Slow Cooker Corned Beef Brisket

6 servings
6 hr 15 min

Slow Cooker Corned Beef with Guinness and vegetables is the ultimate one-pot comfort food. The brisket, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage slow cook in a flavorful broth that will have your family begging for seconds.

While this is a perfect dish to cook up for Saint Patrick’s Day, you certainly don’t have to wait for a holiday to enjoy perfectly cooked corned beef. In fact, it’s one of Russ’s favorite meals, so we prepare it often throughout the year. Whenever I find corned beef on sale, I pick up one or two and stash them in the freezer.


This is such an easy recipe to prepare with a huge flavor payoff. Simply add the onion and root vegetables to the slow cooker, pour in the Guinness and beef broth, add the corned beef, and top off with water to nearly cover the meat. Turn the slow cooker on, and go about your daily business. Yes, it takes some time to cook, but you will be over the moon happy with the deeply flavored tender slices of beef on your dinner plate.

Preparing the corned beef brisket in the slow cooker ensures that this tough cut of meat will turn out tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Brisket contains a lot of connective tissue which must be broken down over time. As the collagen breaks down, the meat will become more tender. Rather than cooking to the safe temperature of 145ºF for many cuts of beef, brisket benefits from cooking to an internal temperature of 160ºF to 180ºF. This is the temperature at which collagen begins to break down, yielding a traditionally tough cut fork tender.


I find that you really don’t need to add a lot of extra seasoning to corned beef since it is already so flavorful. Cooking your corned beef in a broth of Guinness and beef broth adds a malty depth of flavor.


If you're interested in curing your own brisket at home, J. Kenji López-Alt has a fantastic article on Serious Eats about how to cure your own. He also does a deep dive into cooking times and temperatures to yield a tender cut of cooked brisket.

FAQS:

What is corned beef?Corned beef is made from curing beef brisket with salt, spices, and nitrates. It gets its name from the salt “corns” used to preserve it. The nitrates in the curing process give the brisket its characteristic pink color.

Which is better, point cut or flat cut?Brisket is from the chest muscle of a cow near the legs. It’s a muscle that’s worked a lot as the cow walks, which is what makes the meat tough. The flat cut is long and thin with a thick layer of fat that helps keep the meat moist as it cooks. It’s the most common cut to find in supermarkets and is preferred for making corned beef. The point cut, on the other hand, is smaller and thicker with more fat marbled through it. This fat makes it more flavorful, but has less meat. The point is better if you want your brisket shredded rather than sliced.

How many hours does it take to cook corned beef?Corned beef is a tough cut of meat and really benefits from cooking at a lower temperatures for longer time periods. Cooking corned beef can take anywhere from 4 - 10 hours depending on the size of the brisket and the temperature used to cook it. A slow cooker on low will take 8 - 10 hours, while a slow cooker on high will take 3 - 5 hours.


INGREDIENTS TO PREPARE SLOW COOKER CORNED BEEF:

  • Red potatoes: Maintain a good texture when slow cooked. Plus, no need to peel.
  • Carrots: A good source of beta carotene, fiber, potassium, and antioxidants. They also add some natural sweetness to the dish.
  • Yellow onion: Adds flavor to the cooking broth.
  • Minced garlic: Also adds additional flavor to the cooking broth.
  • Green cabbage: It’s sweet and tender when cooked in the beef and beer broth.
  • Beef broth: Adds more flavor than simply using water.
  • Guinness: Provides a malty depth of flavor.


