Recipe: Corned Beef Grilled Cheese

I don’t know about you folks, but I’m pleased to say I kind of outdid myself this past St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, I made Irish Soda Bread, as well as colcannon and corned beef and cabbage. I even brined the brisket myself for about 60 hours before throwing it in the slow cooker. Saturday morning, I was delighted to find my fridge overflowing with leftovers, so I used some to make corned beef potato pancakes for brunch.
 
Now, because my eyes were significantly bigger than my Tupperware when I went to the grocery store, I ended up making enough corned beef and colcannon for an army. The question is, “… now what?” While I could just reheat leftovers every day for the week, I prefer to switch things up a little. Here goes.
 

Photo and recipe inspiration from Closet Cooking
 
Corned Beef Grilled Cheese with Guinness Caramelized Onions

Yield: 1 serving
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 2 slices dark rye or marble rye bread, lightly toasted Note: you could use soda bread instead, if you have any lying around. Sadly, mine had already been devoured.
• ½ cup cheddar, shredded, room temperature
• 2 ounces cooked corned beef, sliced or shredded, warm
• Optional: thinly sliced sandwich pickles, such as bread and butter

The Nitty Gritty
 

1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add ¼ cup Guinness , cover and simmer until the liquid has mostly evaporated, about 15 minutes and repeat three more times. This process is time consuming, but properly caramelized onions are 100% worth it.
4. Remove onions from heat and mix in the Worcestershire sauce and grainy mustard.
5. Heat a separate non-stick pan over medium heat.
6. Butter the outside of each slice of bread, then assemble your sandwich in layers as follows: cheese, half of the onions, corned beef, the remaining onions, pickles (if using), cheese again, and the other slice of bread.
7. Gently place that tasty sandwich in the pan and grill until the bread is a nice golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.

 
Serve this baby up alongside a pint of your remaining Guinness and tuck in!