Corned Beef

So I finally did some cooking today.  Sorry, it wasn't the black pasta; it seems you can't get that stuff in Glasgow.  I just put an order in from Melbury & Appleton, so it should be here within a week.  That stuff is not cheap, let me tell you. 

Anyway, I did make some corned beef and roasted sweet potatoes.  First, I had to make my own corned beef brisket.  It seems you can't buy corned beef brisket here in Scotland, so I bought just a regular old brisket and soaked it for a week in a brine made from salt, pepper, pickling spices, bay leaves, and water.  Then, inspired by this recipe, I smothered it in wholegrain mustard and brown sugar and popped that baby in the oven.  I thought it would go well with some roasted sweet potatoes, so I looked up how to do it.  I found this recipe and really just used it to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong.  My sweet potatoes were cut into fourths, drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and baked in a separate pan in the oven with the brisket.  Since I was using a pretty small brisket, it only took about one hour and forty minutes before everything was done, and then I combined the potatoes and brisket into one bowl and put them under the broiler for about five more minutes to make it all a bit more crispy.

Here are the results:

I know, it looks a bit meager, but I'm using a small brisket, only four sweet potatoes, and a really big dish here.  It also looks pretty tasty.  That stuff on top of the meat is the baked on goodness of the mustard and brown sugar.  I had a bit of it for a late dinner (it was already 2am!), and damn, this is some good shit.

I mean, look at that.  Amazing!  The potatoes were perfect, and the beef was all kinds of flavorful, and in a good way, too.  And the thing with corned beef is that it's always better the next day, so I can't wait for tomorrow.

Next recipe from the internet: Strawberry Dumplings!