What's the best way to cook a New England Boiled Dinner?

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turquoisedude

turquoisedude

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I know, the obvious answer is indeed in the recipe title... LOL

I've done them following the traditional boiling (simmering, really) but I spotted a suggestion for using the pressure cooker in The Joy of Cooking and wondered if that works well. It sure sounds as if it would be faster.

Also, kinda on the same topic - the recipe in 'The Joy' includes beets as part of the ingredients, but BH&G does not... Are the beets a true New England addition??
 
You could use beets if you wanted to, but I use turnips and sometimes rutabaga, which is how my mom makes it. I add potatoes, carrots and cabbage. The thing is with a boiled dinner is to rinse the meat before cooking to get as much salt out as you can, some change the water after boiling for an hour and some even throw the meat into the oven to roast it first. It all depends on what you want to do and the results you are looking for. If you do use a pressure cooker, follow the directions to the letter for timing since it can get mushy with too much time. Or worse , burn.
Remember that a boiled dinner is what you make of it and there are not any set rules really. I have seen my grandmother use green beans in it as well, and since she was French Canadian , it often became a "kitchen sink" boiled dinner...everything went in and boil the hell out it...
 
I am in New England but refuse to boil any meat. I put everything in a big roasting pan with the turnips on bottom and work up to the cabbage on top around the meat putting about an inch of either tonic or seltzer last and cover. In the oven set at 275 for 4-5 hours taking a turkey baster to it once an hour. I think it tastes way better done that way[this post was last edited: 11/18/2015-17:27]
 
Oddly, growing up in NH we never ate this as a kid. But my family is Italian and from NJ so we had food from that area. I did make it though as an adult and I used ham with the bone in it. I've never tried beets...I would think it would turn it too pink? It came out quite good actually. I haven't made it in years though. Roasting it sounds like a good idea but then it would be a New England Roasted Dinner? haha
 
I guess Joe, it really would be a "roasted dinner" haha. Usually only served around St. Patty's and mostly with corned beef and the vegs. I always do sometimes, 2 roasters as thats when everyone lands here and wants it. Nobody I know around here makes a boiled dinner anymore, just a "roasted" dinner because boiling takes all the flavor away. You could do the same thing in a big enough crock pot.
 
The best Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner that I ever made I did similar to Tim's method in reply #2. I used an enameled roaster with a cover, put the corned beef in the bottom, placed the new potatoes, carrots and onions around the meat and placed the cabbage wedges on top. The then poured a bottle of beer over the top, placed the cover on the roaster and put in a 275F oven at 9:00AM went to work and when I got home at 5:30 I had a delicious Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner. The corned beef was tender and the flavor wasn't boiled away in water. All the vegetables were nicely cooked, even the cabbage was perfect. Easiest St. Patrick's Day dinner I ever made.
 
Fry everything!

No! Just kidding..
I've made it both ways (boiled and roasting) preferred the roasting.
When I did the boiled method, I set the beef on the bottom, carrots, potatoes cut into large peaces on top. Added enough water to cover most but not all of this. Simmered for.. Can't remember, added cut cabbage wedges on top during the last 10 min of cook, shut off heat left lid on and let sit for 5min more.
Plated by siting the cabbage on the the plate first, then the veggies, took brisket out, sliced it plated it last.
Course ground mustard can be used at the start if you chose the roasting method
HTH
 
Well, after much deliberation, re-reading of the recipes, and determining that the pressure cooker here in St-Liboire is not all that big I decided to stick with the traditional kettle-cooked version of the Boiled Dinner.

I think the Electric Presto pressure cooker needs to come out of hiding in Ogden... LOL

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So following the traditional methods, I cooked the corned brisket first, then added the 'root' veggies (carrots, rutabaga, onions, and potatoes in this one). The Joy recipe called for parsnips, which I honestly never heard of before...

And as directed, the cabbage was added last and I did indeed let it cook in the 'stored heat' of the Flair's Radiantubes.

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And this is what Hubby came home to... I liked the idea of beets served with the Dinner; as directed by the Joy, I cooked the beets separately and served on the side.

Oh, and I had the traditional horseradish sauce to accompany the beef, bien sûr!

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We do ours in the slow cooker (low & slow).  We like ours made with ham, potatoes, onions, carrots or rutabagas, and cabbage.
 
Corned Beef?

Two words; pressure cooker. I'll say no more.....

Think got the recipe out of Joy of Cooking or somewhere but it never fails. After cooking in the PC the brisket takes a trip under the broiler with a mustard and brown sugar glaze. Yummy! You can do the veggies and potatoes in the PC as well or in another pot.

Love CB but the salt content keeps one from eating it too often. Still will splurge when local supermarkets have brisket on sale.

My PC is an older Magafessa which uses very little water so it is not like boiling things to death.
 
Most pressure cooker aficionados say that to get the best flavor out of roast type meat in the pressure cooker is to brown it quickly before adding the liquid. This is where some serious flavor is developed before the main cooking process starts.

I brown ours in Olive or Peanut oil at a high heat and then when browned on all sides add my cooking liquid and seal it up. I use those oils because they can stand high heat without burning or smoking.
 
Most pressure cooker aficionados say that to get the best flavor out of roast type meat in the pressure cooker is to brown it quickly before adding the liquid. This is where some serious flavor is developed before the main cooking process starts.

I brown ours in Olive or Peanut oil at a high heat and then when browned on all sides add my cooking liquid and seal it up. I use those oils because they can stand high heat without burning or smoking.
 
Depending on the size of the roast we use abut 45 minutes for a 3lb corned beef.

"Oh, and I had the traditional horseradish sauce to accompany the beef, bien sûr!"

I couldn't imagine this dish or Prime Rib without it!
 

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