Corned Beef and Cabbage Risotto
I needed some cooked corned beef for another recipe that you guys will see next week, but as I was cooking it I became inspired by the idea of the corned beef broth. Corned beef broth usually just goes down the drain. In a traditional New England “boiled dinner” the broth seasons the potatoes, cabbage, and carrot, but most of it is still thrown away. I was brainstorming about what I could do with this salty broth when I realized I had some arborio rice on hand and the idea of this corned beef and cabbage risotto was born.
Lots of cabbage and a little bit of carrot.
The cabbage has cooked down a bit and the rice goes in. Cook this for a few minutes to coat the rice in the oil. Add a shot of whiskey and then start doing that risotto thing where you slowly add the broth and stir stir stir.
Meanwhile get the corned beef out of the broth when it is fully cooked and just about falling apart. Chop it against the grain in less than 1 inch increments. This will prevent it from being super long shreds that would be too chewy in the risotto.
Smash up the corned beef a little so it is chunky but a little shredded. It will shred a little more in the risotto but you want it to remain a little chunky. Pop it into the pot when the rice is fully cooked. Remove from heat and stir it all together along with a tablespoon or two of mustard.
Whoa, I love this dish. The rice sort of takes the place of the potatoes in the usual magical 4 ingredients of the boiled dinner: corned beef, cabbage, carrot, and potato. The sauce is so starchy and creamy but there isn’t any dairy in here.
That little bit of mustard added at the end really boosts the corned beef flavor. This is a great delivery method of corned beef to my face. Basically you can shovel it in pretty easily.
The cabbage has braised along with the rice and it is super tender.
Italian-Irish fusion at it’s best!
Corned Beef and Cabbage Risotto
Ingredients
- 4 pounds corned beef
- 1/2 head cabbage diced
- 3 carrots diced
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 1 shot whiskey
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Put the raw corned beef into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer.
- After simmering about 15 minutes you will notice some odd looking foam collecting on top of the water. Skim this off with a spoon. Cover and allow to simmer about 3 hours until tender. Remove from pot but leave the pot on the stove on low with the cooking liquid in it.
- Cook the carrot and cabbage in a little olive oil for about 10 minutes to get some light browning on the edges of the cabbage.
- Add in the rice and stir well. Cook about 3 minutes allowing the oil to coat the rice. Add an extra splash of oil if needed.
- Add the shot of whiskey and stir. Start adding the broth from the corned beef a few ladlefuls at a time. With ever addition, stir and cook until the liquid mostly is absorbed into the rice.
- continue until the rice is tender. This will probably take more liquid than you have in the corned beef pot. No worries, continue with water after you run out.
- Once the rice is tender, remember that risotto should be very liquidy and not stand up on it’s own. It should spread out in a plate. With that in mind, add enough extra water to keep it nice and liquidy.
- Add in about half of your brisket (save the rest for hash!) along with the mustard and parsley. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt, mustard, or more corned beef if any of those are needed. Serve immediately!