Description
Hearty Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage brings Irish comfort straight to kitchen tables with minimal effort. Tender meat and garden-fresh vegetables slow-cook into a classic one-pot meal perfect for Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat:
- 1 (3-4 lb) corned beef brisket, with spice packet
Vegetables and Herbs:
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- 4 carrots, cut into chunks
- 3 Yukon gold or red potatoes, halved
- ½ head of cabbage, cut into wedges
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 bay leaves
Liquids and Seasonings:
- 4 cups beef broth (or water)
- 1 bottle (12 ounces) of beer (optional, for extra depth – Guinness works great!)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (optional, adds richness)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (balances flavors)
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Instructions
- Arrange a foundation of aromatic vegetables by layering sliced onions, roughly chopped carrots, and halved potatoes across the bottom of the crockpot, creating a flavorful bed for the meat.
- Carefully position the corned beef brisket atop the vegetable base, ensuring the fatty side faces upward, and generously scatter the accompanying spice packet over the meat’s surface.
- Enhance the cooking liquid by combining robust beef broth, a splash of beer for depth, a dash of Worcestershire sauce for complexity, a touch of brown sugar for subtle sweetness, minced garlic for pungency, fragrant bay leaves, and whole black peppercorns.
- Secure the crockpot lid and allow the contents to simmer gently on low temperature for 8-10 hours, or alternatively on high for 5-6 hours, until the meat becomes incredibly tender and effortlessly separates with a gentle fork.
- During the final 1½ hours of cooking, delicately nestle fresh cabbage wedges on top of the simmering meat, allowing them to absorb the rich, aromatic braising liquid.
- After cooking, transfer the corned beef to a cutting board and let it rest momentarily, then slice against the grain into succulent portions, accompanied by the perfectly cooked vegetables and a generous ladle of the deeply flavored cooking broth.
Notes
- Customize the liquid by replacing beer with extra beef broth or apple juice for a non-alcoholic version that maintains rich flavor depth.
- Trim excess fat from the corned beef brisket before cooking to reduce greasiness and create a leaner final dish.
- Cut vegetables into larger, uniform chunks to prevent them from becoming mushy during the long, slow cooking process.
- Choose a flat-cut corned beef brisket instead of a point-cut for more even cooking and a more consistent texture throughout the meat.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8-10 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Irish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg