Currabinny Cooks: Make amazing sandwiches and more with leftover spiced beef
Currabinny's spiced beef Reuben. The Reuben traditionally uses corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing, grilled between slices of Rye Bread. Pictures: BrĂd O'Donovan.
Spiced beef is the festive cousin of corned beef. In the late medieval period, an incredible range of spices were brought onto the island of Ireland from far distant lands. Spices like cloves, galangal, ginger, mace, cinnamon and peppercorns would be rubbed into salt-cured beef. Usually served cold and cut thinly, it is truly one of Irelands epicurean treats. It is of course heavily associated with Christmas, especially in Cork, where all the best producers are based.
Corks position as a merchant trading city is probably responsible for the development of spiced beef. Ships brought things like salt and spices into the city, but they also needed to stock up on foods which would endure the conditions of sea travel. The meat would be cured for longevity with salt and spices, making it edible for several weeks.
Perhaps the most famous of these spiced beef producers is Tom Durcan, one of the English Market's most exuberant and famous butchers.
Tom Durcan uses prime cut beef (usually âeye of the roundâ) which he marinates in a unique spice cure for anything up to two months.
Over the Christmas period, Durcans stall in the English Market shifts over 6 tonnes of spiced beef to festive Cork shoppers.
Growing up in Cork, spiced beef has always been a feature of the Christmas dinner table along with turkey and ham. My mother would always prepare it the day before as it is best enjoyed served cold and thinly sliced.Â
This makes it a great addition as something that can be done ahead rather than adding to the stress of Christmas Day cooking. Traditionally it was known to be boiled in stout, but I have yet to try it. A simple pot and some boiling water are all you really need. Leave it to cool, covered, until ready to use.
The recipes I have included here are all aimed at dealing with the Christmas leftovers. On Christmas Day itself, we eat it along with the other meats, albeit cold. Spiced beef, keeps well cooked or uncooked and make the most amazing sandwiches.
Anyone who has been to New York for any amount of time, will hopefully have frequented more than a few of the mostly Jewish delicatessens dotted throughout Manhattan. The shining jewel in these delicious establishments has to be the Reuben sandwich. The Reuben traditionally uses corned beef, swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing, grilled between slices of Rye Bread.
Our version sticks to the original as much as possible but uses a few ingredients which are closer to home. Good Rye bread can be tricky enough to find if you donât live near a good bakery so feel free to use good sourdough instead. You can buy Russian dressing but this homemade version is easy to assemble and so so good.
- 2 slices of good Rye BreadÂ
- 25g tbsp butter, softenedÂ
- 2 slices of Coolea cheese (or use swiss or gruyere)Â
- 80-100g of thinly sliced cooked spiced beefÂ
- 2 tbsp of good quality sauerkrautÂ
- 100g mayonnaiseÂ
- 2 tbsp ketchupÂ
- 1 tbsp creamed horseradishÂ
- 1 tsp Dijon mustardÂ
- 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
- Pinch of paprikaÂ
- Sea saltÂ
To make the Russian dressing, simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until very well combined.
To assemble the sandwich, liberally butter the outward-facing side of each slice of the rye bread. Spread a good amount of your Russian dressing on the inside of each slice. To mitigate getting butter all over your board I like to assemble the sandwich on the frying pan you are going to use.
The key to a proper New York deli-style Rueben is to absolutely stuff the two slices of bread with filling so that it is overflowing. James is horrified by this approach, preferring less filling. I would be inclined to fall in-between, as too much filling will mean that your sandwich wonât heat properly in the middle and the cheese might not get a chance to melt.
Assemble in this order: Russian dressing, spiced beef, sauerkraut and cheese. Close over the sandwich with the remaining buttered and dressed slice of rye bread. Fry on your frying pan or skillet over medium heat, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown on the outside, flipping once.
Slice in two with a good sharp bread knife and serve.
This is a great way of using spiced beef, perhaps on the morning after Christmas along with some of your leftover potatoes. It is simple, filling and incredibly easy to rustle up on a lazy after Christmas, pre-New-Years morning, where you are ambling about the house in your pyjamas and eating constantly are the only things worth doing. I have made the recipe using uncooked potatoes but using any leftovers from Christmas dinner is even more preferable. There is plenty here to play around with, you could add some sprouts, mushrooms, more spices or good lashings of hot sauce.
Serves 2Â
- 150g peeled potatoes, quartered or cut into big chunksÂ
- 50g butterÂ
- ½ medium onion, dicedÂ
- 1 clove of garlic, mincedÂ
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)Â
- Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepperÂ
- 180g of thinly sliced shreds of cooked spiced beefÂ
- 2 organic eggs, fried or poached (optional)
Boil the potatoes in a medium saucepan filled with salty water. Cook them until fork tender and then drain and set aside to cool.
In a frying pan or skillet, heat the butter with a little oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chilli flakes (if using) to the pan, seasoning everything with salt and pepper. Next add the potatoes and shredded corned beef, letting the potatoes stick to the bottom of the frying pan before scraping them off, cooking until everything is nicely browned and crispy and delicious.
Remove from the heat and serve.
This is another excellent and simple way to use some of your spiced beef leftovers. The key is frying the spiced beef first in some oil so that it is really crispy. Sambal Oelek is an Indonesian Chilli sauce and I would really urge you to go source some. It is usually widely available in most good supermarkets and food stores but you will be guaranteed to pick it up in one of the many excellent specialist Asian food stores in Ireland. It is quite simply the best chilli sauce for cooking with.
Serves 2Â
- 4 tbsp olive oilÂ
- 100g cooked spiced beef, sliced thinly 3
- ½ onion, thinly slicedÂ
- 1 thumb of ginger, peeled and gratedÂ
- 1 tbsp of sambal oelek (chilli sauce)Â
- A good handful of salted, roasted cashews, roughly choppedÂ
- 1 large egg, beatenÂ
- 300g cooked rice, cooled
- Sea salt and black pepper 1
- Soy sauce to tasteÂ
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a medium frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the spiced beef to the pan, tossing it often, until you get it nice and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add another 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and add the onion, cooking until translucent. Add the ginger and the sambal oelek, stirring everything around the pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper and transfer the onion mixture to the bowl along with the spiced beef and mix them together.
Cook the cashews in the same pan for a minute or two until starting to brown lightly. Transfer to the spiced beef and onion mixture.
In the same frying pan, heat another tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the egg first, moving it around the pan until it starts to pick up some of the leftover sauce and begins to scramble. Add the rice next and move around the pan, so that the rice and the scrambled egg are well combined and beginning to crisp slightly. Add the onion and spiced beef mixture to the pan and combine well with the rice, cooking until everything is hot and bubbling in the pan.
Serve into two bowls and eat with chopsticks.
