Feelin’ lucky? You will with this ridiculously simple and traditional March dish of Crock Pot Corned Beef! Your guests will never have to know how easy this was to make, and you’ll feel lucky with all of the praise that will come your way!
Dang! Did it sneak up on you, too? “Holidays” like St. Patrick’s Day always have a way of showing up on my calendar without much notice. This probably has something to do with the fact that I am not Irish, and as such, do not always have a big shindig to attend with green beer, colcannon, and pots of gold. No dancing a jig for me, so I regularly forget about it until it’s right in front of me!
One year we were lucky enough to have one of my cousins in town for the big beer-soaked day. He was traveling for work, and I knew that if he were home he’d be with family, wearing green and having a beer or two. See, this cousin is from the Irish side of the family (by marriage for me), so he grew up with all thing Irish, food included. I knew that he would likely be missing out, so I made sure to get him to my house for a home-cooked Irish meal.
Of course, given that whole “sneaking up on me” thing I mentioned above, there was no corned beef to be found at the local grocery stores by the time I got around to shopping just 2 days before St. Patrick’s Day! Crap. So I did the next best thing and made lamb with mint and other Irish-type menu items. It was a success, and we tipped a pint (or 3) together on the big day.
However, I am a bit of a purist and I was used to corned beef being served when the big green-wearing day came around. Traditional Jiggs Dinners were a-plenty given the dearth of Catholic churches in the area I grew up, so corned beef, cabbage and potatoes were available around every corner.
As I’ve grown older, and not a bit wiser I’m sure, I always have great intentions to have a traditional Corned Beef dinner for the big day, no matter which day of the week it falls on. Finally this year I was fortunate enough to get the star of the meal on my grocery list in time to grab up a couple of these beef cuts before the last-minute rush. And because I was so proud of myself for actually planning far enough ahead, I made one of those tasty cuts ahead of time too. Yay for Corned Beef on a regular old night!
While I would love to think that I also planned far enough ahead to make the whole thing from scratch, brining time included, I was obviously not THAT organized. Enter my trusty crock pot. If you’ve read other posts here at My Midlife Kitchen, it’s very possible you’ve heard me wax poetic about my love for the trusty crock pot in my kitchen. It’s so versatile that I decided to give it a shot with this meal as well. And lucky me, it served up the most juicy, flavorful and tasty Corned Beef I can remember having! Served with a side of my own twist on Colcannon (another traditional Irish dish), it was a feast for the two of us.
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| Servings | Prep Time |
| 6 people | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 8 hours |
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I am always lucky when I have my crock pot making our dinner, but I admit that this ridiculously simple recipe reminded me how much I love corned beef--and made be wonder why I only eat it once per year! The leftovers, whether served warm with veggies or sliced thin in a sandwich, will make me feel lucky all week long!
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- 1 3 lb. pre-packaged corned beef, with spice pack
- 3 large carrots, sliced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 1/2 medium onion, sliced
- 1 16 oz. bottle stout beer, such as Guinness
- Dice all of the veggies to uniform slices. Pat the meat dry and place in slow cooker insert.
- Place veggies and packet of spices in slow cooker insert with the meat.
- Pour beer over the ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Serve immediately with veggies, potatoes or other hearty sides.
The leftovers from this will be the thing of dreams. Sandwiches, hash, diced and tossed into omelettes--the possibilities for this salty and savory meat preparation will make me feel like dancing a jig all week long!
Here's wishing you and yours a lucky year, no matter the meal you gather 'round!
LOVE corned beef! I wish I was having a huge plate of this today! Is there a standard substitution for the beer that I could use?
Most corned beef recipes (the old ones, anyway) were straight up boiled dinners, so water was generally the liquid of choice. If beer isn’t an option, I might try apple juice or cider for the acid element (and also a bit of sweetness to offset the salty flavors), or low-sodium beef broth for additional richness. Let me know if you try any of these and how it came out for you! :o)
I love when this time of year rolls around and corned beef goes on sale! It’s perfect to freeze to have sandwich meat for months!
Just pulled out my ingredients, making it for tonight’s dinner!
Yay!!! You have to promise to come back and let me know how it turns out. :o)
This looks absolutely amazing! I love combining beer and meat, the flavor and tenderness of the meat is always outstanding!
I’m always telling my mom to make it in the crockpot! Haha! She never listens though! So much easier!
It was SO simple, and turned out SO good, I’m not sure I’d ever do it any other way now!
Wonderful recipe love to combine beer with meats give great flavors I wish I was lucky enough to be yoru official taster =)
Any time, Adriana! Come on over! :o)