The Olympia Kitchen

Recipe:  Corned Beef & Cabbage

Just in Time for St. Patrick’s Day

Posted

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner (it’s officially next Sunday, March 17, this year).

Although I am not of Irish ancestry, my name, Shannon, is very Irish. That makes me Honorary Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.

The traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal is corned beef and cabbage. I make this delicious repast every year for this time. I am happy to share my slow cooker recipe with you.

Ingredients

1 large onion, cut horizontally into half-inch slices
8-10 ounces of chicken or beef broth (A professional chef once told me that even for beef dishes, you can use chicken broth instead of beef broth, and he preferred it. After trying it, so do I.)
1 trimmed corned beef brisket with a seasoning packet.
1 package of baby carrots
2-3 parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch sections (optional)
1 Tablespoon of granulated garlic
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
6-8 black peppercorns
6-8 juniper berries (in the spice aisle of the grocery store)
1-2 cans or bottles of beer.
1 head of fresh, green cabbage, cleaned and cut into wedges to fit into a pan.

Instructions for the main course

Get a large slow cooker out, turn it on to the High setting, and line the bottom of it with onion rounds. Add a layer of baby carrots. Then add the chicken broth. Add the parsnips.

Rinse off the corned beef, set it on wax paper, and rub the contents of the spice packet into the corned beef. Add the granulated garlic and ground pepper and rub them into the beef.

Place the beef into the slow cooker on top of the carrots and parsnips.

Add the remainder of the spices. Add one to two cans of beer until the brisket is nearly covered. Cook on High for 3 hours and then turn to Low for 3-4 hours, until the corned beef is tender and done.

Instructions for the cabbage

After the meat is cooked and, preferably, just before you're ready to eat, prepare the cabbage.

Carefully move the corned beef and vegetables onto a serving tray.  Then, strain the liquid from the slow cooker into a large pan with a lid. Bring the pan to a boil on the stove. Add the cut cabbage wedges and turn the pan down to low for 5 to 7 minutes until it is lightly steamed.  Add the cabbage to the tray with the corned beef and veggies.

Discard the liquid and spices in the pan used for steaming the cabbage.

Serve the meal with boiled or mashed potatoes, bread and mustard as a condiment, if desired.

Enjoy!

Shannon Beigert is a chef and baker who loves to entertain guests at her Olympia home. If you want to let her know that this recipe worked well for you, send her a note at shannon@theJOLTnews.com

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  • Terrilovesanimals

    One of our all time favorites even though I never liked the smell of the cabbage cooking when I lived at home and would first come into the house.

    Tuesday, March 12 Report this