Irish Chili

My kitchen remodel is finally complete. I've unpacked and moved into my new, fancy-dancy kitchen. It is so beautiful! I'm super excited about it and I've been planning upcoming dishes to blog. Originally, I intended to blog easy dishes throughout my kitchen remodel but who was I kidding... Cooking was not even possible during the construction process. Dust everywhere, all pantry ingredients, pots and pans packed in boxes in the garage. Nope! Didn't happen. It was two solid months of eating out, cereal, sandwiches and microwave meals. But now that my life is settling down and I have a functioning kitchen again I'm happily cooking and trying out new recipes. One thing that's been tripping me up in my new space is the power of my new professional stove.  I've burnt more food in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last twenty years. It's been quite humbling and a bit frustrating, but I'm learning the quirks of my new beautiful stove and oven.
Anyway, I realize St. Patricks Day is a distant memory now that we are in April but I was able to whip up this delicious Irish Chili in honor of my contractor, Matt from Celtic Construction. He did such a fabulous job on my kitchen that I thought my first dish in my new kitchen would honor his Irish heritage. This is in no way authentic Irish food, it's just my delicious take on some Irish ingredients of Corned Beef and Irish Stout mixed together in this comforting Irish Chili! Enjoy!

Irish Chili

3-4 lb corned beef roast, cooked
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1 can tomato puree
1 ham hock(I used a leftover ham bone from Christmas)
2 cans Rotel tomatoes with chiles
2 cans kidney beans, drained
1 bottle Stout beer
2 T chili powder
2 t. cumin
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper (to taste)
Dubliner cheese, grated
green onions, garnish

Cook corned beef according to package directions and cut into 1/2 inch chunks and set aside.
In a large dutch oven,  add olive oil, onions, leeks, green peppers and garlic and saute until onions are translucent ~5-8 minutes. 

Transfer cooked vegetables into a blender. Add chicken stock and blend until pureed.

Transfer blender contents back into dutch oven and add, tomato puree, Rotel tomatoes, ham hock, corned beef, beer, chili powder, cumin and bay leaves. Simmer for about and hour. Add kidney beans and continue to heat on low for another hour. Remove ham hock. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Dubliner cheese and green onions.

More Corned Beef recipes:

Corned Beef Rolls

Corned Beef, Cabbage and Leek Soup

Corned Beef Tacos

Corned Beef Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema

I love corned beef. I wait all year to make this deliciously salty beef for St. Patrick's day. Usually, I prepare it the same way each year, by slow cooker or by boiling it. This year I decided to roast it. I was a little worried about it burning or drying out but it came out amazing. I rubbed the fatty side of the corned beef with a generous amount latin spices, covered it with foil and crossed my fingers as it slow roasted for 2.5 hours. The whole house smelled amazing and it tasted even better. I could have sliced it up right then and there and it would have been a yummy dinner, but I wanted to experiment and try to make it one of my favorite foods...Tacos.
These tacos are all about preparation. The work is in the chopping of vegetables and preparing sauces, spicing and cooking the meat. Because corned beef takes so long to cook, this recipe is a great day ahead meal. I made the corned beef a day ahead and refrigerated it overnight but you can also prepare it all in one day. The pickled onions can also be made the same day but are great to make ahead of time as well. I try to keep a jar of these in my fridge because they are amazing to have on hand to throw into sandwiches, burgers, salads, or in this case to make a delicious topping for tacos.

Corned Beef Tacos with Pickled Onions and Radishes with Cilantro Lime Crema

2-3 lb Corned Beef Roast 
1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced
Pickled Onion and Radishes(see below)
Cilantro Lime Crema (see below)  
Small corn tortillas
Jalapenos, minced (optional) 
Cooking Spray
 
Rub
2 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1 t. Peppadew Piquante Pepper & Cilantro Seasoning (substitute with 1/2 t. dried cilantro and 1/2 t. onion powder, 1/4 t. lemon pepper)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Generously coat the fat side of the roast with spice rub. Spray roasting pan with cooking spray and place roast in pan, fat side up. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 2.5 hours. Time will vary depending on size of the roast. Check tenderness after two hours and adjust roasting time accordingly. Remove from oven and let rest before cutting or let cool and refrigerate overnight. Chop meat into small pieces or shred.

 
I made the corned beef a day ahead. The next day, I chopped it up and heated it through in a skillet. Note: I had to fight the urge to trim the fat from the corned beef like I usually do. But, in this case, do not trim off the fatty layer of the corned beef. Chop the whole roast up including the fatty side containing the spice rub. This ensures the spices from the rub incorporates into the rest of the meat and makes it super delicious! Not low calorie, but delicious.

Cilantro Lime Crema
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 lime, zest and juice
1/2 t garlic powder

1 T Best Foods mayonnaise

Combine all ingredients in a mini food processor. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Pickled Onions and Radish Relish 

1/2 cup pickled red onions, chopped (recipe)
1 cup radishes, jullienned
1 bunch of cilantro, minced
Squeeze of lime 
2 jalapenos, minced

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use.


