I love corned beef and I always buy the less fatty flat cut. This year my local supermarket had them for $8.99/lb and I was not going to buy one but then I got this week's coupons from Giant. They always have corned beef coupons right before St. Pat's Day and they did not disappoint. I got my coupon and am going to Giant today. $2.47 / lb for flat cut and $1.97 / lb for point cut.

It depends on how you want to cook it. The flat cooks more evenly on the smoker or in the oven. If you simmer on the stove or use crock pot then it does not seem to matter. The point also seems to be more tender.

Neither are tender if they are sliced with the grain. Sliced 90 degrees across the grain, I'll make a sandwich with flat cut slices about 1/8" thick, or less. For plating, I go with point cut slices about 1/4" thick.

I haven't priced raisins (Irish soda bread) for a year. And, I don't expect cabbages to be .29/lb, like in past years.

To me, the beauty of a St Patrick's Day meal (known as a New England boiled dinner) is the simplicity of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and a pot of simmering water. Onions, and the soda bread, can be optional

It is that time again, good prices on the corned beef around here right now. Stuck three in the freezer, still have a couple quart jars on the shelf too. May get another one to cook off slow simmered for this year. Prefer points myself, though both are good.

No corned beef for me.
To late and too expensive.
But a small pressure cooker is the way to go if I were to break down and get one.
I prefer the point.
Fat rules.

Using coupons I picked up a flat cut corned beef for $2.47 / lb and a head of cabbage for 12 cents a pound.

I don't like the traditional boiled dinner so I cook the beef in the crockpot and the potatoes and cabbage separate. Last year I made boiled, potatoes with butter and fresh parsley along with sautéed cabbage with slivered carrots. I will probably do that again this year.

I called the really nice bakery in town and they will be making Irish Soda Bread tomorrow so I will pick up one of theirs instead of making my own. I have made it several times but have never been quite satisfied with it. They make fabulous cakes at this bakery so I am going to try their soda bread.

I was extremely surprised that the local Stop & Shop had point cut at 1.69/lb and flat cut at 1.89/lb, the same price as last year. They did have much less quantities, and sold out very quickly. Perhaps it was because those prices are about 1/3 the cost of any other beef that they currently have. They finally have stocked unbleached all-purpose flour, just in time for me to make Irish soda bread.

Point or flat, I like them both. I just did one sous vide 180F for ten hour. It was about the best I've ever had, juicy, sliceable, but very tender. Next one I'm going to smoke first. Almost pastrami, with lots of black pepper.

brownrexx wrote: ↑Tue Mar 15, 2022 7:10 am Using coupons I picked up a flat cut corned beef for $2.47 / lb and a head of cabbage for 12 cents a pound.

I don't like the traditional boiled dinner so I cook the beef in the crockpot and the potatoes and cabbage separate. Last year I made boiled, potatoes with butter and fresh parsley along with sautéed cabbage with slivered carrots. I will probably do that again this year.

I called the really nice bakery in town and they will be making Irish Soda Bread tomorrow so I will pick up one of theirs instead of making my own. I have made it several times but have never been quite satisfied with it. They make fabulous cakes at this bakery so I am going to try their soda bread.

I wonder if they make their Irish soda bread with cake flour. While I love that type too, I prefer the more rustic one made with all purpose flour. There is no way that I would pass on either. I also prefer caraway seeds over no caraway seeds, raisins over currents, egg wash glaze over no glaze, finally toasted and lightly buttered. You're probably realizing that I take my Irish soda bread quite seriously.

Just looked, not gonna happen at over 6 bucks a pound.
On a side note Mexico celebrates St Patrick's day too.

worth1 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:41 pm Just looked, not gonna happen at over 6 bucks a pound.
On a side note Mexico celebrates St Patrick's day too.

That reminds me of my volunteer days. I was responsible for keeping a few hundred children happy on the St Patricks Day celebration at our local Irish club. Crafts were card stock/cardboard armor generally for the boys, and glittery ribbony feathery princess hats for the girls. I found out that day that glitter cannot be contained.

