#1,203: Crockpot Corned Beef

Take me to any place that sells sandwiches and I will almost always choose a reuben sandwich!  I love corned beef but have never made it for myself.  1.  I figured I'd make it and not enjoy it.  2.  No one else in my family eats it so it would be a lot of meat leftover.  3. It's expensive for 1 person to eat. 

Then I went to Kroger and found a 3+ lb flat cut corned beef for $5!  That was worth trying/making.  So I searched for a highly rated crockpot recipe on Google and came across this recipe.  It was easy and I liked that it used more ingredients than just the seasoning packet that comes with the corned beef.  I let this cook ALL day in my crockpot because I wanted to make sure it was nice and tender.  And it was.  It was so tender that when I cut it with my electric knife it totally shredded it.  (Photo above was used with a sharp knife).  Don't get me wrong, I personally prefer it shredded, but it sure doesn't take a very pretty picture that way.

This is very good.  I'm going to LOVE eating it for lunch AND dinner tomorrow (Happy St. Patrick's Day!!).  I was even more surprised when my pickiest eater Chloe came over and asked to try it....and then walked away with the container proclaiming "I love this beef."  What?!  Her big sister wouldn't try it but that's okay, more for Chloe and I. 

I did make one alteration to the recipe below: I only used about 2 cups of water.  That was PLENTY for it to be sitting in.  I don't think the reduction in liquid made a negative difference. 

4 cups hot water

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 large onion, cut into quarters

3 lbs corned beef brisket (with spices)

 

Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, pepper and onions, in a 6 qt crock pot and mix well.  Place corned beef and contents of spice packet in the mixture. Cover and cook on high heat setting 8 hours. (Mine cooked for about 10 hours).  To serve, carve the beef into slices against the grain and serve with some of the cooking liquid spooned on top of the beef to keep it moist