Crockpot Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup

St. Patrick’s Day is only three days away, and what would St. Patrick’s Day be without Corned Beef & Cabbage? It certainly wouldn’t do, especially for all the Irish Americans out there. I already let the cat out of the bag last year, that folks in Ireland do not actually eat Corned Beef & Cabbage. Nope. That dish evolved and came to be associated with St. Patrick’s Day here in America after the arrival of many Irish immigrants. (For more info on the history of corned beef, take a look at my Corned Beef Hash blog from last year.) So although Corned beef & Cabbage is not a traditional dish for the Irish in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day just wouldn’t be the same for Irish Americans without it. So I figured this Crockpot Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup recipe would come in handy for some folks out there. Especially the ones that really want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but are a wee bit too short on time to fuss over a big St. Patrick’s Day feast. This crock-pot soup is exactly what you need. You can get the whole St. Patrick’s Day corned beef, cabbage, potato vibe in one bowl and yet spend very little time in the kitchen.

Seriously, you just toss all of these lovely ingredients in the crock pot, turn it on and walk away. You don’t even have to head back into the kitchen for 7 hours! And truth be told, I always prepare soups the day before I want to serve them. They taste so much better after resting in the fridge overnight. All the flavors really have a chance to blend together. And another big benefit of letting this soup sit over night is that corned beef is a very fatty cut, that’s part of what makes it so delicious. However, even though you will cut away the fat when you shred the meat, I find that a lot of fat remains in the soup. Yuck! No one wants a greasy soup! You can try to skim this off of the top while it is still hot. However, if you just stick the soup in the fridge over night, that fat rises to the top and solidifies, making it a breeze to remove. Serve with pints of beer and a hunk of crusty brown bread, slathered in butter of course! Feasting on St. Patrick’s Day has never been such a breeze!

• Servings: 8 - 10
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: Pipandebby.com

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3-lb. corned beef brisket (yup…just pop it into the crock pot uncooked)
• 8 baby red potatoes, cut into small chunks
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 4 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 14.9 oz. can of Guinness Stout
• 32-oz. container chicken broth

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage, onion, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until cabbage is soft and onions are fragrant.

Add mixture to a large crockpot, along with corned beef brisket, potatoes, carrots, celery, bay leaf, thyme, Guinness & chicken broth. If the veggies are not completely covered by liquid, add water until they are.

Cook on Low heat for 7-8 hours. Remove corned beef from crockpot and place on a cutting board. Shred Corned Beef with two forks, removing and discarding fat. If any of the shredded meat is too long, cut into smaller bite-sized lengths. Return meat to the crockpot and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

You can serve the soup immediately if you wish, but I usually refrigerate it overnight. The next morning, the fat will have risen to the top and solidified. Remove the fat, reheat soup and serve with crusty brown bread.

Enjoy!

Crockpot Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Helpful Links to Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Crockpot Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup:

Crock-Pot Slow Cooker