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Our family has Irish Roots. I mean, don’t we all especially on St. Patrick’s Day? Who doesn’t want to sip on a little green beer and much down on Corned Beef and Cabbage, Carrots, Potatoes, and those darling little pearl onions?
Is it Traditional or Not?
Corned beef and cabbage are more of an American tradition than an Irish one. They typically eat Lamb Stew, Chicken, and Steak Pies, Irish Potato Chips, Seafood, and Chowders, the list goes on and on. But, even though it a tradition to eat Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patty’s day in Ireland. It is a tradition in our house, and that is all that really matters, right?
Corned beef is a tougher type of beef. Think “brisket”. It is best cooked low and slow, at a lower temperature. Unless you have an InstantPot, then, you can make it nice and tender in about 90 minutes, plus the time to pressurize the InstantPot.
Two Corned Beef Briskets for Our Family
Having 10 in our family, our grown children – and our grandchildren all together. Making two Corned Beef Briskets are a requirement. We actually celebrated St. Patrick’s Day on Monday, due to scheduling conflicts this year. And, I can tell you that even with the two younger kiddos, there were only 3 slices left! But we had tons and tons of leftover Cabbage! I am making a mental note to only cook one head of cabbage next year!
Seasoning is Key!
I found this fabulous seasoning recipe on Hilda’s Kitchen Blog, and it adds so much wonderful flavor. It’s way better than the little packet that comes with the corned beef. What I love about it is you toast the seeds and then pulse the mixture in a coffee grinder. I like to make mine a little less seedy, so I grind a bit more. Which is a great solution for preventing those round seasoning balls from ending up all over your sides and stuck in your teeth! And, as a little side tip; you can easily clean your coffee grinder with a handful of dry rice.
Let's Get This Party Started!
I begin preparing the corned beef by removing it from the package, tossing out the dry seasoning packet, and rinsing all of the gooey red stuff off. Trust me, you don’t want that stuff all over your corned beef! Then, place the corned beef into the InstantPot or slow-cooker fat side down. Just to be clear, there are two of these bad boys being cooked in our house, so I typically use the slow-cooker button on my InstantPot and also use my slow cooker, to cook the second one.
Sprinkle the seasoning all over the top of the meat. Then, pour beef broth into the pots, without splashing the seasoning. I used a funnel for this, and it worked great! Close the lid and set the InstantPot on “Slow Cook” and set it for eight hours. Turn the slow cooker onto “Low”. The timing is the same for both.
After I get the meat going, I boil the pearl onions for a few minutes and drop them into an ice bath. This is a much easier way to peel the onions. I simply cut the root end and the onion easily pops out with a gentle squeeze. Once these are all ready, I place them into a covered container and put them in the fridge.
Rinse Those Vegetables
Washing the small potatoes is next on the list. I place them in a large strainer and rinse them thoroughly. Did you know that potatoes are washed several times before they are shipped? Years ago, we lived next to a family that owned a large potato farm. And, that was one thing we found out when we toured their facility. The little potatoes were considered the “runts”, they had no use for them until they became popular among the gourmet chefs of the world! At any rate, washing is highly recommended, just to give that final rinse.
Next, the carrots are peeled and chopped. I like to keep them kind of chunky, so they hold up well during the cooking. Often, we use the small carrots that are washed and ready to eat. But they tend to cook very fast, so we use a combination of them. Place the carrots in a covered container and into the fridge. Leave the Cabbage for the last 30 minutes of cooking, because it just needs to steam in the juice for about 10 minutes.
Will We Ever Serve Dinner On-Time? Doubtful!
The plan was to have dinner at 6:30 p.m., however, since we typically run late, I used a finish time of 6:00 p.m. Thus, since my meat needed eight hours to cook, I had to get them in by 10:00 a.m., which gave me time to work on some other things. It also was a great opportunity to do a little cleaning to get ready for the kids.
