The bad thing about slow cookers...

[s7714]

...is that you end up smelling the food all. day. long. :popc1: I've been smelling corned beef every time I walk in the house since like 10 am this morning and it's really not helping to curb my trying-to-loose-weight appetite.

[happy2bamom]

I totally agree. Crockpot days are my toughest food days, I end up munching all day long.

[elektra]

I got me some corned beef cookin' too. Happy St. Patty's Day!

[Octobermommy]

Yum, can I come over?

[Melaine]

actually, some days the smell of the food makes me sick of it before I even taste it.

[bubbaray]

OK, how do you make corned beef in the slow cooker???

[s7714]

actually, some days the smell of the food makes me sick of it before I even taste it.

Yeah, I've been there too!

[s7714]

OK, how do you make corned beef in the slow cooker???

All the recipes are pretty much the same as far as the basics--throw the corned beef brisket in the cooker, cover it with liquid (beer, water, or broth, your preference) and cook it for a looong time. ;) Some recipes call for adding potatoes and carrots in at the beginning, and if you're going the traditional route, you usually put the cabbage wedges in the last 30 min - 1 hour or so. We usually forego the potatoes, carrots and cabbage and make cheesey au gratin potatoes or roasted potatoes instead.

ETA: I've read versions that suggest you should follow the slow cooker process by putting a brown sugar type mixture on the brisket and bake it in the oven for a few minutes as well. That sounds really yummy, but I don't have time for that!

[sarahsthreads]

All the recipes are pretty much the same as far as the basics--throw the corned beef brisket in the cooker, cover it with liquid (beer, water, or broth, your preference) and cook it for a looong time. ;) Some recipes call for adding potatoes and carrots in at the beginning, and if you're going the traditional route, you usually put the cabbage wedges in the last 30 min - 1 hour or so. We usually forego the potatoes, carrots and cabbage and make cheesey au gratin potatoes or roasted potatoes instead.

ETA: I've read versions that suggest you should follow the slow cooker process by putting a brown sugar type mixture on the brisket and bake it in the oven for a few minutes as well. That sounds really yummy, but I don't have time for that!
We actually do it in the oven entirely: rub the whole brisket with brown sugar, pour in enough Guinness to cover the bottom half of the meat, and bake in a 300 degree oven for 2-3 hours (depending on the weight of the brisket). So very, very yummy. We've been making it that way for 9 years now for our annual St. Patty's Day party.

The very first year we made it the older of our two dogs was almost a year old. When DH went to check on the meat he accidentally tipped the pan a bit and a ton of the liquid spilled out - so basically brown sugar, Guinness and meat drippings - all over the door to the stove. He tried to mop as much of it off as he could, but eventually he had to close the door and the rest dripped out the corner and onto the floor. The puppy just went nuts! She licked the corner of that stove door and the floor underneath for *days* after (no matter how much we cleaned it!) and to this day she will lick the corner of the stove every year when we make the corned beef. It's even a different stove now, but that was apparently the most memorable thing that ever happened in her life. ;)

Sarah :)

[elektra]

Yep, it's pretty much just put in the corned beef and add some root vegetables.
DH actually looked up a recipe this time that called for ginger ale. It made the potatoes taste like sweet potatoes. It was really good.
Here was the recipe we used but we used less carrots, just steamed the cabbage separately to have it a bit crunchier (we meant to add it into the pot but forgot)
Ingredients:

* 1 corned beef brisket, 3-5 lbs with spice packet
* 1 large onion, cut into wedges
* 6-8 red new potatoes
* 1 lb bag baby carrots
* 1 head cabbage, thick sliced
* 1 c gingerale
* 1-2 c water

Method:

Place the onion wedges and new potatoes in the bottom of a 5 quart slow cooker. Combine the gingerale, water and spice packet. Pour over the vegetables. Rinse the corned beef then place it on top of the vegetables. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender and meat falls apart. Add the baby carrots the last 2 hours of cooking time.

[kransden]

Uh... well I am so lazy all I do is this.
Put peeled quartered red potatos on the bottom of the crock pot
a layer of baby carrots next
defatted corned beef next (I find it too greasy if I don't trim the excess fat)
fill crockpot with water and mix spice packet in
put cabbage on top of corned beef and cover.
Eat about 8-12 hours later.

DD said it was delicious :) and I thought so too!