HOW TO PREPARE SLOW COOKED CORNED BEEF WITH GUINNESS:

  • Thoroughly rinse your corned beef and set aside. Reserve the seasoning packet packaged with the meat.
  • Start by cutting the red potatoes into into equal size pieces, about two inches. Peel the carrots and cut into about 2-3 inch pieces. Peel the onion then slice in half. Cut the onion into ½ inch slices.
  • Add the potatoes, onion, carrots, and four minced garlic cloves to the slow cooker. Pour in the beef broth and Guinness, covering the vegetables.
  • Place the corned beef, fat side up, on top of the vegetables, and sprinkle everything with the seasoning packet included in the package. Add enough water to nearly cover the brisket. Place the lid on your slow cooker and cook on high for three to four hours.
  • Add the cabbage to the slow cooker after the meat and vegetables have cooked about two and a half hours.
  • Check the internal temperature of the corned beef with an instant read thermometer after its cooked about three hours. You want the temperature to reach about 180ºF to ensure the connective tissue has broken down enough to yield a tender cut.
  • Remove the corned beef to a cutting board and allow to rest for at least five minutes before slicing.
  • Remove the vegetables from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon. Add them and the sliced corned beef to the platter to serve.
Chop the onions, carrots, and potatoes.
Add to the slow cooker.
Pour in the Guiness and beef broth.
Add the corned beef, seasoning, and water to nearly cover beef.
Chop the cabbage.
Add cabbage during the last hour of cooking.
Rest for 10 minutes, then slice against the grain.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

  • Make a flavorful gravy from the broth the brisket and vegetables cooked in. Simply transfer 2 cups of the broth to a sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Whisk in a cornstarch slurry (2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold milk or water), and stir until thickened.


WHAT SIDE DISHES GO WITH CORNED BEEF?

While this recipe already has sides included, here are some more ideas for delicious side dishes:


  • Irish Soda Bread
  • Savory Sweet Potato Mash
  • Parsnip Mashed Potatoes
  • Oven Roasted Spaghetti Squash
  • Roasted Delicata Squash
  • Savory Roasted Butternut Squash


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INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS:

  • Red potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes also work well in this recipe.
  • Carrots: Parsnips or turnips are delicious additions as well.
  • Green cabbage: Use any cabbage you like. I’ve also used Napa cabbage in this recipe. If you’re not a cabbage fan, omit it.
  • Guinness: Any stout, porter, or dark ale will work in this recipe.


RECIPE NOTES:

  • This recipe was originally published on August 24, 2017 but has been updated with new photos and recipe tips to improve the reader experience.
  • A large oval slow cooker works best for recipes like this. I particularly like that this model lets me manually adjust to achieve the perfect cooking temperature.
  • An instant read thermometer is an invaluable tool in the kitchen.


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Slow Cooker Corned Beef Brisket
Recipe details
  • 6  servings
  • Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 6 Hours Total time: 6 hr 15 min
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Ingredients

  • 1 corned beef brisket, approximately 3 pounds
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 14.9 ounce can Guinness
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 pounds red potatoes
  • 1 pound baby carrots
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ head green cabbage
Instructions

Thoroughly rinse your corned beef and set aside. Reserve the seasoning packet packaged with the meat.
Start by cutting the red potatoes into into equal size pieces, about two inches. Peel the carrots and cut into about 2-3 inch pieces. Peel the onion then slice in half. Cut the onion into ½ inch slices.
Add the potatoes, onion, carrots, and four minced garlic cloves to the slow cooker. Add the beef broth and Guinness, covering the vegetables.
Place the corned beef, fat side up, on top of the vegetables, and sprinkle everything with the seasoning packet included in the package. Add enough water to nearly cover the brisket. Place the lid on your slow cooker and cook on high for three to four hours.
Add the cabbage to the slow cooker after the meat and vegetables have cooked about two and a half hours.
Check the internal temperature of the corned beef with an instant read thermometer after its cooked about three hours. You want the temperature to reach about 180ºF to ensure the connective tissue has broken down enough to yield a tender cut.
Remove the corned beef to a cutting board and allow to rest for at least five minutes before slicing.
Remove the vegetables from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon. Add them and the sliced corned beef to the platter to serve.
Tips
  • INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS:
  • Red potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes also work well in this recipe.
  • Carrots: Parsnips or turnips are delicious additions as well.
  • Green cabbage: Use any cabbage you like. I’ve also used Napa cabbage in this recipe. If you’re not a cabbage fan, omit it.
  • Guinness: Any stout, porter, or dark ale will work in this recipe.
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