Thanksgiving has turkeys, Easter has eggs and St. Patrick’s Day has corned beef. Judging by the number of packages I saw in shopping carts this weekend, the law must require the cooking of a slab of salt-cured meat in time for Friday’s wearin’ of the green.

I hope you got yourself a really big slab, because corned beef makes great leftovers.

I’m suggesting a second-day salad — it’s basically a deconstructed Reuben sandwich, with the classic ingredients of corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut piled on top of greens, with the traditional rye bread turned into croutons and a Russian dressing drizzled over it all.

Consider using lettuce leaves as cups to hold the salad components for a version you can eat with your hands.

Of course, it’s best if you’ve cooked the corned beef yourself, but this salad is also easily assembled with ready-made materials — deli meat, rye croutons out of a box and a bottled dressing. On the other hand, if you’re an overachiever you could cure the meat yourself and make your own sauerkraut, but for that you would’ve had to start three weeks ago.

As for the base ingredient, the corned beef: I prefer cooking it “dry,” as opposed to the simmer-for-two-hours method advocated on the package. You can do it in a slow cooker or in your oven.

Rinse the meat well and let it soak 30 minutes in cold water to remove some of the salt. Drain and put it in the crock or a baking pan, sprinkle with the enclosed seasoning packet, cover and cook. Do not add water.

In the oven, cooking will take two to three hours at 350 degrees; in the slow cooker, 10 to 12 hours on low. The meat will give up lots of liquid, which will be salty, so discard.

Corned beef cooked this way is a revelation, firmer and more deeply flavored than the simmered version. The texture lends itself to cubing for this second-day dish.

St. Patrick’s Day Leftover Salad

• 1 small head butter lettuce, leaves separated
• 2 cups cubed or sliced corned beef (homemade or deli meat)
• 1 cup cubed or sliced Swiss cheese
• 1 cup sauerkraut, squeezed dry
• >> Rye croutons:
• 3 slices rye bread, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• Cooking oil spray
• >> Russian dressing:
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

To make croutons: Heat oven to 300 degrees. Spray bread cubes lightly with oil. Spread in baking pan and bake 15 minutes, until light brown and crisp, tossing once during baking. Let cool.

Whisk together dressing ingredients.

Arrange lettuce leaves on serving platter; top with corned beef and cheese. Sprinkle with sauerkraut, drizzle with dressing and top with croutons. Lettuce leaves can also be used as cups, filled with the other ingredients. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 680 calories, 50 g fat, 17 g saturated fat, 165 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,000 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 38 g protein

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