My family loves corned beef and cabbage.
However, making this dish often involves hours of simmering and a lot of hands-on time and attention, which I do not have.
This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on Friday… a very busy day at Culinary Architect Catering.
How can I make a delicious corned beef and cabbage with little effort?
Enter the trusty slow cooker.
After many attempts, I have come up with this foolproof slow cooker recipe.
Thanks to the kind folks at Proctor Silex, I have a replacement for my worn out slow cooker.
Read the recipe ahead of time very carefully, buy all of your ingredients, round out the meal with store-bought Irish soda bread and a store-bought “green” dessert, and you have a feast in about five hours, with very little effort.
Top of the “dinner” to you and yours!
MENU
(Serves 6-8)
Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes
and Carrots in a Slow Cooker
Mustard Sauce
Freshly Grated Horseradish*
Irish Soda Bread*
Store-bought “Green” Dessert*
*Recipe Not Given
Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes and Carrots
in a Slow Cooker
Read instructions carefully and start the night before!!!!!
Be sure to buy a first-cut or flat-cut brisket, not the point cut, which is thicker and fattier.
Cabbages that weigh more than 1 1/2 pounds will be hard to fit into the slow cooker.
To ensure even cooking, do not buy potatoes that are larger than two inches in diameter.
1 (3 – 3 1/2 lb.) corned beef
brisket roast, about 2-inches
thick, rinsed, fat trimmed to
1/4-inch
1 tblsp. pickling spice
(included in most corned
beef packages)
1 bottle beer
1 – 1 1/2 lbs. medley of
potatoes*, unpeeled and
sliced in half
1 pound carrots, peeled and
sliced thickly on the diagonal
4-6 peeled shallots, cut in
half
1 small head green cabbage
(1 1/4 pounds)
Approximately 4 cups water
4 tblsp. unsalted butter, cut
into 1/2-inch pieces
* To make this recipe, I used
“steamables” medley
potatoes and removed the
blue potatoes.
The night before:
1. Thoroughly wash corned beef.
Remove the spice packet and open the contents into slow cooker.
Add 1 bottle beer.
Mix.
Marinate corn beef overnight, turning now and then.
Day of:
1. Be sure beef is in slow cooker fat-side down.
Put potatoes and carrots around beef and sides of the slow cooker.
Cut cabbage into 8 1 1/2-inch wedges through core, leaving core intact so wedges stay together while cooking.
Arrange cabbage on top of beef.
Add water to cover beef.
Cabbage does not have to be covered.
Cover and cook until beef is tender, five hours on high.
2. Turn off slow cooker.
Gently push cabbage aside, remove beef from slow cooker and transfer to carving board.
Tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes.
Cover slow cooker to keep vegetables warm while beef rests.
3. Slice beef thinly, against the grain; transfer to a serving platter.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to platter with beef.
Dot vegetables with butter.
Serve with Mustard Sauce and Horseradish on the side.
Mustard Sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup stone ground
mustard
1. Combine both mustards in a crock and serve along side the corned beef and vegetables.
Alexandra Troy is owner of Culinary Architect Catering, a 32 year-old Greenvale-based company, specializing in private, corporate and promotional parties.
I would love to see photographs of these delicious recipes, please email me at party@culinaryarchitect.com
