Thursday, March 15, 2012

Un-Corned Beef Sirloin Cap - The Saga Continues

Aye Colleens and Boyos - Tis St. Patrick's Day A Comin' Don't Ya Know!


Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap with Low Carb Colcannon
This is a story of St. Patrick's Day Dinner in the Denny and Susie House with all our St. Patrick's Day "Boyos". It's a St. Patrick's Day Dinner in pictures. I hope that will give you inspiration to go out and try new things.

I've long thought with today's refrigerator technology, the need to "corn" beef is unnecessary and takes a ton of time. Not to mention that it's looking like nitrates/nitrites aren't such a sweet anti-cancer deal.

Buying beef pre-corned isn't an option for me. I hate the chemicals in the store bought corned beef and dislike the slime you feel when you open the package. Sooo....what's an Irish girl to do?

Last year I made the Un-corned Beef Brisket, another quick method with intense flavor. This year, I wanted a lean, lean cut o' the beef and I
found a sirloin cap that looked gorgeous - not a speck of grisle or fat anywhere (and no I'm not a Fat-Nazi, honest, fat is your friend). And cheap. Did I mention cheap? Cheap is good. I also wanted to serve this roast rare, so rare it moo'd. And for me, that's best done with a lean cut of meat.

But you know, it doesn't have to be a sirloin cap. Any lean roast cut will do. Or heck, try doing it with a NYstrip steak! Good choices of lean roasts would be eye of round, tri-tip, bottom round, or go for the top and try it with tenderloin!
Season a fresh sirloin cap with pickling spices,
garlic powder, pepper and salt and let it hang out
in the fridge for 2 to 24 hours. Then roast it! Sláinte!
Corning here is a quick method - 2 to 24 hours, your choice. It's actually more of a dry rub marinade than "corning". It may not sound fast but corning beef can be a week to three week process. For the Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap to "corn" takes less than a couple of hours!

Crush pickling spices with salt and lots of garlic powder or fresh garlic if you prefer and throw it on the meat. Let Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap sit as long as you can. Then roast it.





Roasted Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap - you will
never miss that store bought mess again!
I actually sear the Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap first and then finish roasting it at 350° until the meat reaches 120° internally by thermometer.

Taking this step is good because you have greater flavor with browned meat on the exterior and can control the internal temperature better. Once the Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap is done take it, let it rest, and cut it as thinly as you can.

You get all the flavor of corned beef without all the salt and without the gunky slime of commercial, raw corned beef. The roast stays tender and is so moist. The crunch of the mustard seeds add texture and a tiny mustardy pickled punch.




Low Carb Colcannon - a healthy alternative for St. Patrick's
Day Dinner with Un-Corned Beef Sirloin Cap

This Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap tastes completely spectacular served with Colcannon and some horseradish sauce that arrived courtesy of our friends G &V! Awesome and hot! Fresh horseradish root makes the best horseradish sauce and it really goes great with the Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap!

I will be back later with recipes and nutritional information, but for now, Colcannon is a sinch to make and you make it healthy by ditching the carbs. Instead of potatoes I used steamed cauliflower, turnips and rutabaga then smashed them with yummy Irish Kerrygold butter.

Sauteed Cabbage with Leeks and leftover Christmas ham!
I sauteed cabbage and leeks with some leftover Christmas ham. Then it was a snap to mix it all together and slap some pickled pepper vinegar on it. Call it Comfort with a capital C, but you can call it Low Carb Colcannon if ya' want!

It's easy to recycle leftover frozen ham - I used ours leftover from Christmas! Simply boil it in water until tender and whiz in the food processor and sautee with cabbage and leeks. A great side dish in it's own right, but fantastic mixed with the mashed root veggies.

Gorgeous and rich ham stock will make
a hearty pot of lentil soup soon.
I even ended up with a rich ham stock. Couple the ham stock with lentils and a few veggies and you'll end up with a whole other meal TDF (To Die For!). But maybe that should read TLF (To Live For) cuz it will sure be healthy and delicious too.

So by making the Low Carb Colcannon dish, I actually ended up with many potential side items with leftover potential out the ying yang with no more work than it takes to create a single side dish. Recipe bonanza!

1. Sauteed Cabbage, Leeks and Ham
2. Mashed Root Veggies - Rutabage, Turnips, Cauliflower
3. Colcannon
4. Ham Stock






And from the leftovers of the meal, I will make the following:

1. Un-corned Beef Hash
2. Low Carb Fauxtato Cakes
3. Lentil Soup with Ham Stock
4. Low Carb Un-corned Beef Rueben Sandwiches

Four forks for sure. St. Patrick's Day Dinner with Un-corned Beef Sirloin Cap, Colcannon and Horseradish Sauce, it's a celebration that keeps on spreading its bounty - but the Irish people are generous like that...

Sláinte!

4 comments:

  1. MMMMM.... this looks really good! I may have to try it!

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  2. I hope you do! It's dead easy to make and tastes SOOOOO awesome! I actually crave the taste of the Un-corned Beef! Slainte!

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  3. I love the way you make new dishes with your left overs, I tend to do that too. Waste not, want not I say :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Celeste! The goal in our kitchen is zero food waste! It's a throwback to my depression-era parents for sure!! :D So glad you're here by the way! Will you share the colcannon history with the rest of the class, please? ;)

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