Slow Cooker Corned Beef

The one time I eat corned beef a year is St. Patrick’s Day. Do grocery stores even sell it at any other time? I’ve never seen it except for right around St. Patrick’s. I wonder why? Regardless, I tried my hand at making this hearty, traditional meal of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. I stuck everything in the slow cooker, and once again, it proved to be so easy! (see my accessible pulled pork version here)

If you’re not a fan of the hearty meat and potatoes meal, you can make just the corned beef in the slow cooker, and turn it into sliders. The credit for that idea goes to my friend Roseanne, who made super cute sliders with sauerkraut and mustard for her St. Patrick’s Day party. A nice twist on the traditional, and super cute!

Since everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day (and Mr. Smith is half-Irish, so I get to claim it by association, right?), try your hand at making some homemade corned beef and don’t forget the Guinness! (note: corned beef is not actually considered a native Irish food, but an Irish-American one. It is also known as the New England boiled dinner.)

Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Try your hand at making some homemade slow cooker corned beef, and don’t forget the Guinness!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 hours

Total Time: 10 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 4 potatoes
• 1/2 bag of baby carrots
• 2 lbs corned beef
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• Salt
• 1 small head of cabbage

Instructions

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Add to the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Place the small carrots on top of the potatoes in the slow cooker.
3. Place the corned beef, fatty side up, in the slow cooker.
4.  Cut the corned meat into bits if necessary to fit in the slow cooker.
5. Add the water to the slow cooker.
6. Sprinkle the corned meat with the sugar and salt.
7. If the corned beef came with a little packet of spices, sprinkle those over the meat.
8. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours. With an hour to go, cut up the cabbage into chunks and add it to the slow cooker, just on top of the meat. Sprinkle with a bit of salt. Helpful hint: set a timer to remind yourself when to add the cabbage (9 hours into the cooking), and another timer for when to turn off the slow cooker!
9. To serve the corned beef, first, remove the fat from the top, then either cut it into slices and serve it with the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots or shred the corned beef to make sliders. Serve those with shredded cabbage (or sauerkraut) and mustard on slider buns.
10. Enjoy!