There is nothing like a well-cooked piece of corned beef in the middle of winter, and this cider-braised corned silverside is delicious and filling, just perfect for when the weather is cooler. The corned beef is cooked in a flavourful mixture of cider, vegetables, and spices, and then roasted in the oven until golden brown. The sauce is made with a simple roux and the reserved cooking liquid, and is tinged with mustard and brown sugar. Serve with shredded cabbage and mashed or scalloped potatoes for a complete meal.
Ingredients
Beef 1.5kg piece corned silverside
500ml apple cider or water
2 carrots chopped roughly
2 onions cut roughly
2 bay leaves
4 stalks fresh thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp brown sugar
Sauce
20g butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup cooking juice (strained)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper (to taste)
To Serve
Shredded cabbage
chopped fresh parsley
Method
Corned Beef
1 Place the silverside in a large pot. Add the cider, water, carrots, onions, bay leaves, thyme stalk and pepper. Slowly bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 2 hours keeping an eye on the liquid level. You may need to add a little extra half cup.
2 Remove from the heat and strain the juice keeping 1 cup for the sauce.
3 Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the corned beef and vegetables into a small roasting dish. Spread the sugar on top of the meat. Place it into the oven for 10 minutes to golden up the top. Remove and rest while you make the sauce.
4 For the sauce in a small pot melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add the reserved cooking liquid, mustard and brown sugar stirring until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
To Serve
Option 1: Serve with shredded cabbage & fresh parsley.
Option 2: Serve with fried cabbage and spinach with scalloped potatoes.
Option 3: Serve with fried broccoli rice, lemon zest and peas with mashed root vegetables (potato and kumara)
Option 4: Serve in a corned beef, pickle and cheese toasted sandwich.