Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage - Perfect For the Oven or Slow Cooker

Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage is an easy and tasty way to prepare this traditional St. Patricks Day Recipe. All you need is a brisket of beef, some Guinness beer, fresh vegetables and a little bit of brown sugar. After a few hours in the oven, crock pot, or slow cooker, the results are tender, moist, and out of control delicious!

We don't eat Corned Beef that often but when we do, I always try to make it as delicious as possible!

That's why we're using Guinness beer as the braising liquid in this perfect St. Patricks Day recipe. 

Not only does the Guinness tenderize the meat, but it also adds the perfect earthy depth to make the corned beef flavor really shine through.

In my recipe, I added cabbage, carrots, onions and potatoes but if you don't want or need the vegetables, we can easily take them out. 

And best of all, you can make this recipe in a variety of different ways.

The fastest method is in the oven at a low temperature for about four hours. Personally, I like this way best because everything is perfectly tender in about half of the time as a slow cooker.

The crock-pot or slow cooker method takes about 8 hours - which is double the oven method. To be honest, I couldn't really tell a difference between the two methods so it is all up to you! 

Let's gets started on the recipe! 

Ingredients - what you need

• 3-4 pound Beef Brisket (plus the seasoning packet)
• Guinness Beer
• Brown Sugar
• Water
• Small Potatoes
• Yellow Onions
• Small Head of Cabbage
• Carrots
• Salt and Pepper

How to make it in the oven 

Making Guinness corned beef in the oven is ridiculously easy. 

First, you'll want to preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Next, rinse and pat dry your corned beef and place it in your dutch oven or any large braising pot with a lid. This just prevents the corned beef from being too salty.

Pour the seasoning packet that comes with the brisket and the brown sugar on top of it. If you don't have one, scroll down to see what to mix together.

Now, pour the 2 Guinness's around the brisket and add more water until the brisket is completely covered. Now put the lid on and bake for 2.5 hours.

After 2.5 hours have passed, carefully remove the dutch oven, take the lid off, and add your chopped vegetables. Push them down with a fork or knife so they're submerged into the liquid.

Add a few cracks of fresh pepper and a sprinkle of salt and put the lid on. Place it back in the oven for another 1.5 hours.

After that, remove it from the oven and let it rest with the lid on for at least 30 minutes. 

Before serving, cut the brisket against the grain and sprinkle with coarse flaky salt.

How to make it in the crockpot or slow cooker

If you'd rather make your Guinness Corned Beef in a crock pot or slow cooker, you can do that, too!

First, just rinse and pat dry your corned beef and place it in your slow cooker.

Pour the seasoning packet and the brown sugar on top of it. If you don't have one, scroll down to get the recipe to make your own.

Now Pour the Guinness around the brisket. Depending on the size of your crockpot, you might need 2 beers. You'll just want to add a little water so that the liquid comes up to the top of the brisket.

Next, seal the lid on the crockpot and turn it on high and cook for 6 hours.

After 6 hours is up, take the lid off and add the vegetables with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Push the vegetables down into the liquid so they're submerged then put the lid back on.

Cook for another 2 hours on high heat until the vegetables are tender. 

After that, remove it from the oven and let it rest with the lid on for at least 30 minutes. 

Before serving, cut the brisket against the grain and sprinkle with coarse flaky salt.

What if I don't have a seasoning packet?

If your brisket doesn't come with a seasoning package, you can easily make your own spice blend.

Simply combine mustard seeds with crushed bay leaves, allspice berries, salt and pepper. You can find the exact measurements in this post from Food Network.  

What to pair it with

If you're making this for St. Patricks Day, I highly recommend pairing it with my Irish White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes.  You could also make my Red Cabbage Soup with some or this easy Beer Cheese Bread or even my Beer Cheese Mac and Cheese!

And if you've got leftovers, you can make these extra cheesy corned beef reubens!

If you're making this for an easy weeknight dinner, I recommend pairing it with an easy romaine wedge salad, some smoked mac and cheese and these easy smashed brussel sprouts with bacon! 

Save this recipe for later - pin it below!

Recipe: 

Recipe

Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage

Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage is an easy and tasty way to prepare this traditional St. Patricks Day Recipe. All you need is a brisket of beef, some guinness beer, fresh vegetables and a little bit of brown sugar. After a few hours in the oven, crock pot, or slow cooker, the results are tender, moist, and out of control delicious!

4.50 from 6 votes

Print Pin

Course: Main Course, meat

Cuisine: American, irish

Keyword: cabbage, carrots, corned beef, slow cooker, st patricks day, steam pot

Ingredients

• 3.5 brisket plus the seasoning package the comes with it
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 guinness beers room temp
• water enough to come up to the top of the brisket
• 2 cups small yellow potatoes
• 1 yellow onion roughly chopped
• 1 small head cabbage cut into small wedges
• 5 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• salt and pepper

Instructions

IN THE OVEN

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
• Rinse brisket and place in a large dutch oven. Top the brisket with the seasoning packet and the brown sugar.
• Pour the guinness beer around the sides of the brisket then add enough water to the pot that it comes up to the top of the brisket.
• Place the lid on and bake in the oven for 2.5 hours.
• Take the dutch oven out of the oven and carefully remove the lid.
• Submerge cabbage around the brisket then add the potatoes, onions and carrots on top. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper and place the lid back on.
• Put the dutch oven back in the oven for 1.5 hours.

IN THE SLOW COOKER OR CROCK POT

• First, just rinse and pat dry your corned beef and place it in your slow cooker. Pour the seasoning packet and the brown sugar on top of it. If you don't have one, scroll down to get the recipe to make your own.
• Now Pour the Guinness around the brisket. Depending on the size of your crockpot, you might need 2 Guinness Beers. You'll just want to add a little water so that the liquid comes up to the top of the brisket.
• Next, seal the lid on the crockpot and turn it on high and cook for 6 hours.
• After 6 hours is up, take the lid off and add the vegetables with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Push the vegetables down into the liquid so they're submerged then put the lid back on.
• Cook for another 2 hours on high heat until the vegetables are tender. 
• After that, remove it from the oven and let it rest with the lid on for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, cut the brisket against the grain and sprinkle with coarse flaky salt.