Bu the hit of the day, literally, was bringing out a giant pinata. You should have seen the look on the faces of some of the pure Irish club members. The first pinata that I made, along with the help of a few high school volunteers, was a four-leaf clover. The one mistake was constructing it without a weak point. I think about 25 children each took three swings at it (with a wiffle ball bat), and it would crack, but not break open. That took about ten minutes with very impatient children. Finally an adult found a baseball bat and handed it to the oldest child.

When about 40 pounds of candy came flowing out of that thing (another mistake, overfilling it so that there was little air space) and 100+children scrambling for the booty, those pure Irish had a change of heart seeing their gleeful grandchildren having the time of their lives. Within a few minutes after the chaos was over, I was asked by the club officers if a pinata would be back the next year. A harp it was the following year, with that necessary weak point.

Bought a 4 lb flat cut at ShopRite yesterday. Was 17.12. Sale price with digital coupon I think was 7.76. Might have been less. Their receipts are hard to figure out. I will have to ask my sister, she works there. 3 and a half lb cabbage 1.06 with digital coupon. Onions, carrots, Seedless soft rye bread for sandwiches, and I should be all set. A box of Nabisco Graham Crackers I splurged on 4.99! Almost as much as 4 lbs of beef, lol. Same for the Rye bread. I have never made rye bread but it would have cost me as much or more for the ingredients ust buy the darned loaf. Not a bread I usually buy the rest of the year.

One of the "problems" with being Irish is that we, at times, can be chea...frugal.

Usually I go with Yukon Gold potatoes (currently 4.99/5 lbs). But, the red potatoes were 1.49/5 lbs, so I went with those. I do throw a few onions into the pot, and while the yellow onions were on sale at 1.49/3 lbs, I have to go with the Vidalia-type at 2.99/3 lb.

Another local store has point cut at 1.49/lb and flat cut at 1.89/lb, limit one each. So, I'll likely pick up a pair for the freezer. With about 40% of people of Irish descent in town, the cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions are stacked up just inside the front doors.

I will be modifying the Irish soda bread. I bake three loaves that basically cover an entire large cookie sheet. The store was out of the large box of raisins that I normally use. They had a box of currents (golden raisins), but I passed on those. I bought two 6-packs of 1 ounce boxes of raisins and one package of sweetened dried cranberries. I'm going to make 2 regular breads and one substituting cranberries for the raisins.

And speaking of 6-packs, this store has no liquor license. Otherwise, Guinness (and perhaps some green food coloring) would have been fronting the potatoes, just inside the doors.

They had 2 corned beef brisket left at the store yesterday.
Both flat and I didn't get either one for $24.
Opted for some fine localy made Slovacek sausage links instead.
What cabbage left was the size of a softball.
Didn't get any.
Looks like sausage links and small red taters with butter.

Anyone use an IP on pressure setting for the Corned Beef? The recipe/instrctions I found online was the entire thing ready in 90 minutes. Cook the CB first, then remove it and cook the veggies in the left over stout and water for just a few minutes. Thinking of trying it.

@Sue_CT
High on insta pot is 12 psi.
My old school is 15 psi.
So you would want it on high would be my guess.
Time is all over the map.

Anyone put beer in for part of the water when cooking Corned Beef?

I cooked my corned beef in the crock pot in plain water but in the past I have added about 1/2 bottle of Guinness beer. I like it both ways but DH prefers it without the beer. I cook my potatoes on the stove top and usually sauté some cabbage in butter. I don't like it all cooked together. Corned beef has a lot of fat and I don't like everything cooked in that fatty liquid but I do LOVE corned beef.

I picked up a nice chunk of chuck roast.
Its in the curing solution as we speak.
Corned beef doesn't always mean brisket.
It's about the size my mom used to make from the same cut.
This one is gonna be nice.
It's about 2 pounds.
The solution is insta cure salt and brown sugar.

Plenty of left over corned beef at our local Aldi so picked up two more flats for the freezer, a pork roast and some chicky thighes.