Slow Cooker Corned Beef with Stir-Fried Cabbage is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, just a little different than usual.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef with Stir-Fried Cabbage
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Well, here we are tearing up the road in the home stretch towards spring and St. Patrick’s Day. So many people will be making the corned beef, and the funny part is that it is not even typically Irish. Even though many corned beef briskets may have been made in Ireland early on, it was not affordable to the Irish. Later, when Irish immigrants ate beef in America, it was more of the type we know now, being more Jewish than Irish. So that corned beef really does have more to do with a Reuben sandwich than a wedge of cabbage and potatoes.
However, it is a favorite here in America, to partake in what is more commonly called the New England boiled dinner, which for the most part, had braised corned beef, carrots, potatoes and cabbage.
In this recipe, I am using beer to braise the beef in the slow cooker, and lovingly so, had selected the Guinness blond American lager, where we truly can bring these two countries together on something we can agree upon. I put the carrots and onion in the crock with the meat to add an extra depth of flavor, but have opted to keep out the cabbage, since if placed in there from the start it overcooks badly. And another thing is the odor, and the general unpleasant nature of waterlogged cabbage.
Now you might fairly argue that you in fact love cabbage this way! And hey, I get it. I’ve eaten plenty of cabbage that way myself. And I could have dropped wedges of cabbage in there the last couple of hours and it probably would have been right nice. But I had a wild hair and shredded it instead, the way you might for coleslaw, then stir-fried it in a skillet, adding in the drained carrots and onion from the slow cooker at the very last. I do like this concoction a lot better. And much less cruciferous veggie smell hanging around the house later. The only odor more pervasive than that is perhaps fried fish (which I will be doing next week, and hopefully outdoors if we aren’t knee deep in snow!)
I didn’t drop any potatoes in the crock either because. I’d rather have those roasted, wouldn’t you? (Don’t worry, I will post that recipe later!) Or maybe served with a side of mashed and gravy, very homestyle. And you can do your veggies any way you like. But the brisket in this is very nice and tender and pumped full of delicious flavor. I hope you enjoy it and have a great St. Patrick’s Day week! Meet me here tomorrow with my recipe for the Ulster Fry, an authentic Northern Ireland favorite. Until then-
~Sue
Slow Cooker Corned Beef with Stir-Fried Cabbage
Equipment
- 1 Crock Pot (or any slow cooker)
Ingredients
- 3 pound corned beef brisket
- 2 onions (chopped)
- 8 ounces chopped baby carrots
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and cracked black pepper
- 12 ounces Guinness Blond American Lager or other lager beer (at room temperature)
Cabbage & Vegetable Stir-Fry:
- 1/2 medium green cabbage (cored and shredded)
- 1 leek (rinsed and chopped - white and light green parts only)
- 4 slices bacon (cooked crisp and crumbled)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Season corned beef with salt and black pepper and sear on both sides in a skillet.
- Place the onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme in the bottom of the slow cooker and place corned beef on top, fatty side up.
- Pour the warm beer over all, cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- When the corned beef is tender, remove it from the crock and let rest for 15 minutes, then trim away the fat and slice into serving pieces.
- While the beef is resting, cook bacon crisp and set aside, reserving 1-2 tablespoons bacon drippings.
- Add the leeks to the pan and cook for a few minutes until it softens, then add the crumbled bacon, garlic, chives and thyme as well as salt and pepper to taste.
- When cabbage is tender to your liking, stir in drained vegetables from the slow cooker.
- Serve vegetables with sliced corned beef.
- I also offer grated horseradish and/or whole grain French mustards as a table condiment.
Notes
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