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Slow Cooker St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef and Cabbage

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A 3 to 4-pound corned beef brisket slow-cooked for 8 to 10 hours in a rich braising liquid of Guinness stout, beef broth, Dijon, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and the included spice packet — emerging impossibly tender, deeply seasoned, and uniformly moist from edge to center. Served alongside perfectly cooked cabbage wedges, Yukon Gold potatoes, and sweet carrots, finished with a spoonful of strained braising liquid and a sharp whole-grain mustard sauce alongside. The St. Patrick’s Day corned beef that becomes the St. Patrick’s Day corned beef from now on.

  • Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6–8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

The Corned Beef

  • 1 corned beef brisket, 3–4 lbs (1.4–1.8 kg), flat cut, with spice packet included
  • 1 bottle (12 oz / 355ml) Guinness stout or Irish red ale
  • 1 cup (240ml) beef broth
  • 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
  • 6 garlic cloves, smashed

The Braising Liquid

  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • Spice packet from the corned beef

The Vegetables

  • 1 small head green cabbage, cut into 6–8 wedges through the core
  • 1½ lbs (680g) baby potatoes or Yukon Golds, halved
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks

The Mustard Sauce

  • 3 tbsp whole-grain mustard
  • ½ cup (120ml) sour cream or crème fraîche
  • 1 tbsp prepared horseradish
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp honey
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

For Serving

  • Fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Instructions

  • Prepare the corned beef. Rinse the corned beef brisket under cold water if desired to reduce surface saltiness. Pat dry with paper towels.
  • Build the braising liquid. Place the quartered onion and smashed garlic cloves in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour in the Guinness and beef broth. Add the Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and the spice packet from the corned beef package. Stir briefly to combine.
  • Place the brisket. Lay the corned beef brisket fat side up on top of the onion and garlic in the slow cooker. The liquid should come approximately halfway up the sides of the brisket — add a small amount of additional broth if needed.
  • Cook — first stage. Set the slow cooker to LOW and cook for 5 to 6 hours.
  • Add potatoes and carrots. After 5 to 6 hours, add the halved potatoes and carrot chunks around and beneath the brisket. Replace the lid and continue cooking on LOW for a further 2 hours.
  • Add the cabbage. After the potatoes and carrots have cooked for 2 hours, nestle the cabbage wedges into the slow cooker around the brisket. Replace the lid and cook for a final 1 to 2 hours, until the cabbage is tender but still holding its shape and the corned beef reaches an internal temperature of 190–200°F (88–93°C) and is fork-tender.
  • Rest the brisket. Carefully transfer the corned beef to a cutting board. Tent loosely with foil and rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Strain the braising liquid. Pour the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning. This is your jus.
  • Make the mustard sauce. While the brisket rests, whisk together the whole-grain mustard, sour cream, horseradish, apple cider vinegar, and honey. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
  • Slice and serve. Identify the grain direction of the brisket and slice against it, perpendicular to the fibers, in ¼ to ½-inch slices. Arrange on a large platter with the cabbage wedges, potatoes, and carrots. Ladle warm braising liquid over the top, scatter with fresh parsley, and serve with the mustard sauce alongside.

Notes

  • Fat side up — always. The fat cap renders during the long cook and continuously bastes the meat. Cooking fat side down produces drier, less flavorful results.
  • Add cabbage last. Cabbage needs only 1 to 2 hours in the slow cooker. Added at the start, it becomes grey and mushy. This is the most common mistake with slow cooker corned beef and cabbage — don’t make it.
  • LOW is non-negotiable. Corned beef cooked on HIGH becomes tough and stringy. The collagen conversion that produces tender brisket happens at sustained low temperatures. Plan 8 to 10 hours and cook it on LOW.
  • Slice against the grain. Look carefully at the brisket before you cut — the long muscle fibers are clearly visible. Cut perpendicular to them. This single step is the difference between silky, tender slices and a stringy, chewy result.
  • The braising liquid is liquid gold. The Guinness, brine, and beef drippings that accumulate in the slow cooker over 8 to 10 hours are extraordinary. Strain it, reduce it briefly, and serve it warm as a jus. Never discard it.
  • Rest time matters. Ten to fifteen minutes of resting allows the muscle fibers to relax and the juices to redistribute. Skip this step and the first cuts will bleed excessively and the meat will be less moist.
  • This gets better overnight. Leftover corned beef slices more cleanly when cold and reheated gently in its braising liquid. If you can, cook it the day before.
  • Author: Elle
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8–10 hours (on LOW)
  • Category: Dinner, Holiday, Main Dish
  • Method: Slow Cooking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free

Find it online: https://slowcookerrecipes.us/slow-cooker-st-patricks-day-corned-beef-and-cabbage/