Other Corned Beef recipes to try:

Corned Beef Rolls                                                    Corned Beef, Cabbage and Leek Soup

 

Corned Beef, Cabbage and Leek Soup

Have you ever had smoked corned beef? I hadn't until this weekend. Our friends had a St. Patrick's day party and they served this amazing smoked corned beef. All I can say is..."Wow! and double Wow!" I told my husband after eating my second plate of this delicious meat, that we have to invest in a smoker and make pounds and pounds of smoked corned beef. It was hands down the best tasting corned beef ever! My new mission in life is to get a smoker and once I do, look out for future blogs on smoked meats. I can't wait. :) Smoked corned beef aside, if you want a delicious and different way to serve the traditional corned beef and cabbage, try your hand at this full flavored soup. It has all the St. Patrick's Day ingredients: corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes in a delicious broth flavored with leeks, yellow peppers and garlic. I love this soup because it's rustic with the traditional ingredients but remains elegant because of the simple but complex tasting broth. It's simply amazing! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

  
Corned Beef, Cabbage and Leek Soup (adapted recipe from Skinnytaste)


1 lb corned beef brisket, cooked, cooled and chopped into small cubes
2 cups reserved braising liquid from corned beef

2 t olive oil
2 cups carrots,sliced*
4 cups leeks, sliced
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 small head of cabbage, chopped
3 cloves garlic
6 cups chicken broth
3 bay leaves
1 red potato, chopped 
1/2 T Italian Herb Seasoning
1/4 cup parsley
salt and pepper(to taste)

Cook corned beef and reserve 2 cups of the braising liquid. Cool and chop corned beef into small bite-sized cubes.
In a large dutch oven, saute carrots, leeks, yellow pepper, cabbage and garlic in olive oil until tender soft approximately 10 minutes. Add chicken broth and the two cups of reserved braising liquid, bay leaves, corned beef and heat to a boil for 20 minutes. Add potato, Italian Herb seasoning, parsley and pepper and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. Top with additional fresh parsley and serve. 
*Note: I had a bag of frozen Parisian carrots from Trader Joe's that I used instead of peeling and slicing carrots and they were great in this. Velvety texture and a great shape that added interest to the look of the soup. Plus they were a great time saver. 

For another recipe with Corned Beef, try Corned Beef Rolls

 

Corned Beef Rolls

I found this amazing recipe on Pinterest last year and made it for a St. Patrick's Day themed dinner for my Dinner Club and it was a huge hit. Such a big hit in fact, I made it again for this St. Paddy's Day. The corned beef is sliced thin and has a beautiful mustard cream sauce with it which just elevates it to the sublime. And then you top it all off with a cabbage slaw with a red wine vinaigrette and the taste gets knocked out of the park. I will never make corned beef the old way again!  Seriously, this is just an incredible dish. 

At first look, it may seem like a lot of work to prepare but it really isn't that much work at all. I prepared all the components a day before which really helped during preparation but it also allows all the flavors in the vinaigrette and the cream sauce to meld. It's important however, to cook your corned beef a day or two before and then refrigerate until completely cool. This will allow you to slice it super thin without it falling apart on you.

I made just a few adaptations from the original recipe. Instead of making a homemade Boxty, which is an Irish Potato flat bread, I went the simpler route and bought some Lavash Flat bread from Trader Joe's. I'm sure the Boxty bread would have made this even better but I didn't have that much time to invest to make it. One day I'll try it though. The other change was really an omission. The original recipe calls for a Horseradish Cream Sauce to top the whole roll, but since I don't care for horseradish, I omitted it. Please follow the link below to see the original recipe if you'd like to add that back into the recipe. And the final change was that I halved the ingredients in the vinaigrette and the cream sauce. The first time I made this I had a lot left, so I just pared it down a bit. The recipe below is my halved version. Hope you enjoy this wonderful recipe, thanks to Field and Feast!

Corned Beef Rolls (adapted from Field and Feast)
Makes ~20 rolls using a 2 1/2-3 lb Corned Beef

I suggest making all the components of this dish the day before and then assemble the rolls prior to serving.

Corned Beef:
Prepare corned beef according to package directions one or two days before. (I cooked mine in a crockpot on high for 5-6 hours) Refrigerate until completely cooled so that it slices cleanly. Slice against the grain into thin 1/8" slices and refrigerate slices until ready to assemble.

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Mix everything except the oil in a blender–or use an immersion blender.
With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Once emulsified, serve.

Mustard Cream Sauce:
Yield- 1 Quart

• 1 cup white wine
• 2 Tbsp garlic
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
• 1 cups heavy cream
• 1 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 Tbsp dry mustard
• 1/2 Tbsp whole grain mustard (I used a Country Dijon)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/8 cup canola oil

Place wine, garlic and onions in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cook for 5 minutes. Add heavy cream and chicken stock to the pot and cook an additional 7 minutes. Strain sauce into a new pot, discard the onions and garlic.
Whisk both mustards into sauce, then add the remaining seasonings.
Whisk together flour and oil in a bowl, whisk into the sauce.
Heat sauce back to a boil, whisking occasionally.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Use for Corned Beef Rolls, or cool and store in airtight container for up to 1 week in refrigerator.
Cabbage Slaw:

• 1/4 head of white cabbage
• Red Wine Vinaigrette to taste
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano

Chiffonade cabbage. Toss with red wine vinaigrette and dried oregano and place on top of the rolls.

Assembly of Rolls:

• One Lavash Bread
• Corned Beef with Mustard Cream Sauce
• Cabbage Slaw with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Sauté prepared corned beef in mustard sauce until warm. Place about 7-8 slices of corned beef with mustard cream sauce on Lavash Bread, leaving a little space on each end. (Note: The picture below is an 'in progress' photo. I added another three slices before rolling.)

 Roll the Lavash Bread.

 Cut into four or five rolls.

Place on a serving platter on end (sushi style) and top with cabbage slaw. Eat!