IRISH PUB-STYLE CORNED BEEF
When you go to an Irish pub, whether it’s on St. Patrick’s Day or not, you always hope that you’ll hear an old-timer with an Irish brogue telling a sensational story about buried treasure, leprechauns, luck and some mischief. Then you order your Guinness or Harp and sit back, you can just close your eyes for a minute and let him take you along wherever the story goes.
Suddenly, the aroma of delectable corned beef fills the room and you’re back to reality in the pub, ordering a flavorful sandwich that’s stacked high with beef, cheese and just a hint of coarse mustard. This is truly Irish pub heaven.
We wanted to make the shot look like a pub, so we didn’t need a lot of light. We had a large soft source from the right as our main light and a point source from the right as well, to give the image just a touch of sunlight, like from a window. Then, we had another point light source from the back left, as if there was another window on the other side of the pub. We also used a soft light source from above to fill in some contrast.
Make your own — Pulled Corned Beef & Seared Rye
Pulled Corned Beef
Simply put, this is corned beef cooked slowly at a low temperature so it’s tender enough to be easily pulled into pieces.
Corned beef
1 bay leaf
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 cloves
1/4 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp dill seed
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp black pepper
carrot
onion
vinegar
In a kettle, cover the corned beef with cold water and let it stand for 1 hour.
Drain and place the beef back in kettle with a bay leaf, garlic, cloves, coriander, seeds, pepper, carrot and onion.
Again cover the beef, etc., with cold water.
Add 1 teaspoon of vinegar for each quart of water.
Simmer until tender, 30 to 40 minutes for each pound.
Let it all stand in liquid for 20 minutes. Drain and pull apart for sandwiches.
Seared Rye
This is easy — it’s rye bread, buttered on one side, placed buttered side down in a large skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes so it turns a golden brown. You can do it before you layer on the swiss cheese and beef on or after, if you like the cheese to melt slightly. Don’t forget a coarse mustard, like Westbrae Natural Stoneground or Grey Poupon Harvest Coarse Ground for fullest flavor.