SERVICES

Tuesday March 12, 2008

Preparing The Perfect Corned Beef Cabbage With Terry Condon

With St. Patrick's Day fast approaching, Gallagher's Steak House General Manager Terry Condon , with family roots from County Cork, Ireland, and chef Telmo Silva, have provided the top five keys to to preparing the "Perfect Corned Beef Cabbage" for the celebration.

Gallagher's Steak House, established in 1927, is located at 228 West 52nd Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue in New York City, will be opened for its St. Patrick's Day celebration on Saturday, March 17, as well as the other 364 days a year.

For Gallagher's reservations call 212-972-5337. Here's the corned beef and cabbage advise, followed by Terry Condon's Irish Lamb Stew, another delicacy for St Patrick's Day:

Don't UNDERCOOK or OVERCOOK the corned beef, simmer for one hour per pound - less than that it will be tough, more than that it will shrink to nothing -- so that the meat is tender.
Cabbage should go in for the last half hour of cooking, otherwise it will be a soggy mess.
A great loaf of Irish Soda Bread -- fresh from a local bakery or better yet homemade -- completes the meal, rather than rye bread which you can have any time of the year.
Extra root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and celery add to the flavors and accompaniments. Don't limit it to just cabbage to give the meal some variety.
Don't trim the meat until after it's cook. That protects it from shrinkage and adds flavor. Corned beef is a fatty meat but great "marbling" means great flavor and quality.

Gallagher's Steak House GM Terry Condon's Irish Lamb Stew Recipe For St. Patrick's Day Celebration

Terry Condon, general manager at Gallagher's Steak House in New York City, is an Irish-American whose family originally hails from County Cork in Ireland. He relishes Irish lamb stew, he says, because besides the local meat it probably started with, "it is made with a bevy of the flavorful root vegetables which grow so abundantly in Ireland."

And it's so easy for the home chef to make. "Once everything is on the top of the stove, it simmers for hours, and only needs an occasional stir," Condon points out.

This is an old Condon family recipe with some American adaptations and nuances developed by Terry Condon. Start with the recipe but vary it if you wish -- substitute a favorite vegetable or two, perhaps, to taste. He suggests serving the stew over egg noodles, or mashed potatoes.

Terry Condon's Irish Lamb Stew
2 pounds boned shoulder of lamb, cut into 2-inch cubes
.25 cup flour
1.5 teaspoons salt, or to taste
.25 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 leeks, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, crushed
.5 bottle of red wine to cover (see note)
14.5-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, crushed
4 carrots, quartered
10 baby Yukon Gold potatoes
2 stalks celery, quartered
2 parsnips, quartered
2 cups chicken stock, if needed (see note)
10-ounce package frozen green peas
Few sprigs parsley
.25 teaspoon dried thyme

Lightly flour the lamb, season to taste with salt and pepper; brown the meat on all sides in olive oil in a large, lidded saucepan. Remove meat.

Saute the onions, leeks and garlic in the same oil until translucent. Return lamb to the saucepan, cover with the red wine and .5 the canned tomatoes, crushed. Bring to full boil, then turn heat down to low and simmer fully covered for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Add carrots, potatoes, celery, parsnips and rest of tomatoes, crushed (and chicken stock if needed) to the lamb; add salt to season the vegetables to taste; bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Add peas, parsley and thyme, and cook for final 10 minutes.
Makes 4 servings.

Note: You may use whatever wine you would drink with the meal. If you need additional liquid to cover, use chicken stock.

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