Mrs. Bentley's Best

This recipe is so easy you can have two broken legs and still make it.

Ingredients:

• 1 (4-6 pound) corned beef
• 10 whole allspice berries
• 10 black pepper corns
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 cloves garlic, whole
• 1 large onion, cut in eighths
• 6 large carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 6 medium red skinned potatoes, cut in half
• 1 medium head green cabbage cut in 6 wedges (do not core)

Directions:

Rinse corned beef in sink.  Place in pot large enough to hold the beef without touching the sides.  Cover with water and add spices, herbs and onion.  Bring water to a boil then, cover and reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer for at least 4 hours.   The longer you simmer, the more fat is rendered out of the beef.  Don’t add salt to the water because the beef has been brined and adds all the salt you will need to the water.  Add more water during cooking if necessary.

Carefully remove corned beef from the water and set on a cutting board.  Loosely cover the meat with tin foil and let rest.  Add the potatoes and carrots to the cooking water and simmer for about twenty minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Remove the vegetables to a serving bowl.  Salt and pepper the vegetables to taste.  Add the cabbage to the cooking water and simmer for about 10 minutes or until just tender.  Remove to a serving platter and discard cooking water, it can not be re-used for anything.  Salt and pepper the cabbage to taste.

While the cabbage is simmering, slice the corned beef diagonally, against the grain.  Arrange slice on a serving platter and serve with the cooked vegetables and a side of wine mustard such as grey poupon.