Slow Cooker Corned Beef Brisket

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Slow cooker corned beef brisket with vegetables is the ideal hands-off Irish-American recipe. This dinner is perfect year round or specifically for a St. Patrick’s Day feast! This recipe takes 15 minutes to prep and 9 hours to slow cook. The dinner results in fork-tender corned beef and flavorful vegetables.

Top view of a white platter filled with beef, carrots, baby potatoes, and cabbage.

We love corned beef in my house. In fact, we eat it year-round. Not just for St. Patrick’s Day! I have been making this recipe for slow cooker corned beef brisket since I was a newly wed. My mom taught me how to make Stovetop Corned Beef, but I knew their had to be an easier way.

I was working a full time job outside the house, and just couldn’t cook a corned beef brisket for hours on the stove. That’s when I gave the slow cooker a try. I was hooked after my first attempt and I think you’ll be, too! Make sure you checkout my even quicker method to cooking corned beef brisket in the Instant Pot.

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Why this Recipe Works
Ingredients
How to Cook Corned Beef Brisket in a Slow Cooker
Recipe FAQs
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Why this Recipe Works

Flavorful and Tender Meat: Slow cooking allows the flavors to meld together while tenderizing the brisket, resulting in a juicy and succulent dish. The combination of spices, vegetables, and the inherent richness of the brisket creates a mouthwatering flavor profile that’s hard to resist.

Convenience and Ease: Using a slow cooker makes this Irish recipe incredibly convenient. Once you’ve assembled the ingredients, you can simply set it and forget it, allowing the slow cooker to work its magic while you attend to other tasks. This makes it perfect for busy days or when you want a fuss-free meal.

Versatility and Adaptability: This recipe offers plenty of room for customization to suit your preferences. You can adjust the seasoning and spices to tailor the flavor profile to your liking like using the packet, coming up with your own seasoning or simply no seasoning at all. Additionally, the cooked brisket can be served in various ways, from classic corned beef sandwiches to hearty main courses paired with your favorite sides, providing versatility for different occasions and tastes.

Ingredients

If you love Irish food you’ll know that all these ingredients are pretty much a staple in the Irish diet.

Corned Beef – Any size or brand corned beef will do. My rule of thumb is at least a half pound per person since the meat will shrink a little.
Carrots – I love to use whole carrots, but baby carrots work as well.
Onions – A few whole onions lend additional flavor and best of all tastes so delicious after slow cooking for hours.
Potatoes – I love baby potatoes. Medium size potatoes work too. If you need to use a large potato you may have to cut the potato in half when you go to add in the cabbage.
Cabbage – I like to use a small head of cabbage since it can be tight with all the other ingredients inside the slow cooker.
Thyme – I love to use fresh thyme in the crock pot. It just adds a little extra flavor.

How to Cook Corned Beef Brisket in a Slow Cooker

Top view of a slow cooker filled with carrots, onion, and beef.

In a large slow cooker, place the corned beef on the bottom of the slow cooker (do not rinse off–allow all the juices from the packaging to go inside the slow cooker). Sprinkle pickling spices on top of the corned beef.

Layer with peeled carrots and onions, followed by the baby potatoes. Place sprigs of thyme around the slow cooker then pour the water over the ingredients.

Set the crock pot on low and cook for 8 hours.

Top view of quartered cabbage, carrots, and potatoes in a black slow cooker.

Once the corned beef and vegetables have cooked for 8 hours, move around the vegetables to make room for the cabbage.

Submerge the cabbage in as much liquid as possible, place the lid back on the crock pot and place on high for 1 hour.

Top view of a white platter filled with meat and vegetables with plates and silverware on the side.

Slice the Corned Beef against the grain, divide vegetables evenly among plates, and serve with a grainy mustard.

Recipe FAQs

White platter filled with cabbage, corned beef, carrots, and slow cooker in the background.

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions when cooking corned beef in the slow cooker.

How much corned beef brisket should I buy per person?

Whenever I buy corned beef brisket I’ll estimate at least a half pound per person. Since I love leftover corned beef I try to purchase one pound per person.

Can you overcook corned beef in a crockpot?

Yes, you can overcook anything in the crockpot including corned beef. Low and slow is best when slow cooking. This gives you the most tender meat. You also want to make sure you don’t remove the lid too often and that the meat and most of the vegetables are covered in liquid.

Do you drain corned beef before cooking?

Draining corned beef before cooking has seemed to become a controversial topic. I have never drained the

Do you put corned beef fat side up or down?

If you are cooking a corned beef brisket in liquid you should always cook the brisket fat side up. This will help keep the meat moist by both the liquid and the fat drippings. Prior to serving, I always take the time to carefully cut the fat off the meat.

How do you slice corned beef brisket?

You always want to slice the corned beef brisket against the grain. That means you are not slicing with the lines–you slice against them. If you slice with the grain you might risk

Recipe Tips & Tricks

White platter filled with potatoes, carrots, corned beef, and cabbage.

Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks I’ve found helpful to get my crock pot corned beef on the table as quickly as possible.

Slow Cooker – I use an oval KitchenAid 6.5 Quart Slow Cooker. Please make sure you are using a slow cooker of at least similar size and shape for the recipe.
Cabbage – Smaller quarters of cabbage will cook quicker. Cabbage must be submerged in the liquid to cook.
Boiling – If you don’t want to wait an extra hour, you can boil cabbage in a pot of hot boiling water for 10 minutes or until soft.
Carrots – To save time, you can use baby carrots. I promise they will still taste just as good.
Beer – You can substitute a bottle of your favorite beer for water. I would advise against fruit flavored or very stout beers. As these flavors could alter the taste of your dinner.

If you make my Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!

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