St. Paddy's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage

I know I'm a month early, but I was wondering if major supermarkets in Britain sell Corned Beef cuts like they do in the US? I'm definitely not looking for corned beef in a can, but a roast. I've told a few friends I'd cook up a St. Patrick's Day feast if I could find the ingredients. Any information would be helpful...I have access to Morrison's, Sainsbury's, Tesco...Thanks!

I have to say I've never seen an American style corned beef in a supermarket here, and I lived in south Manchester for years which has a large Jewish community - that being said I've never really looked that carefully.  You may have more luck if you have any Jewish delis in the area?

If you can't find one brisket is pretty common cut, you've probably just got time to salt one yourself.

(edited to add)

P.S. If you ask for corned beef in a shop they'll point you to something in a tin from Argentina, you want 'salt beef'.

M&S sell little joints of salt beef. When I fixed them the other day I boiled them about 30 minutes in plain water then put them in a baking dish and added some seasonings. I looked up pickeling spice for corned beef and it is easy to do.

bay leafs, cinnamon and all sorts....if you google you can see what is in it..

It tasted just like the stuff we got in the US....

I hate to burst the stereotype, but corned beef and cabbage as a St. Paddy's Day tradition is completely Irish-American in origin according to my Irish husband!  He'd rarely eaten it having grown up in the Republic, but turns out he loved the kind you can get in Publix in the States.  Nothing compared to the big, already-brined brisket that you just pop in the pot and boil until it's finished. 

I found a recipe on Martha Stewart's website and it seems like it would be a good one.  I definitely want to try it out, but it will take some preparation because you have to brine the beef for two weeks!!!

I hate to burst the stereotype, but corned beef and cabbage as a St. Paddy's Day tradition is completely Irish-American in origin according to my Irish husband!  He'd rarely eaten it having grown up in the Republic, but turns out he loved the kind you can get in Publix in the States.  Nothing compared to the big, already-brined brisket that you just pop in the pot and boil until it's finished. 

I found a recipe on Martha Stewart's website and it seems like it would be a good one.  I definitely want to try it out, but it will take some preparation because you have to brine the beef for two weeks!!!

i can second that, according to my northern irish husband.

I hate to burst the stereotype, but corned beef and cabbage as a St. Paddy's Day tradition is completely Irish-American in origin according to my Irish husband! 

I think that's why its actually called New England Boiled Dinner   

I'm so craving it -my sister made it yesterday and was asking me when it was finished and I just want it!!

Hah! Well obviously I knew it wasn't a "traditional" Irish dish, otherwise it would be readily available here, which is why I was asking this question to begin with. I also looked into curing my own which does look simple enough, except most recipes call for saltpetre (which is unavailable in the uk) or some other curing salt, which seems difficult to get. Apparently the only need for this ingredient is to give the roast that bright pink color, but it would be nice to get my hands on some if anyone has any ideas. Thanks for your comments, very helpful!

NO!  The need for the saltpetre or curing agents are ESSENTIAL, not for keeping the meat pink, but to keep bacteria from growing while it cures.  If you skip this you are definitely setting yourself up for a pretty nasty corned beef and potential food poisoning.  I'd say that if you're going to make this from scratch, get your hands on some no matter what.  Try a specialty or ethnic food store, especially a Jewish one if there's one in the area.   

On "Something for the Weekend" last Sunday they made salt beef.....going to try it some time.

NO!  The need for the saltpetre or curing agents are ESSENTIAL, not for keeping the meat pink, but to keep bacteria from growing while it cures.  If you skip this you are definitely setting yourself up for a pretty nasty corned beef and potential food poisoning.  I'd say that if you're going to make this from scratch, get your hands on some no matter what.  Try a specialty or ethnic food store, especially a Jewish one if there's one in the area.   

Glad you told me about this. I still haven't made one yet, and still searching for saltpetre. No luck.  I just thought you couldn't get it in Britain? Does anyone know of a substitute to saltpetre that may be more widely available?

I've made boiled dinner here with salt beef from Sainsbury's.  I just added mustard seed and peppercorns.  It tasted just like the corned beef from the States.

It's likely it's connected to lobsgows(which is what we called it growing up)/scouse/lobscouse.  Rather being an Irish dish, it's a sailor's dish eaten all over Northern Europe:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouse_%28food%29

I think NE boiled dinner sort of became corned beef, potatoes, carrots and cabbage and associated with Irish people because of the high Irish population there.  Once it became "ethnic" the make up sort of set on a few ingredients.  Where I grew up, with a heavy North Welsh population, it was considered a Welsh dish.  We sometimes made it with corned beef, but we made it with other meats as well.

Instead of looking for "saltpetre" try asking for sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate.  They're all food preservatives and I used to get packets of it when I bought beef jerky seasoning from Amazon.com.  You might also have luck if you give it's E number - E250, E251 and E252 in that order for the list above.  Did you try any butchers?  They might be able to refer you to someone who supplies preservatives.

Legs I'm very interested in your salt beef recipe...so do you just boil in with the mustard seed and peppercorn? How much of each do you use?

3 Bay leaves
Brine:
8 C Water
1/2 TSP Red peppercorns
1/2 TSP Black peppercorns
1 White onion
1 Celery rib, chopped
1 Carrot, chopped
4 Medium cloves garlic
3 Whole cloves


I didn't have all the stuff above but used what I had..Bay leaf was the major factor in the flavor I thought....

edite: I took out all the stuff I didn't have...

I put it in the oven with the brine and cooked the bejesus out of it and it was wonderful!

Legs I'm very interested in your salt beef recipe...so do you just boil in with the mustard seed and peppercorn? How much of each do you use?

I used probably a teaspoon of mustard seed and maybe about the equivalent peppercorn.  I just went by the size of the seasoning pack you'd get with corned beef in the States.  If you Google, there's probably exact measurements.

I put the meat in my Crockpot with water, the seasoning, potatoes and carrots.  6-8 hours on low with cabbage added about an hour before it is done should do it.  Alternatively, you can boil the cabbage separately for a few minutes and add it before serving.

Salt beef totally is the same as what American shops sell as corned beef minus the seasoning packet.