Crock Pot Guinness Corned Beef & Cabbage Recipe (2024)
Holidays | Recipes
This post may contain affiliate or referral links, meaning I may earn a sales commission at no extra cost to you. Please see my full affiliate disclosurehere.
Jump to Recipe
Even though crockpot corned beef and cabbage is not a popular meal in Ireland (it’s true), every year I look forward to making it on Saint Patrick’s Day. Since this meal is technically a New England boiled dinner, it speaks to my Irish-American New England roots.
I was born into a loud, crazy Irish-American family. My grandfather was 100% Irish and that side of the family is exactly what one might expect. Large, fun, and pretty amazing.
We also take our corned beef and Irish pride pretty seriously.
A lot of people don’t like corned beef and cabbage but it’s my guess that most people just boil it in water with the packet that comes with the corned beef and call that a meal.
Nope. Not me. Ifyou’re looking for a corned beef and cabbage recipe with some real flavor, you’ve come to the right place!
How to make delicious crockpot corned beef and cabbage
For this recipe, you will need a small cabbage, about 8 small red potatoes, a large onion, baby carrots or 3-4 large carrots, and an 11-ounce bottle of stout beer such as Guinness, pickling spice, and flat cut corned beef. Do not substitute with a point cut or a regular brisket.
Cut up your potatoes into large cubes or use small red and yellow potatoes; enough to cover the bottom of a crockpot.
Add a handful or two of baby carrots then rough chop your onion andthrow it in.
Cover the vegetables with water; about four cups.
Stout beer
Now for the coup de grâce, stout beer. Use the stout of your choice as long as it isn’t flavored with chocolate, coffee, or anything else. Pour the whole bottle in.
*Note: the first few years I made this recipe I used Guinness which is easy to find and perfectly fine to use. A couple of years ago I discovered a stout beer that I find more flavorful and it really kicks this recipe up a few notches. If you can find Dragon’s Milk stout, I highly recommend picking up a bottle.
Pickling spice
Now throw away that spice packet that comes with the corned beef and get a good quality pickling spice; one with visible leaves and berries in it. I prefer Penzey’s pickling spice, but McCormick or any other spice brand is better than the packet that comes with it.
Penzey’s also has a corned beef spice. It looks very similar to pickling spice that I’m sure is also delicious as all Penzey’s spices are.
Put the corned beef on top of the vegetables and water fat side up then liberally cover the top with pickling spice. About 2 tablespoons, but you could use a little less if you’d like.
The pickling spice includes whole cloves and juniper berries which will be in the vegetables. If you would prefer, you can put the spices in a spice ball instead.
Now for the cabbage. Cover the top of your corned beef with as much cabbage as you can and still be able to get the lid on the crockpot. I used 3/4 of a small cabbage.
Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 7-8 hours and enjoy!
To get the core out, I cut my cabbage into quarters then cut at an angle to remove the core. You will have to do this with each quarter.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours7 seconds
Total Time: 8 hours30 minutes7 seconds
Ingredients
1 FLAT CUT corned beef, about 4lbs.
1 bottle stout beer such as Guinness. (note: Dragon's Milk stout is even better, but any stout that is NOT chocolate or coffee flavored will work.)
About 8 small red or gold potatoes
1 large onion
1½ cups baby carrots, or 3-4 large carrots
4 cups water
1 small green cabbage
2 tbsp pickling spice
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Instructions
Rough chop your vegetables
Put the potatoes, carrots,garlic, and onion at the bottom of the crock pot and cover with water.
Add the corned beef on top of the vegetables, fat side up. Cover with pickling spice.
Pour stout over the corned beef then add chopped cabbage.
Cook in the slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours if you're short on time.
Notes
1. The pickling spice includes whole cloves and juniper berries which will be in the vegetables. If you would prefer, you can put the spices in a spice ball instead.
2. If you're unable to fit the cabbage in your slow cooker, steam it separately on the stove then add it to the liquid with the rest of the vegetables after you'veremoved the corned beef from the slow cooker. Let it soak up the flavor while slicing the corned beef and remove the vegetables from the liquid to serve.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Note: as with anything cooked in a slow cooker, the vegetables will be very soft. If you prefer them to have more bite, I would suggest doing a quick boil on the stove then adding them to the juice in the crockpot to soak in some flavor after the meat is removed.
