Slow Cooker Corned Beef

 

 

Beef. It's what's for supper.

Actually, it's corned beef and it's what's for St. Patrick's Day supper.

My Irish relatives created corned beef back in the Middle Ages. They used brisket to make it as it was a relatively unloved cut of beef (because it required hours of braising to become tender). Unloved also equated to low cost.

There was a shortage of electric refrigerators in Ireland during the Middle Ages, so they would brine the brisket in a bucket  of water, spices and salt nuggets known as "corns". This served to preserve the beef  so that it could be cooked at a later time without risk of spoiling.

When the Irish began migrating to America, they brought the recipe with them...and it became to be associated with St. Patrick's Day. And the popularity of corned beef grew across the land. In fact, on March 4, 1861, corned beef was the entree for Abraham Lincoln's Inauguration Dinner in Washington D.C.

This is my very favorite corned beef recipe. While it calls for a 10-hour cook, it will only take up 6 minutes of your time. The first 5 minutes of the time commitment requires you to simply dump all of the ingredients in your slow cooker and walk away. The last 1 minute is reserved for simply slicing and serving the corned beef. I guarantee you it will be one of the best St. Patrick's Day corned beef briskets you have ever tasted.


INGREDIENTS
1 corned beef brisket, 3-4 pounds
2 medium onions, cut into quarters (no peeling required)
5 ribs celery, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon prepared stone ground mustard 
2 cups chicken stock
12-ounces of beer (lager or pilsner)



DIRECTIONS

1. Place onions and celery on the bottom of your slow cooker. Add stock, beer and mustard.
2. Set brisket on top of onions and celery, fat-side up. Sprinkle meat with seasoning packet (which comes packed in your brisket). Put lid on slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours.
3. Remove brisket. Slice and serve.

Pairing: You knew this