Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

This was my first attempt in making this recipe...

in went the stout and on went the lid...

This has to go be one of the easiest recipes I've ever done. Below, all the ingredients you will need:

Got the corned beef with pickling spices packet from Fresh & Easy. This was the classic flat cut; there was another brand that was cheaper but it was the "point" cut. At the time, I didn't know the difference but from looking at the package, the point cut looked a lot fattier. I wanted to get the "classic" one even though it cost more ($8.49 compared to $3.47).

After looking it up, I learned that corned beef originates from brisket, or the breast area of the cow.  There is no "corn" either (which I knew); the "corn" refers to large pieces of salt used to brine the meat. The brisket is cut into two parts, the classic flat cut and the point cut. The classic flat cut is thinner, leaner, less fatty and easier to slice. The point cut is thicker, more fatty and not as easy to slice.

This was the easy part, placing the chopped vegetables (celery, onions, carrots, and potatoes) at the bottom of the crock pot.

Then you place the brisket on top, along with the pickling spices.

Pour in the stout and water cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. So while we slept, the crock pot was working it's low heat magic with the brisket.

Earlier this morning, I removed the meat and vegetables and added the cabbage which was cored and sliced into six wedges.

This was cooked on high for about half an hour, braising in the flavorful stout based sauce.

The final result...

The meat was so tender and shredded easily with a fork. I didn't bother slicing it up all nice and pretty like the photo on the package. I'm thinking that this would also taste awesome in a burrito or small taco!

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
(recipe courtesy of Suki Hertz, www.foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:
2 stalks celery, halved (I chopped mine)
4 carrots
1 medium onion, cut in 4 wedges
4-6 red potatoes, quartered (I used 4)
1 4 lb. corned beef brisket (mine was 2.4 lbs)
1 12 oz. bottle stout or dark ale (Guinness was on sale, plus it's an Irish stout!)
1 tblsp corned beef spices or pickling spices (or spices that come with the brisket)
1 medium head cabbage, cut into 6 wedges

Directions:
Place celery, carrots, onion and potatoes in the bottom of a large slow cooker or crock pot. Rinse the corned beef brisket and place over the vegetables. Add the bottle of stout, spices and enough water to just cover the meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours.

Remove the meat and vegetables from the pot and cover with foil to keep warm. Increase heat to high and cook cabbage until softened but still crispy, 20 to 30 minutes.

Slice brisket across the grain, serve with vegetables, mustard, and horseradish sauce. Pass extra cooking liquid at the table.

There was also a recipe for Creamy Horseradish Sauce but since I'm not going to make it because I don't want to buy the extra ingredients and also because I'm not a big horseradish fan, it's not posted here. You can see it on the recipe link above.

The verdict...TC and I both loved it. I didn't miss the horseradish sauce; it tasted just fine with the cabbage and salad. Unfortunately, I forgot that Bert swore off beef for Lent so I bought an extra corned beef package and will repeat this recipe after Easter for him, that way he can enjoy it later!