Todd set the table, and baby-proofed the house We have an almost 2-year-old who likes to pull things out of the wall! And, he thinks it’s his job to collect the “iRobot” room controllers and hand them to PeePaw.
It's Probably a "Me" Thing
Funny thing, you cannot open the InstaPot while it is on “slow cook”, or it may just be me. It was a challenge getting the lid off even after I had turned it off. So, we kept monitoring the Slow Cooker meat to make sure it was cooking right. At around 5:00, we rearranged the pots, placing both of the meats into the InstantPot, and added a Guinness Beer to the broth. Yes, it is fine to put a carbonated, cold beverage into the InstaPot. I know this because I great googly mooglied it! Or, Googled it! Since the meat was pretty close to being tender, I set the InstantPot for 30 minutes on “Hi Pressure”.
We used the broth from the Slow Cooker to pour into a large pot on the stove, and added the potatoes to let them cook for a bit, then added the carrots. We waited to add the onions until just before putting in the cabbage because they tend to disappear if we add them in too early. And the last to join the party was the cabbage. Whew!
If you happen to have leftover Corned Beef, don’t worry. You can make a Reuben Sandwich for lunch! It is Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Sour Kraut, and Thousand Island Dressing, Toasted in a skillet. Never had it? Boy, are you missing out!
So Worth all the Dirty Dishes!
It sounds like a lot of dirty dishes, It is! But, in the end, the result is so worth it! We also made some mac and cheese in the microwave for the littles. Everyone loved the meal, and we had a great time seeing our kids and grandkids!
Enjoy,
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- InstantPot
Ingredients
- 1 Corned Beef Brisket, Flat
- 2 tbsp Seasoning
- 1 Container Beef Broth, 32 Ounces
- 1 Guinness Beer optional
- 1 Container Pearl Onions
- 1 Bag Red Potatoes, Small
- 1 Lb Carrots, Chopped in Large Chunks
Seasoning Recipe - to Toast
- 1 tsp Anise Seeds
- 2 tsp Peppercorns
- 1 tbsp Mustard Seeds
- 2 tbsp Coriander Seeds
Seasoning Recipe - Add the last 30 Seconds
- 4 Large Bay Leaves, Crushed
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, Crushed
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse the corned beef and place fat-side down in the InstaPot or Slow Cooker.
- Season the meat well with the seasoning mix.
- Add beef broth to the pot, trying to keep it from rinsing off the seasoning mix. (I used a funnel). Do not cover the top of the roast with the broth.
InstantPot - Instructions
- If you are using an InstantPot as the Pressure Cooker, Set it for 90 Minutes at Hi-Pressure. Then, Add in the vegetables and cook for another 15 Minutes at Hi-Pressure. Remove, slice, and serve immediately.
Slow Cooker - Instructions
- Set the Slow Cooker on "Low" and cook for at least 10 hours. If you plan to finish it in the InstaPot, you can do 8 hours in the Slow Cooker and finish it for 30 Minutes in the InstaPot on Hi-Pressure with the Veggies. (I only use this method when I am serving 10 People.)
- Add the Potatoes and Carrots to a Large Pot.
- Once the meat is done, remove it from the Slow Cooker and carefully pour the juice over the Potatoes and Carrots. Let them boil for about 15 minutes.
- Add the Pearl Onions and lay the Cabbage on Top and cover the pot to let the Cabbage Steam.
- Slice the meat, and serve the veggies.
Seasoning Mix
- Toast Anise seeds, Peppercorns, Mustard seeds, and Coriander seeds in a skillet for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. (These burn easily, so keep an eye on them.)
- Add Crushed Bay Leaves and crushed Red Pepper Flakes for the last 30 seconds.
- Pour contents into a spice mill or coffee bean grinder and pulse a few times to release the flavor of the spices. (I like mine ground a little more, so I pulse a few extra times)
- Store in an airtight container in the spice pantry. (I used a seasoning container)
