Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner, a One Pot Meat & Veggie Meal Slow Cooked Until Tender & Delicious!
We Call It “Jiggs Dinner”
It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day and that means it’s Jiggs Dinner time! This corned beef & cabbage dinner made in the crockpot is as simple as it is delicious. If you love a good corned beef and cabbage boil, I recommend gathering your ingredients early. Every time we wait to shop we can never find baby red potatoes. Or a medium-sized head of cabbage, and all the good marbled rye bread is gone!
This year we went to our local meat market and picked out the most beautiful lean cut of brisket! It was huge, but the leftovers are ooh soo good!
Jiggs Dinner – Corned & Beef Cabbage Dinner
Jiggs dinner is so easy
I highly recommend rinsing your corned beef in a large bowl of water. This will get some of the salty brine off of it. The corned beef usually comes with a packet of spices. I like to dump the spice mix in a piece of cheesecloth, bundle it up & toss it in the crockpot. I have this adorable pink Tovolo piggy tea ball that I use for my spices. My husband likes to sprinkle the herbs in, but I find them too crunchy.
Pat the corned beef dry and slather it up on all sides with yellow mustard. Set it aside while you gather, peel, and chop the veggies.
All you need, in addition to the corned beef, are root veggies like peeled carrots cut in large chunks or left whole, red or gold potatoes, (I like baby reds or quartered reds!) a couple of stalks of celery cut in long pieces, a turnip quartered (it ends up tasting a lot like a potato!) a couple of parsnips (if you’re feeling adventurous, peeled and cut in large chunks, these end up tasting a lot like carrots) an onion quartered if you have one, a few cloves of peeled chopped garlic if you feel like it, and about a half a head of cabbage cut in large wedges, like a
Assembly
To assemble, start by adding the onions to the crockpot. Nestle the corned beef on top. Then add the garlic, then add about half your veggies, nestle the spice packet in, or sprinkle in the spices, and about half of the cabbage.
Save the other half of the veggies and add them to the crockpot in the last hour of cooking. That way some are in the pot flavoring the broth getting kind of mushy and the rest are cooked to perfection at the end. Pour in one entire beer. (If you don’t want to use beer, use beef broth.) You want enough liquid to cover the meat so that it boils, and so that some of the veggies are partially submerged, so you’ll also add some water. I definitely suggest dumping in one entire can/bottle of beer for flavor. I sprinkle a little black pepper on top. Put the lid on it and set it to cook.
Crockpot
I usually set my crockpot on high for six hours. (or about 8 hours on low for a 3-4 lb brisket) Don’t peek! You want it to keep cooking and not have to heat back up. As they say, set it and forget it! Well, actually set a timer. About an hour before you want to serve dinner, place the remaining veggies on top. Replace the lid. Once the veggies on top are fork-tender, dinner is ready!
Remove the corned beef from the crockpot and allow it to rest for at least ten minutes. Slice it across the grain of the meat. If you cut it with the grain in long stringy slices, it will be tough. Serve slices of corned beef in a shallow bowl along with the veggies, a ladle of broth, and a slice of marbled rye.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in my Instant Pot Spinach and Meatballs!
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Alternate Method
I have not tried pressure-cooking Jiggs Dinner yet. I suppose you could cook the onions, brisket, spices, and a few veggies for flavor, with the beer, and liquid to cover for about an hour and a half on high pressure. Quick-release, and remove the brisket to rest. Refer to the instructions that came with the Instant Pot for exact cooking times for the size of the brisket you have.
Then I would add the rest of the vegetables. They should cook in the hot liquid fairly quickly, probably about three to five minutes on high and another quick release. I’ll have to experiment and post Instant Pot instructions! If you have tried it already, let me know how successful it was!
My mother doesn’t like beer. She uses beef broth, water, and a packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix. She throws away the spice packet. I haven’t tried hers yet, but I bet it’s good!
Corned Beef & Cabbage Leftovers!
I look forward to Jiggs Dinner leftovers for 2 reasons, well 3 if you include corned beef sandwiches.
1 – THIS RECIPE!
