Baked Corned Beef and Red Potatoes - Dont boil the life out of it!

Although it is authentically American-Irish (Authentic Irish used boiled bacon, it wasnt until they came to America they used Corned Beef.) to boil a piece of meat to a dither... You might find you love the texture, color and flavor of this baked version better!

Baked Corned Beef and Red Potatoes

3-5 lbs     packaged corned beef (discard spice packet)

10-14      whole cloves

1/4-1/3    (depending on size of corned beef) cup hot sweet honey mustard

2-4          Tbsp brown sugar (2 tbsp for 3 lbs)

Preheat 300°F.

Remove from package and rinse any juice from corned beef. Pat Dry. Prepare roasting pan with a large piece of heavy duty, wide, aluminum foil. On the exterior sides of it leave a little space if your pan is large enough to add potatoes an hour and a half into cooking. 

Lay meat, fat side up, in foil. Insert the cloves into the top of the slab of corned beef, evenly spaced. I usually cut a small space with a knife to insert the clove. Spread the top with the hot sweet honey mustard. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top.Wrap the corned beef with foil in a way that allows for a little space on top between the corned beef and the foil, without them touching. The goal is to catch as much of the juices as possible. Bake for 3 hours, add 30 minutes for each additional lb over 3 lbs .

Around 2 hours into cooking add potatoes on the sides of foil, outside the foil. 

Red Potatoes

Depending on guests 8-15 red potatoes (bake extra in a side dish if you plan on making corned beef hash in the morning)

olive oil

salt

Pare a narrow strip of peel from the middle of each potato. Drizzle or toss is bowl with olive oil and lightly salt.  Add potatoes on the sides of foil, outside the beef.

Open the foil wrapping, and broil it for 2-3 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly browned.

Rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then place on cutting board and cut at a diagonally, across the grain of the meat, into 1/4-1/2-inch thick slices.

Serve immediately with Authentic Irish Soda Oat Bread and Cabbage sauteed with onions, salt, pepper in  olive oil/butter.