Ingredients:

2 1⁄4-3 lbs corned beef briskets, drained, rinsed, and trimmed

water

4 bay leaves

2 (12 ounce) bottles red Irish ale (such as Killian's)

1 dash crushed red pepper flakes

3 cinnamon sticks

12 peppercorns

3 garlic cloves, peeled

3 cloves

1 large red onion, cut into large chunks (or other onion)

4 -6 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

4 -6 medium red potatoes, quartered

1⁄2 cup brown sugar (brown sugar Splenda works fine too)

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves

1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger

1⁄2 teaspoon mustard powder

1⁄4 teaspoon celery salt

Directions:

1. Trim all visible fat from the meat- this may take some time. Place meat in a large Dutch oven and cover with water.

2. Add ale, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves, a light shake of crushed red pepper flakes, peppercorns, garlic, and the onion chunks to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat just a bit and boil very gently, with lid ajar, for 4-5 hours or until meat is so tender that is breaks apart when you pull at it with a fork.

3. Keep checking the pot from time to time to prevent boil overs- you will need to keep lowering the heat throughout the cooking process as the liquid reduces, especially in the first hour (It should still be hot enough to still gently boil, but not spilling over the sides of the pot).

4. Meat should be very, very fork tender when ready for the next cooking stage and will have shrunk considerably from its original size.

5. In the last half hour or so of cooking time, boil the carrots and potatoes in a separate pot of water to cover and cook until fork tender; Drain vegetables and set in a small bowl. Remove meat and onion pieces from boiling liquid (discard that liquid) and set into a large roasting pan. Surround meat with boiled carrots, potatoes, and onion pieces.

6. Combine dry rub ingredients in a small bowl and rub all over the meat surface and sprinkle any remaining rub over the vegetables. If needed, make up extra dry rub to coat the vegetables (we often do this).

7. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 325°F oven for about 20 minutes until the top of the meat begins to look shiny. Remove from oven and wait about 10 minutes before slicing into thin slices along the grain of the meat.

Bon Appetit!