Tender crock pot corned beef with cabbage, potatoes and carrots! Easy to make in your slow cooker and served with wholegrain mustard on the side.
The displays of corned beef are big and bold around this time in grocery stores. With only a few weeks before St Patrick's Day celebrations get into full swing I get excited about this tasty comfort food.
With a few ways to cook corned beef it really depends on your situation. Instant Pot corned beef is easy and quick with minimal fuss but if you plan to be out of the kitchen for hours, then this crock pot corned beef recipe is perfect for you. The result is tender slices of corned beef brisket and perfectly cooked vegetables on the side.
Mustard is a great condiment to have on the side, I prefer wholegrain and bonus points if you can find Irish mustard! Try this mustard whiskey sauce if you prefer something creamier.
Cooking Crock Pot Corned Beef
Corned beef brisket comes from the cow and is a well used muscle so it's tough and needs a long cooking time, unless you use an Instant Pot. You can brine your own with a homemade blend of pickling spices but it'll take some time so you have to really plan it out.
Or you could just pick up a corned beef brisket at the store already brined and ready to for you to cook. Crock pot corned beef needs liquid but skip the water.
It's flavorless and won't do anything for your corned beef. For this corned beef recipe I used a mixture of beef stock and Guinness to give it some deep flavor.
The pickling spices already have plenty of flavor but I added some bay leaves and garlic powder. No extra salt is needed because enough has been added already in the brining process.
How Long Should I cook the corned beef ?
It takes around 50 minutes per pound. I cooked this crock pot corned beef for about 3 1/2 hours on high. On low setting it might take around 5-6 hours.
You'll know it's ready when the internal temperature reads 145 degrees, and when you insert a sharp pointed knife it should easily enter the corned beef. If you feel some resistance then it probably needs some more time.
Don't be confused by the color of the corned beef being on the pink side, that comes from the brining process and doesn't mean it's not cooked long enough.
When do I add the vegetables?
If you add the vegetables at the beginning of the cooking process, they'd be overcooked and soft 5 hours later. I recommend adding them after the corned beef has been cooking for around 3 hours.
Use baby potatoes cutting any large ones in half, slice the carrots into thick strips and quarter a small-medium sized cabbage. Squeeze the vegetables into the crockpot, it might seem a little tight but they don't all need to be in or under the cooking liquid.
When you return the lid to the crock pot, the vegetables will steam and slowly sink into the corned beef and the liquid.
Rinsing the corned beef or not?
Salt is a main ingredient in corned beef so no extra salt is needed when making this recipe. I remember one year after buying corned beef, I cut the bag open and dumped all of the contents straight into the pot because I didn't want to risk losing any flavor.
It turned out much too salty and the truth is, the flavor has already been soaked up into the meat. You can rinse the corned beef under cold water but I prefer taking it out of the packaging and leaving behind the salty marinade.
Let the excess drip off and you should be okay. Cooking in the stock and Guinness mixture will also help dilute some of the saltiness.
Slicing and serving the corned beef
As with all meats, you must slice the corned beef across the grain. This means when you have the meat on your cutting board, look at it and you should see lines running the same way.
Don't slice the corned beef in the same directions as the lines, by cutting across the lines you cut the muscle fibers into smaller pieces. Serve your crock pot corned beef with some of the vegetables and a side of wholegrain mustard. Garnish with some chopped parsley and enjoy!
Storing any leftovers and reheating corned beef
You can store any leftover corned beef in a zip lock bag or sealed container and keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Whenever I reheat any slices of leftover meat such as turkey or corned beef, I like to lay them flat in a non stick pan and add just enough stock or broth halfway up the side of the meat.
Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes. This will prevent the meat drying out like it will if you use the microwave.
