Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 03-18-2010, 07:39 PM   #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Renwomin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Midwest, USA
Posts: 436

S/C/G: 280/255/Healthy, Happy, Strong

Height: 5'7"

Default Low Calorie Corned Beef & Cabbage?

I was craving corned beef and cabbage this week for obvious reasons but was concerned that any restaurant version would be too loaded with calories. When I was at the store I bought a flat cut corned beef brisket (the "point cut" seemed to be fattier.) I also purchased some potatoes, cabbage, onions, and carrots. I plan to cook the veggies separate from the brisket since I don't want them to absorb the fat. Any tips on how I could cut it all so that it is still yummy but a lower calorie meal?

Last edited by Renwomin; 03-18-2010 at 08:38 PM.
Renwomin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-18-2010, 07:46 PM   #2  
Senior Member
 
angelskeep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Cody, Wyoming
Posts: 982

S/C/G: 243/190/150

Height: 5'4"

Default

You can cook the meat in the oven, low and slow. Use the broiler pan, which has slots in it. On the drip pan that goes underneath the slotted part, put some water or beer to help steam and tenderize the meat. Although the corned beef is just a fatty piece of meat (YUMMY too!), some of the fat will slip through the slots in the pan into the bottom one instead of the meat sitting in the juices and liquified fat. Cover the top snugle with foil to keep the heat and moisture in.

Enjoy! I'm jealous.
Barb
angelskeep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-18-2010, 10:45 PM   #3  
Senior Member
 
luvmyfam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Northeastern Pennsylvania
Posts: 419

S/C/G: 220/tickers/127

Height: 5'

Default

We did the corned beef & cabbage/potatoes/carrots thing for St. Patrick's Day. I opted to buy the flat cut, too. The packaging actually had the nutrition facts on it, so I was able to compare. A 4 oz. serving of our store's brand has 160 calories & 10 grams of fat. I'm using Weight Watchers, and that works out to be about 4 points per serving. Fairly standard for a lean cut of meat.

Trimming the visible fat, and broiling it to help with fat run-off would help, I'm sure, but the stats didn't seem all that bad.

I only had about the equivalent of 1 small potato, and a half cup of cooked, sliced carrots, but gave myself a generous 1 cup serving of cabbage. It all came to about 5 points for me, which is great for a whole dinner. That flat cut of corned beef is actually mostly meat. I couldn't believe how nice the one I got was -- the only real fat was on the one flat side and was easily removed.

Now, I am not sure of the rules of posting links to recipes, like at WeightWatchers.com. I'm not even sure this will come through, but they had a "from scratch" recipe for Corned Beef & Cabbage with Red Potatoes. In this one you use lean beef round and add in all the spices yourself. That recipe comes out to 8 points, not sure of the calorie/fat breakdown. I'll give it a try, and apologize to the moderators if I'm not supposed to share a link like this: http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/r...ecipeid=103621

I was pretty pleased, though, with how I did to just use that leaner corned beef. What killed me was the Irish Soda bread & real butter! Egads!
luvmyfam is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2010, 12:40 PM   #4  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Renwomin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Midwest, USA
Posts: 436

S/C/G: 280/255/Healthy, Happy, Strong

Height: 5'7"

Default

Today I'm cooking my corned beef with cabbage and I think I am off to a pretty good start. I decided to cook my corned beef in a crock pot since I read they come out nice and tender. I'm also taking Angelkeeps suggestion on using beer, especially since I have some on hand that I am tempted to drink! (I don't drink much, but I'm a beer connoisseur.)

I started with a flat cut corned beef that had less calories then the point cut and cut off all the visible fat. There was quite a bit more than I thought at first! I poured a Samson dark Chezch lager in the crock pot with some water, the seasoning packet from the corned beef, five small cloves of garlic, all spice, and some salt. Even though the corned beef is very salty I read that if you don't add salt to your water the salt and flavor from the beef will come out through osmosis. Salt in the water is supposed to keep all that taste in!

I plan to cook the corned beef on high in the crock pot for five hours.

I know that it is traditionally to cook all the vegetables in with it, but I don't want the fat from the meat to get into the vegetables. So my plan as of right now is to roast the potatoes, carrots, and onions with very little oil in the oven. (I haven't tried roasting with little oil but I'll see how it goes!) If anyone has any suggestion on how to roast vegetables with little fat I could use it!

I also plan to lightly steam the cabbage on the stove top. My bf hates cabbage so I am cooking it separately for him. I'm hoping the steaming will keep the flavor from being too strong and the bf will enjoy it!

This is taking a lot more time then the traditional recipe but I am hoping it will be healthier and lower calorie!

Last edited by Renwomin; 03-20-2010 at 12:46 PM.
Renwomin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2010, 01:54 PM   #5  
Senior Member
 
AnnieDrews's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 2,544

S/C/G: 191/Ticker/140

Height: 5'3" Age 51

Default

I usually roast vegetables using a small amount of olive oil, but I don't see why you couldn't use Pam (either olive oil flavor, regular or butter). This sounds delicious! Sprinkle them with whatever spices/herbs you want. I love rosemary, but not sure how that would be with corned beef.

Can't wait to hear how it turns out!
AnnieDrews is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2010, 12:19 AM   #6  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Renwomin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Midwest, USA
Posts: 436

S/C/G: 280/255/Healthy, Happy, Strong

Height: 5'7"

Default

This meal turned out great!

The corned beef came out so tender and flavorful. I'm so glad that I didn't put the vegetables in the crockpot since there seemed to be a fair amount of oil that simmered off from the meat.

I lightly steamed the cabbage on the stovetop with no oil. I tossed potatoes, baby carrots, onions, and garlic in a plastic bag with only 1 tablespoon of oil to prepare them to roast in the oven. (1.5 tsp of Canola for better browning and 1.5 tsp olive oil for better taste.) Some of the oil stayed in the bag, so ultimately there was even less then 1 Tb on the veggies. I was surprised how well a whole brimming 11 x 7 backing dish of veggies browned with so little oil. Next time I will try using even less!

I had a small serving of corned beef and lots of yummy veggies. The corned beef was so flavorful that just having that small piece was satisfying. Everyone who had it thought it tasted great.

I figured that the meal for me was around 500 calories. I am so happy that I got my corned beef and cabbage fix and still stayed on my diet!
Renwomin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2010, 05:39 PM   #7  
Senior Member
 
AnnieDrews's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 2,544

S/C/G: 191/Ticker/140

Height: 5'3" Age 51

Default

I'm glad it turned out so well! I think what you said about it being so flavorful that you were satisfied with just a small amount is so true for me, too.
AnnieDrews is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:19 AM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.