s one of my dad’s favorite meals. It sounds so ho-hum, but honestly, it’s pure comfort food. It’s one of the dinners from my youth that I had forgotten about until Cece had dinner at Big D’s last year, and she fed her corned beef and cabbage. My kid went crazy for it, and I felt guilty because I couldn’t believe I had never made boiled dinner for my family. My mom made many versions of boiled dinner. I think this is my favorite. You see, my mom is part Irish, and my dad is mostly German, so his version usually included bratwurst and beer, and my moms’ was pretty much like the one you see here. Sometimes, she used ham instead of corned beef, or are you sitting down? Pig hocks, a.k.a. hogs ankles! I thought I was eating pig feet when I was a wee one. Did it stop me from eating dinner? No way. There was nothing I wouldn’t eat as a kid. I was one of those weird kids.
Gather these ingredients
What is corned beef? Well let me tell you. Corned Beef is a beef brisket that is brined or marinated and then boiled until tender. The brine is similar to what pickles are pickled in, so basically corned beef is pickled beef. No wonder I love this meal, I love all things pickled.
How to make boiled dinner
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prep your vegetables. Core the cabbage and cut it into four pieces. Peel carrots and cut them into large chunks. Cut the onion into large chunks. Clean the potatoes and cut them in half if they are too large.
- Remove the corned beef from its packaging, rinse in cold water, and pat dry. Cut away any excess fat, leaving some. If there isn’t much fat, just let it be. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large pan or Dutch oven. Add cabbage flat side down to the pan and throw in the onion. When cabbage is browned on one side, use tongs to turn and brown the other side. When the cabbage is browned on all sides and the onion is soft, add potatoes and carrots to the pan.
- Lay corned beef over vegetables, sprinkle spice packet over meat, and pour four cups of chicken broth into the pot. Bring to a low boil, cover, and place in preheated oven for 4 hours.
I always think of boiled dinner as a colorless meal, but look at that! That’s not true at all.
Sorry, weird picture. It looks like I’m sprinkling peppercorns on a giant tongue. Pigs ankles, I can do; giant tongues in a pot make me shudder. But behold, it is not a tongue. It’s a brined corned beef brisket. Go forth and boil it! I need to stress; do not be tempted to salt this dish. There is quite a bit of salt in the brining of the beef, and that is plenty for the whole dinner. You can always salt it on your plate if you think it needs it.
Four hours of cooking later and this meat is fall apart tender and so moist. This my friends is a thing of beauty. Not a creepy tongue. Oh no! Heavens no, melt in your mouth comforting boiled dinner. Remove meat from the pan and cut across the grain and return sliced beef to pan. Serve with bread butter, and enjoy!
A peek into real life; homework, junk mail, this, that, and who knows what. My kitchen table is a catch-all for everybody’s everything! This is real-life people. I just wanted you to push your junk aside and get around the table with those you love. It’s easy. Let’s go!
XOX, Sheila
P.S. If you could take the time to rate this recipe in the recipe card below, or to share it on your social media with a shout out to eat2gather.net I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
Corned Beef and Cabbage (boiled dinner)
Equipment
- 8 quart dutch oven
Ingredients
- 6 pound Corned Beef with spice packet 5-6 pound corned beef roast
- 1 head Cabbage trimmed and quartered
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground Pepper
- 1 large Onion sliced
- 8 medium sized Golden Potatoes
- 3 cups Carrot chunks
- 4 cups Chicken Stock
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- On stove top melt butter in a dutch oven place quarters of cabbage flat side down in pan allow to brown add onions to pan let them cook with cabbage for a few minutes. Remove from stove top.
- Remove corned beef from packaging, rinse under cold water, pat dry, and cut off any excess fat but not all fat.
- Place potatoes and carrots in pan with cabbage and onions, lay corned beef over top, sprinkle with spice packet, pour chicken stock in pan, cover and cook in preheated 350 degree oven for 4 hours.
- Remove from oven, remove corned beef from the pan, and slice across the grain. Return the cut meat to the pan with juices and veggies. Serve with thick slices of bread and butter.
Nutrition
Ok–so I currently have this in my oven as we speak. I’m feeding a crowd tonight. My question is–should everything be completely submerged in chicken stock? I added more of everything so I’m wondering if I should add another thing of chicken stock.The veggies are pretty covered but not the meat. Will it still cook just as well? A quick answer would be appreciated!
Mandy, If you have it covered with a lid that seals pretty well You are fine, I wouldn’t add too much liquid, the meat will give off quite a bit of juice as it cooks. Enjoy! Sheila
I am DROOLING!!!! Fav meal of the year!
When I was a kid I always chose New England Boiled Dinner for my birthday. My mom’s is a little different, tho. She uses pork chops, sauerkraut (sp?), and potatoes. If I thought I could get the corned beef done so my husband would try it, I would love to fix this recipe. It should be done after 4 hrs., right?
Stephanie, mine is always done after 4 hours, you can always go longer it’s just going to get more tender….fall apart. I hope you try it and he enjoys! xox Sheila
New England Boiled Dinner – how often we had that growing up. When I was a kid I hated it, absolutely hated it. When I got to around 21 I thought it was the best meal ever. Winner!
Uh, what am I missing? What is boiled in this boiled dinner? Love the recipe though!
I know….that’s just what we called it. Thus the alternate name Corned Beef and Cabbage…which I think may be more familiar.
I’m very impressed that you were an adventurous eater as a kid. I’m still scarred by brussel sprouts and beets (though I’ve ironically learned to love brussel sprouts — yet still don’t know how to spell them, ha!). I attempted making corned beef once and it didn’t work… So I will give it another shot! This looks delish! PS ~ I’m SO GLAD you don’t use props or strive for a magazine look…. I love your blog because your a real life mom who loves to cook and share your recipes. And for what it’s worth, I think your pics are great! Hugs Friend!!! ❤️
Thanks Kim! love you, Sheila