Corned Beef and Cabbage Rolls

Cooking corned beef takes a fair bit of time to get the meat good and tender - that's why I decided to try making the famous Jigg's dinner with canned corned beef. To add interest I wrapped the beef up in cabbage leaves. With Paddy's day looming I kind of rushed into this recipe idea so I already see potential changes and improvements that I will mention in the last step. I took video clips of the process and have the final edited video in Step 5.

Step 1: Getting Those Cabbage Leaves Ready

Probably the biggest obstacle and turn-off in making any cabbage rolls is getting those leaves off the cabbage in good shape without too much hassle. Here's my earlier Instructable (above) that shows how a hole saw can help with the process.

Step 2: Peel and Boil Potatoes and Make the Mustard-molasses Sauce

Besides the corned beef, Jigg's dinners often include potatoes, carrots, and turnip. For this recipe I tried combining mashed potatoes with the canned corned beef and wrapped that combo in the softened cabbage leaves.

Ingredients for the mustard and molasses sauce

dijon mustard

molasses

cider vinegar

black pepper

vegetable oil (olive oil used here)

I combined all of the above in a small bowl and gave them a good quick stir with a fork.

Step 3: Combine the Canned Corn Beef, Mashed Potatoes and 1 Egg

I broke the canned corned beef up with a fork, mashed the potatoes with a little bit of margarine and then combined it all in a bowl. I then added and mixed in one egg. The idea is to have the egg help with holding the mixture together in the cabbage roll. During this time period I also peeled and boiled turnip and carrot that I added to the dish later.

Step 4: Roll the Corned Beef/potato Mixture in Cabbage Leaves and Bake

The video below best shows this process but the objective is to get the mixture neatly rolled up in the cabbage leaves. As you will notice in the video, the cabbage leaves need not be "perfect" as with a little manipulating you will end up with a good looking roll.

I shook a little salt over the rolls before covering and putting in the oven. I set the oven at 350 degrees and set the timer for 25 mins.

Step 5: This Video Gives More Info

Step 6: What I Would Like to Try Next

Here's some of the ideas that came from this recipe experiment:

1. keep potatoes out of the meat mixture and place them whole on the plate

2. cook the cabbage more, either prior to the rolling stage or at the oven stage

3. the sauce shown is a bit harsh... maybe just plain prepared mustard or perhaps sweet pickles

4. make up a sauce, with mustard as primary ingredient, and cook the rolls in that sauce (along the lines of regular cabbage rolls in tomato sauce.)

Hope this give some inspiration for other variations on the general idea.