Slow Cooker Corned Beef
Enjoy corned beef in the slow cooker without traditional brining or salt-curing! The slow cooker tenderizes the beef brisket with a delicious combination of seasonings. It’s an effortless, one-pot meal with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage – assemble in minutes and sit back until dinnertime!
What’s To Love About This Recipe
- Corned beef is traditionally salt-cured or brined hours ahead of cooking with pickling seasonings. If that’s not something you have the time or ingredients for, you can also make your own version using this slow cooker recipe. It’s just as delicious!
- This corned beef recipe may not be authentic, but it’s quick and easy and will produce results that are very close to the real thing. You’ll love that you don’t have to hover over the stove or keep the oven on for hours.
- I love meals like this – where you cook the complete meal in the slow cooker without any additional steps. Just prep the vegetables, add the ingredients to the slow cooker, and sit back and wait for dinner!
- You can control the ingredients for your home-cooked meal! Store-packaged corned beef often includes preservatives, added sweeteners, and even food dyes. With this slow cooker corned beef recipe, you can start with whole ingredients and season with only what’s necessary.
What is corned beef?
Corned beef is a brisket cut of beef that is cured (preserved) with salt. It is often prepared with a brining liquid, which includes water, salt, and other seasonings. This method dates back hundreds of years when salt was the primary method used to preserve beef and draw out additional moisture.
The name “corned beef” comes from the “corns,” or large grains of salt used to season and pack for preservation. It is also frequently labeled as Kosher meat due to the salt-brining preparation process.
Ingredients Needed
- Brisket flat – A brisket flat is the leaner side of the brisket, whereas the point contains more fat. A flat is packaged as a rectangular cut, and a 3-pound brisket flat will fit comfortably in most 6-quart and above slow cookers.
- Seasonings – The seasoning blend used here resembles pickling spices, creating a zesty, flavorful mix! Combine dried ground mustard, dried ground coriander, dried dill, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, and kosher salt. This mixture will create a slightly rough texture to rub across the brisket and pack in flavor.
- Small onion – Roughly chop 1 small onion. Yellow or white onion would be preferred.
- Carrots – Carrots will absorb the flavor of the beef and turn out so tender in the slow cooker. Use 4 large carrots, and peel and cut them into 2-inch chunks.
- Red baby potatoes – Baby potatoes add to the heartiness of the dish and are a great size to add as is to the slow cooker.
- Cabbage – Green cabbage is the traditional option for this dish. Cut half of the cabbage and remove the core, then cut into 4-6 wedges to nestle around the brisket.
How To Make Slow Cooker Corned Beef
- Place brisket in the slow cooker.
- Rub seasonings into the top of the brisket.
- Add vegetables to the slow cooker around the brisket.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. (To ensure the beef is tender, cook until the internal temperature is at least 190 ℉.)
- Remove the brisket from the slow cooker, let it sit for about 15 minutes, then slice it thin against the grain.
Pro Tips
- With prepackaged corned beef, it is sometimes necessary to rinse extra salt off of the meat. However, there is no need to rinse the meat in this recipe since the seasonings will be added right before cooking.
- For better presentation, you may decide to cut away some of the fat after cooking before slicing and serving.
- This might be debatable, but cooking the brisket fat side down helps retain the seasonings on the top.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Use any combination of the veggies listed and omit any that you don’t like.
- Green cabbage is the traditional option for this dish, but feel free to try other variations of cabbage.
- If you want to try different potato options, use red or gold baby potatoes. Don’t use russet potatoes since they may fall apart in the slow cooker.
Instant Pot Corned Beef: To make this recipe in the Instant Pot, rub the seasonings onto the beef and place it in the pot. Add the prepared vegetables around the beef, then add 1 cup of water. Seal the Instant Pot and set it to high pressure for 60 minutes (approximately 20 minutes per pound of beef).
Allow a natural release for 10 minutes, then let it sit for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve as directed.
How To Serve Slow Cooker Corned Beef
Corned beef is often served as a one-pot meal with cabbage and other hearty root vegetables. If you prefer another potato option, leave out the baby potatoes and make a side of Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes. Drizzle extra cooking juices from the beef over the creamy potatoes for extra tastiness!
Serve with other veggie sides such as Lemon Pepper Roasted Asparagus or a fresh Caesar side salad. A dinner roll or slice of garlic bread would be delicious, too.
Use sliced or leftover corned beef in Reuben sandwiches, panini melts, or chopped up in breakfast hashes with over-easy eggs.
Storing and Reheating
This recipe makes a generous portion of meat and veggies and makes excellent leftovers! Store and reheat meat and veggies separately for convenience. Leftovers will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can freeze leftover sliced corned beef, but the veggies won’t preserve too well without becoming mushy when defrosted. Store beef in the freezer in an airtight bag or container for up to 3 months.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 3- pound brisket flat
- 1 tablespoon dried ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon dried ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 small onion roughly chopped
- 4 carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 6 oz red baby potatoes
- ½ head cabbage core removed and cut into 4-6 wedges
Instructions
- Place brisket in slow cooker
- Rub seasonings into top of brisket
- Add vegetables to slow cooker around brisket
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours
- Remove brisket from slow cooker, let it sit for about 15 minutes, then slice it thin against the grain
Notes
- Store and reheat meat and veggies separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- Freeze leftover corned beef for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge, then reheat as desired.
- To ensure the beef is tender, cook until the internal temperature is at least 190 ℉.
Thank you for posting this recipe – I love that you posted the seasonings so I don’t have to buy a prepackaged corned beef. The only thing that I changed was the cabbage. I never cook the cabbage with the corned beef, as I am not a fan of cabbage that is greasy from cooking in liquid for 6 – 8 hours. So, I take the cabbage and make coleslaw out of it instead – which goes great with the corned beef, carrots and potatoes.