St. Patty's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage!

I'm baaackk. Finally among the living, after an illness which took away any desire to think about food, much less write about it. But I'm better just in time for one of my favorite holidays, St. Patrick's Day!! This corned beef and cabbage recipe is slow cooked in Irish beer and spices, and will give your home such a wonderful aroma that you will hardly be able to wait to eat!

Corn beef brisket, 4 - 5 pounds
4 bay leaves
5 peeled garlic cloves
2 carrots, cut in half and sliced
Unpeeled red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half (I cooked my potatoes separately)
1 large head of cabbage chopped roughly
1 bottle or can of Irish beer
1/2 can of chicken broth (7.5 oz.)
6 cloves
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
Seasoning pack that came with meat

In a large slow cooker, pour in beer and chicken broth.

Stir in cloves, peppercorn, seasoning pack, bay leaves and garlic (smash garlic). Place beef brisket in the center of the pot (fat side up) and stuff carrots around it. Add potatoes now if you want to cook them with the beef. Add enough water so that liquid goes 1/3 of the way up the side of the cooker.

Put on low heat for 8 - 10 hours. After the first 4 hours, add chopped cabbage and recover. If you have to remove some liquid, do so now. The liquid will continue to rise.

After 8-9 hours (I had a 4 pounder), it's done. Remove cabbage and carrots and then remove and slice corned beef!

Discard bay leaves, and serve! I boiled small red potatoes and then smothered them in butter, kosher salt and parsley and served them on the side. This made enough for 5 hungry people the first night, and small-ish leftover plates for 4. It was fantastic, smelling the corned beef cook during the last couple of hours will really get your mouth watering. I also made a loaf of Irish Soda bread in the bread machine- perfect to go with this meal. So drink some green beer do a jig! Everyone's Irish on Saint Patrick's Day...and the eggs.