Gray corned beef? Not sure what that means. I buy mine from Trader Joe's and it's always tender and delicious. You just dump the meat AND the brine in the pan, fill with cold water and let 'er rip on the stove for a few hours. Roasted potatoes and carrots from the oven are always good. I don't like boiled cabbage--prefer it raw, sliced with lemon, salt and pepper.

Thanks, sjerin. I'm really looking for the "supposedly traditional Irish/St. Patrick's Day" meal. There are (at least) two types of corned beef: red and gray. I'm looking for a recipe for corned beef, cabbage, vegetables all cooked together.

I follow the directions on the package and cook it on low all day in the slow cooker. I add the veggies about half way through the cooking time.

Not sure what sort of recipe one needs. I just cook the brisket, after rinsing in water, for many hours; package has time suggestions per pound. Then the last 45 minutes you add the carrots and peeled potatoes...the cabbage not until the last 10. We serve with horseradish, butter and a variety mustards. Reubens are our favorite way to eat corn beef; I use the slow cooker to cook the corn beef on Reuben day!!

I guess you're smarter than I, then, arcy. Package? Gray or red? Perhaps I'm not reaching my target audience here. Is "New England Boiled Dinner" (or other names) only a New England thing on St. Patrick's Day?

Ok, I guess I've gotten a few "techniques" here. Thanks to each of you who have responded.

I'm with Rhizo. I pan fry my cabbage with mushrooms and onions, don't care for it boiled.

I buy Trader Joe's too - it doesn't contain any of the nitrites; they use natural ingredients to make it pink. It's delicious!

I don't like my veggies cooked in the same pot as the meat, so I always steam the cabbage and carrots separately and are cooked a bit more firm than the traditional boiled in the pot kind.

Sometimes I bake the meat in a Reynold's bake-in bag, but last year it seemed too salty to me, so I boiled it this year and it was perfect. Some year I might try soaking the salt out first, then baking it in the bag.

Thanks, all.

I usually cook mine in a slow cooker I have done it in the oven too, but the slow cooker is so easy. I slice an onion and lay it in the bottom of the pot them put in the meat exactly as it came out of bag, I open the seasoning package and dump it in. I use tiny red potatoes or fingerling and add those around the meat. I take whole carrots scrub well do not peel cut into chunks add to the pot. I add just enough liquid to reach the bottom part of the meat. I do not submerge the entire meat in liquid so it more steams it than boils. I use beer, or water with a little wine what ever I have. I don't add any seasoning other than the package it came with. I turn my slow cooker on high and let it cook for several hours. I test it with a fork to see if it shreds easily if so it's done. If I am doing cabbage I cut it into wedges and lay on top of the meat for the last 30-40 minutes. I like my cabbage with a little crunch left not just Boiled to slime. My mom always Boiled it to death and I never liked cabbage. Now I eat it. Slice across the grain. I use red flat cut meat.

Not an expert, but what makes it pink is the "corning"... a several day soak in sort of a brine. I don't think it technically even has to be done under refrigeration, but then again, not an expert. If hunka beef, no matter what cut, has not gone thru that "corning" process, would certainly turn out gray after just boiling... and probably wouldn't remotely taste like CB. I have tried to find out if a cut, other than brisket, can be used to corn. Not brisket is NOT corned beef unless it's corned... just a flat-ish cut of beef with LONG fibers running the length. Perfect for something slow... like simmering in a pot, in crock pot, or low and slow on a grill.

I buy a corned beef, all ready to cook, in vac seals with that dinky packet of spices included. I add more garlic, a few more bay leaves and maybe a little more pickling spices. Then simmer on stove top till fork tender. Sometimes stop a bit short of fork tender, rub with spice mix for pastrami, and finish in oven. Chunked up cabbage and potatoes go into the liquid after the meat comes out till "done". I like a spicy mustard to dip the corned beef in. Like butter on potatoes and cabbage. Like a drizzle of vinegar on cabbage. Nothing fancy.

We cook the corned beef (red) on high in a crock pot//slow cooker for five hours. Don't ask me, hubby says no matter what size five hours is how long it takes. The potatoes and carrots get cut up into large chunks and are simmered together in pan - takes about 10 minutes from the time the water starts to boil. The cabbage gets steamed in another pot until fork tender.

We used to put the veggies in with the corned beef towards the end of the cooking process, but decided we like them better cooked separately. We also used to make gravy out of the corned beef broth, but decided it's too salty.

Once everything is done, the corned beef is sliced and served with the veggies. horseradish and a grainy mustard. On night number two, we have corned beef sandwiches. On day three the rest of the corned beef is made into corned beef hash, which is then formed into patties that go in the freezer for future breakfasts.

Elizabeth Andersson, your family is right corned beef is not Irish. Both my parents were from Ireland & they never had that over there. The restaurants in Ireland now have it because people think it is Irish & that is what they want for St. Patrick's Day.

I make a small one in the crock pot with root veggies and cabbage

I use a cottage roll(not sure if that is what its called in the states) boiled on stovetop for a couple of hours.

Add carrots, let cook for about 10-12 min.,then potatoes,cut in good sized chunks for another 10-12 min. add whole cooking onions and wedges of cabbage...let all cook(boil) until potatoes and carrots are fork tender....take meat out of juice/water,then place veggies into separate bowls,serve.

We use a bit of vinegar on the cabbage,and just mash up your potatoes on your plate with margarine/butte,s & p.

I have saved the juice a time or two and made a ham & bean soup the next day,providing the juice wasn't too salty.