Ingredients
- For the corned beef:
- 1kg of corned beef brisket
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 pint of beer (I use Wicklow Wolf)
- 250ml apple juice
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 1 orange, zested
- 2 litres of beef stock
- For the pickled red cabbage:
- 1/2 head of red cabbage, sliced finely
- 200ml white wine vinegar
- 50ml apple cider vinegar
- 80g demerara sugar
- 100ml water
- 2 tsp salt
- For the brown sauce:
- 200g pitted dates
- 2 apples, peeled and grated
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp all spice
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp treacle
- 100ml cider vinegar
- 100ml red wine vinegar
- 30g muscovado sugar
- 50g demerera sugar
- 500ml water
- Salt and pepper
- To assemble:
- 1 loaf of batch bread
- 1 tbsp salted butter
- Salad leaves
For the beef brisket
1. In a slow cooker, add all of the ingredients and cook on high for 3.5 hours (use a fork to check that its cooked, the meat should fall apart). Remove the beef from the cooking stock and tear apart using two forks. Set aside and allow to cool. If cooking on a hob, follow the same method, but ensure that the stock is covering the beef for the cooking time and reduce the heat if necessary.
For the red cabbage
1. Place the sliced cabbage in a bowl. Bring the vinegar, sugar, water and salt to the boil and pour over the cabbage. Allow to cool.
For the brown sauce
1. Add the dates, apples, garlic, shallot, spices, vinegars, sugars, water and seasoning to a pot and cook on a gentle heat on the stove, stirring every 10 minutes. Cook for a total of 45 minutes adding more water if required. Blitz in a food processor and pass through a sieve. Allow the sauce to cool down before serving.
Assembling the sandwich
1. Slice the bread and butter it on both slices. Spread a layer of brown sauce on both slices and fill with the corned beef, pickled cabbage and salad leaves.
