The BEST Corned Beef EVER!

Yes, I decided to eat meat for St. Patrick's Day.

But, since I have not given up my Lenten 'fast' on the first two Sundays in Lent, I think I'm pretty much OK...it's a discipline, not a sin! I'll be back on the fat-free vegan wagon tomorrow!

I can't help myself- it's all about corned beef and cabbage today:) And, I am Irish by birth and marriage.

I have made corned beef brisket for many, many years, and it's usually pretty good...but this year, I found a recipe that is the best I've ever eaten. Kevin even agreed that it was fantastic. Here's a great photo of this amazing accomplishment...

Oh, wait- that's the bottle of Irish Whiskey we killed tonight....oops.

This is the paragon of amazingly good Corned Beef with Horseradish and Mustard Crust...

And here's how I did it:

I stole MauiGirl's recipe!  Here is her mauigirl original recipe for braised corned beef
but I did make a few delicious changes...

1 3.5-5 lb. flat cut corned beef
1 bottle of dark beer
1 shot of Irish whiskey
1 onion, peeled and chopped
6 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of Kitchen Bouquet
1 teaspoon of canola oil
2 tablespoons of creamed horseradish
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs

Soak the brisket in a very large bowl of water overnight. Drain the brisekt, rinse, and pat dry. Brush the Kitchen Boquet all over the brisket. Cut the onion into large chunks and put in the bottom of a pan just large enough for the brisket and is oven safe.
Sear the brisket smeared with the Kitchen Boquet on all sides in the 1 tablespoon of oil, about 4 minutes on each side.
Place the brisket on top of the onions and top with the garlic cloves.
Pour the beer and whiskey into the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan with 3 layers of tightly sealed aluminum foil and place in a pre-heated 275 degree oven.
Cook for 4-5 hours without peeking! The meat should be at least at 185 degrees.
Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
Mix the horseradish and mustard together and smear on top of the cooled brisket. Top with the panko.
Place the brisket into the broiler for 5 minutes until the panko is browned.
Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes, and slice across the grain of the meat.
You can serve this with boiled or fried cabbage, mashed, boiled or baked potatoes or any other vegetable you like. The meat will be freakin' incredible!

Oh, and serve with beer...and more whiskey. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!