Corned Beef & Cabbage Recipe
This Traditional Irish Comfort Food is Easy in the Slow Cooker
Corned Beef & Cabbage is a Popular, Albiet Ordinary, Weeknight Meal in Ireland; It Can Be Prepared in a Minimum of Hands-On time.
It’s traditional for many families in America to serve Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. This homey, comforting dish is thought to have been made popular by Irish Immigrants who settled in New England, which is why Corned Beef and Cabbage is also called New England Boiled Dinner. Near the end of February, corned beef starts to show up in meat counters everywhere, along with sale prices on cabbage and potatoes.
Even though it is a delicious family favorite, Corned Beef and Cabbage would never be served in Ireland at a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. St. Patrick’s Day is a much anticipated national religious holiday where many attend Mass and hold family celebrations. Special holiday dishes (as opposed to ordinary, everyday dishes such as Corned Beef and Cabbage) are served on this day. For those interested in serving something really special on St. Patrick’s Day, consider Irish Salmon in Cream, or Dublin Lawyer, an expensive, but delicious lobster dish.
Corned Beef and Cabbage is a great dish for a busy cook; it can be easily prepared in the slow cooker with minimal hands-on time. This one-pot dinner needs only bread to complete the meal; Irish Soda Bread or Irish Potato Rolls are delicious alongside this dish.
While not really fancy enough to serve at a proper St. Patrick’s Day celebration, Corned Beef and Cabbage is always a favorite and is perfect to serve any other day, especially in the early spring when it’s still cold outside.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned beef comes in several varieties; flats and points are the most popular and are readily available in grocery stores. These are the traditional cuts and have a layer of fat on the bottom; some have a lot of fat inside too. Try to choose meat that has as little fat as possible. Flats, which are slightly more expensive than points, are easier to slice. An alternative is a corned round roast of beef, available at butcher shops and some of the larger grocery stores; it is much leaner than the flats and points, but tends to be a little dry compared to the flats and points which are cuts from the brisket .
8 Servings
- 3 to 4 pounds corned beef, preferably flat
- 6 medium potatoes, quartered
- 1 head green cabbage, cut in wedges
Directions:
- Wash the corned beef and place it in a slow cooker (If there is a seasoning packet, throw it away, or if there are spices on the corned beef, make sure they are completely washed off. (Of course you can use them, but the flavors in the packet tend to be overpowering, especially for the vegetables when they are cooked in the corned beef liquid.)
- Cover with water
- Cook on low at least 8 hours or on high 3 hours then low 1 or 2 more hours.
- When the corned beef is tender, pour the liquid into a large saucepan and bring it to a boil.
- Add the potatoes and cook until almost tender.
- Add the cabbage wedges and cook until crisp tender.
- Alternately, add the potatoes to the slow cooker two hours before the corned beef is done
- Add the cabbage to the slow cooker about 30 minutes before serving.
- To serve, slice the corned beef across the grain and serve with the potatoes and cabbage.
Per Serving:
- Calories 612 Calories from Fat 294
- Percent Total Calories From: Fat 48% Protein 24% Carb. 28%
- Nutrient Amount per Serving
- Total Fat 33 g
- Saturated Fat 11 g
- Cholesterol 167 mg
- Sodium 1965 mg
- Total Carbohydrate 43 g
- Dietary Fiber 2 g
- Sugars 0 g
- Protein 36 g
- Vitamin A 3% Vitamin C 173% Calcium 0% Iron 32%
