Corned Beef Cheese Ball

And finally, I have a post about the other St. Patty's Day corned beef do-over.  Maybe it's a Midwest thing, but cheeseballs are great pitch-in food.  They can even be frozen ahead and thawed a day before the event. 

If you're going to freeze them for more than a few days, vacusealing is the way to go as the cream cheese is prone to picking up funky odors.  Make the cheeseball, then freeze for at least an hour on a piece of waxed or parchment paper, THEN vacuseal.  Otherwise the vacuum will squish the cheeseball flat.  Once again, I screw up so you don't have to.

I also recommend preparing this cheeseball in a stand mixer rather than a food processor or by hand.  The food processor will just turn the mix-ins to paste and without some electric elbow grease, the cream cheese will stay clumpy and dense instead of mixing into a light, smooth medium for corned beef goodness delivery.

Corned Beef Cheeseball
Makes 2 4" cheeseballs

12 oz. corned beef, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup pickle relish
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 1/2 tbsp horseradish
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups walnut or pecan pieces

Combine first 8 ingredients in a stand mixer.  Mix until well-blended.  Divide mixture in half and shape into balls. 



Please to be ignoring the take-out cup in the background

 Spread half of the nut pieces on a piece of waxed or parchment paper.  Roll one ball in the nuts until well-coated on all sides.  Repeat with remaining cheeseball.  Refrigerate or freeze. Pin It