Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

(serve 8)

(Irish-American)

                                                                         prep time:    10 minutes

                                                                         cook time:    6 hours

                                                                         total time:     6 hours 10 minutes

Ingredient 

corned beef:

1 3 to 4 pound corned beef with seasoning packet
vegetables:
1 medium head of cabbage, cut into 4 to 6 wedges
2 to 3 large potatoes cut into wedges
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
8 ounces baby carrots
½ cup butter, cut into small cubes

condiments:

commercial horseradish sauce
prepared horseradish (to add to the usually bland commercial sauce to spice it up)

Preparation

the corned beef:

1.  Place the corned beef, fat side down, in the bowl of you slow cooker.

2.  Remove the seasoning from the seasoning packet and place them in your mortar and, using the pestle, slightly crush them.  Don’t completely grind them up you just want them crushed to release their essential oils.

3.  Sprinkle the crushed seasoning on the corned beef in the bowl.  Cover the beef and seasoning with cold water, place the cover on the crock pot and turn it to high.

4.  Cook the corned beef on high for the first hour, then continue cooking for 10-12 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high.

the vegetables:

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Arrange the cabbage wedges on the bottom of a baking dish and arrange the other vegetables over the wedges.  Distribute the butter cubes over the vegetables and  sprinkle with Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bake until the potato wedges and carrots are tender and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

service:

Arrange the cooked vegetables on a service platter.  Shred or slice the corn beef and arrange it on the platter.  Serve accompanied by the horseradish sauce and the prepared horseradish for those that like the sauce spicier.