I never tried cooking cabbage as a side dish before. It never sounded good to me. UNTIL I READ THIS RECIPE from my food blog idol, Sarah at sustainablecooks.com. It’s ridiculously good! I add black sesame seeds and instead of celery, I used sugar snap peas. What’s your favorite cabbage recipe? I strongly recommend trying her “Cabbage Thingy!” A drizzle of Sriracha and a sprinkle of black roasted sesame seeds make it extra special!
2 – Leftover Corned Beef Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash!
If the pan looks too dry just add a drizzle of olive oil. If the potatoes are still raw add a tbsp of water and cover for a minute or two. They’ll steam up quickly. Remove the lid and allow any excess moisture to cook out. I serve this up alongside eggs, or add it to a flour tortilla for breakfast burritos!
Dice some raw sweet potatoes and/or regular potatoes into small cubes. Chop up some onion or shallots, bell peppers, and some leftover cooked corned beef. Add potatoes and about a tablespoon of olive oil to a cast iron pan and cook, until browned. Add in the onions, peppers, 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika, a large pinch of salt, some black pepper, and about a half teaspoon of garlic powder. Continue to brown stirring occasionally so they don’t burn.
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Scroll up for leftover ideas!
Jiggs Dinner (St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef and Cabbage Boil)
Equipment
- crockpot or Instant Pot
- knife
- cheesecloth or a tea ball – optional
Ingredients
- 3.5 lb corned beef brisket Raw. Rinse in cold water to remove some of the salty brine. Prepare the corned beef before you chop your vegetables.
- ¾ head cabbage 3/4 to 1 cabbage. Cut into large wedges, like a watermelon. As much as you can fit in with all the other vegetables.
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard (Or enough to cover brisket)
- 1 Spice Packet I prefer to wrap the spices in cheesecloth or a tea ball like this one and tie in a bundle.
- 1 garlic Coarse chopped, as many cloves as you'd like. I use three.
- 1 can lite beer I prefer a lite beer.
Add about half the veggies on top of the meat in the crock pot, reserve some for the last hour of cooking.
- 1 turnip Optional. Peeled and quartered. A ceramic peeler is amazing for peeling veggies!
- 1 onion Quartered
- 4 carrots Large carrots work best. Cut them half or into large chunks.
- 2 celery stalks Use more if you like it. Cut it up into large chunks.
- 2 parsnips Optional. More if you like them!
- 1 lb baby red potatoes 1 lb or as many as you can fit in with the cabbage.
- 2 cups water Or enough to cover brisket and some veggies.
- marbled rye Optional -We love serving this with a slice of rye.
Instructions
Prepare the brisket
- Rinse the corned beef brisket in a large bowl of water to get some of the salty brine out of it.
- The corned beef usually comes with a packet of spices. I like to dump the spice mix in a piece of cheesecloth or a tea ball, tie it up and toss it in the crockpot.
- Pat the corned beef dry and slather it up on all sides with yellow mustard. Set it aside while you gather, peel and chop the veggies.
Assemble
- Start by adding the onions to the crockpot, break them up a bit, and nestle the corned beef on top. On top of the brisket, add the garlic, spices and add about half your root veggies.
- Pour in one entire beer. (If you don't want to use beer, use beef or other broth or all water.)
- Add enough water/liquid to cover the meat so that it boils, and so that some of the veggies are partially submerged. Put the lid on it and set the crockpot on low for 8 hours for a 3-4 lb brisket (or on high for about an hour per pound.) *Don't peek, keep the lid closed! You want it to keep cooking and not have to heat back up.
- About an hour before you want to serve dinner, taste the broth and adjust for salt and pepper. Place the remaining veggies on top. Replace the lid. Once the veggies on top are fork tender, dinner is ready!
- Remove the corned beef from the crockpot and allow it to rest for at least ten to fifteen minutes. Slice it across the grain of the meat. (If you cut it with the grain in long stringy slices, it will be tough.)
- Serve slices of corned beef in a shallow bowl along with the veggies, a ladle of broth, and a slice of marbled rye.
Notes
Nutrition
What’s your favorite cabbage recipe? I strongly recommend trying the “Cabbage Thingy!” A drizzle of Sriracha and a sprinkle of black sesame seeds make it extra special!
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