Certain dishes remain locked up as seasonal holiday preparations when they could easily be unleashed to enjoy any time of the year.  Some examples include goose or prime rib for Christmas, lamb or ham for Easter and corned beef, the centerpiece of a New England boiled dinner, traditionally served on St. Patrick’s Day. But these are wonderful whenever you want to have them.

That’s what I thought when on a recent weekend I was at Bisson’s, the Topsham butcher, and spied their corned beef, which is in the meat case year-round.  It’s a great cut of beef, prepared traditionally–with the dividend of leftovers in sandwiches or corned beef hash.

Bisson’s corned beef wrapped and ready brined with salt, sugar, and pickling spices

Bisson’s corns the beef with sodium nitrate (salt) and pickling spices as opposed to other butchers who do a gray roast without the salt cure. I prefer the salt-cured version.   The flavor is intense, sweet with spices and pungent with curing salt.

At this time of year we have a wealth of root vegetables–so available at farmers’ markets now and throughout the winter–to use in the boiled dinner. My vegetable stash included a mix of orange, yellow and purple carrots; yellow-fleshed potatoes; sweet onions; green cabbage and red and gold beets.  Turnips (yellow or white) and parsnips are good additions, too, and available locally.

Variouis guises of the corned beef presentation

At the last minute I decided to include  Erin French’s parsley dumplings, which are featured in her wonderful book, “Lost Kitchen” and added them to the simmering pot for the last 3 to 4 minutes of cooking.  As a side note, I’ve made several recipes from her new book and will feature them at another time in my book review.

A few cooking notes are in order on how to prepare the corned beef. Put the beef in a stock pot and fill with water to cover by about 2 inches.  With the cover ajar, bring the water to the boil then lower the heat to a lively simmer, skimming off any scum that rises to the top. Add a few carrots, an onion, bay leaf and thyme and a few stalks of celery (aromatics).  Adjust the cooking temperature to stabilize the liquid to a slow simmer.  Cover the pot and cook for 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size of the meat. Periodically check the cooking temperature to maintain a steady gentle simmer. Mine was done in 3 hours for a 4-pound roast.

Use the leftover vegetables to prepare the hash

Remove the beef to a plate and moisten with some of the cooking liquid.  Cover well.  I like to glaze the meat with mustard, brown sugar and a touch of honey and put in the oven to set the glaze and reheat the beef.