Corned Beef and Cabbage {in the crockpot}

Having ancestors from several parts of the world is kind of fun.  Even if I never knew them, or have never been to those parts of the world.  Traditions have been passed down generation through generation.  I feel some of the best traditions have to do with food.  That’s just how I am.  

Luckily, I have some Irish genes in me.  (Did you notice all the red heads in my family??)  So AT LEAST once a year my family enjoys some Corned Beef and Cabbage.  Yummy.  St. Patrick’s Day is less than two weeks away, so tradition or not, you should make this!

Now, unfortunately (or fortunately) my ancestors didn’t pass down any secret recipes for curing our own beef, so we make do with the pre-cured kind from the store.  Like this…Corned Beef Brisket.  I typically use the flat cut.  I think different cuts would work about the same though.

Remove the brisket and the seasoning packet from the packaging.

Place the brisket in your crock pot, fat side up.  Then sprinkle the contents of the seasoning packet over the top of the meat.  Then add enough water to cover the meat.  Some of the seasonings will float off the brisket, that’s ok.  They’ll still do their job.

Set the crock pot to cook, and then take a break for a few hours.  I cook my meat on low for about 6 hours.  When you have about 2 hours left start prepping your vegetables.  Chop the potatoes into large bite size pieces.  Carrots can be about the same size, if you are using baby carrots you don’t even need to cut those.  The cabbage should be cut into larger chunks.  

During the last hour and a half of cooking, add the vegetables.  Add the carrots and potatoes first.  About 30 minutes before the meat is done, add the cabbage.

Once everything is tender, spoon all the veggies out and into a bowl, or serving dish.  Carefully remove the brisket.  It should be tender, but try not to let it fall apart.  Place it on a cutting board so you can slice it.  I cut the layer of fat off the top before slicing it. Then you want to cut against the grain.  These arrows below show you the direction the grain of the meat is going.  The knife is placed perpendicular to the those lines, showing you to cut that direction.  

You want your slices to be about a centimeter thick.  Like I said, the meat should be very tender, so you can see some of the edges are already falling apart.  That’s ok, feel free to do a little taste testing on those.  😉

Serve the sliced meat along side the the veggies.  The veggies will have absorbed the flavor of the meat, and they are SO good!  Even the cabbage, which might not look super appetizing, is delicious.

I grew up eating my corned beef dipped in mustard.  Never looked back.

I actually prefer plain ole’ yellow mustard, but you could use spicy, or brown mustard, or whatever you have handy.

Click here to see where I link up.

Also linked with Hun…What’s for dinner?