Bloody mary braised corned beef

Allyson Gofton

I’ve given the humble cut of corned beef a makeover to inspire any foodie. First, stew gently with bay, oranges and pepper before braising slowly in a bloody mary-inspired sauce until the meat can be pulled to pieces and sandwiched in sliders with a decent daub of roasted kumara and spoonfuls of the reduced spicy sauce. Cheap foodie food never tasted so good.

Ingredients

1 piece	Corned beef, 1.3-1.5kg (Main)
1	Orange, halved
1	Bay leaf, use up to 2
2 tsp	Peppercorns
1 ½ cups	Tomato passata, or juice
½ cup	Brown sugar
½ cup	Vodka
½ tsp	Celery seeds
3 dashes	Tabasco sauce, and Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Put the corned beef, orange, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring slowly to the boil. Lower the heat to the lowest level, half cover and allow the meat to cook on a low simmer for 60 minutes per 500 grams. If using a slow cooker, cook on low for 7–9 hours or on high for 4–6. Once tender, allow the meat to sit in the cooking liquid for an hour. As it cools it absorbs some of the cooking liquid, retaining loads of moisture.
2. Heat the oven to 180C. Place the beef in an ovenproof dish. Stir together the tomato passata or juice, sugar, vodka, celery seeds, and Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. Pour over the beef. Cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue to cook for a further hour, spooning the bloody mary sauce over the meat every 10 minutes. Once the meat is very tender and can easily be pulled into large shreds, remove from the oven. Cover loosely and allow to sit for 10–15 minutes before slicing or pulling the meat to pieces.
3. While the meat is resting, transfer the bloody mary braising sauce into a saucepan and boil for 8–10 minutes or until the sauce becomes thick and glossy. Pour this over the shredded meat and serve garnished with a few lettuce leaves and baby tomatoes. Accompany with cooked orange-fleshed kumara. Even better the next day in a wrap or sandwich.