You can add seasonings other than salt, like black peppercorns and bay leaves. Keep the brisket submerged at all times as well since it's the water actually transferring heat into the meat and cooking it. Letting the top become exposed will dry out the meat and slow down the cooking process, leading to uneven doneness.
Into a 5- to 6-qt slow cooker, add the beer, beef broth, and thyme. Season the brisket with salt and pepper and add to slow cooker fat-side up, sprinkling spices from the packet on top. Top brisket with the potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook on high 4–5 hours, until brisket is tender.
Simmering corned beef on the stovetop is a tried-and-true method that results in very tender beef. One of the keys to simmering corned beef correctly is the amount of water in the pot. When there's not ample liquid to cover the meat, your dreams of tender corned beef may be replaced by a tough, chewy result.
Please note that crock pot cooking times may vary greatly depending upon brand and style. It is important to check the meat with a meat thermometer to ensure it has reached at least 160°F for food safety; for optimal tenderness, cook to an internal temperature of 190°F. For best results, monitor at regular intervals.
Depending on the pickling solution used for the meat, you may be in for a saltier meal than you bargained for if you cook the meat without rinsing it. And don't worry: Rinsing won't make the beef taste bland! The flavor is infused deep into the beef during the curing process.
The color difference is due to one ingredient: nitrates, either in the form of sodium nitrate or saltpeter, added into the salty brine that gives brisket its corned taste and flavor.
You can overcook corned beef in a Crock-Pot if it's cooked for too long at too high of a temperature. Overcooked corned beef can taste tough and stringy. It's best to follow the recommended cook time and temperature within the recipe.
Low Temperature: Slow cookers typically cook at relatively low temperatures, which can result in meats like corned beef not reaching a high enough temperature to break down the tough connective tissues and collagen properly. This can lead to a tougher texture rather than the desired tenderness.
The flavor profile often includes bay leaf, black peppercorn, mustard seed, dried red pepper and coriander. If that blend sounds familiar, it's because it's same list of spices that are packaged as pickling spice. Not surprising, since corned beef and pickles are commonly made in the same place: a deli.
Place the brined corned beef in a large pot or Dutch oven along with the liquid and spices that accompanied it in the package. Pour in enough water to cover the beef, then bring the water to a boil on the stovetop. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover the pot.
It's a tough cut of meat that benefits from a lengthy cook time. For stovetop cooking, plan on at least three hours for a three-pound corned beef, or eight to 10 hours for a three- to four-pound cut that's prepared on low in the slow cooker.
Yes, you can over cook anything really. But it would take a long time to overcook corned beef in the crockpot. Corned beef can easily cook on low for 10-12 hours without issues. If you cook it longer it will eventually begin to disintegrate.
Slow Cook. Cooking corned beef in a slow cooker has all the benefits of boiling, but you don't have to keep watch while it cooks. Place a quartered onion, a carrot, a couple of garlic cloves, and a few stalks of celery in the slow cooker. You can also add potatoes if you like.
Corned Beef Brisket should be placed in the crockpot or pot with the fat side up. The fat insulates and protects the meat and helps the corned beef from drying out as it cooks. Brisket / corned beef should have a thin layer of fat on the top. Sometimes the fat is super thick and needs to be trimmed.
Do this instead: Start by filling a stockpot with enough water so the beef is totally submerged. Remove the lid to check the level of liquid during cooking and add more water, if necessary. This small step will help deliver a super-tender corned beef to the table.
Water or liquid is necessary to create steam. When cooking meat or poultry, the water or liquid level should cover the ingredients to ensure effective heat transfer throughout the crock. Some manufacturers of slow cookers recommend adding liquid to fill the stoneware 1/2 to 3/4 full.
There is no need to cover the meat in liquid when cooking with a slow cooker, you only need enough liquid to cover the base of the slow cooker as the meat and vegetables will release liquid as they cook. Slow cooking beef is a simple and soothing winter option that never goes out of style.
To keep a pot roast from drying out, your slow cooker needs liquid to create a moist environment, and that can include meat or vegetable stock, wine or water. This doesn't mean the meat should be submerged; a cup or two of liquid will be enough, since the cooker is covered and liquids stay trapped inside.
Introduction: My name is Aracelis Kilback, I am a nice, gentle, agreeable, joyous, attractive, combative, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.