Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef

8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 9 hours
Total Time 9 hours 5 minutes

Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef with perfectly juicy slices of beef and crispy crust this is the only corned beef recipe you’ll ever use!

We’re getting all of our St. Patrick’s Day recipe ready to go, and this year we’re serving Roasted Cabbage Steaks (these are AMAZING as leftovers in my Cabbage Soup), Roasted Carrots, and Scalloped Potatoes and we’re using leftovers in our Corned Beef Hash!

CRISPY SLOW COOKER CORNED BEEF

Corned Beef

Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef has been a dish we make year round since we bought our deep freezer. Why you ask? Because since I had the ability to stock up during the “season” we now enjoy corned beef dinners and sandwiches all year long. You can serve this slow cooker version of this Irish-American classic with carrots, cabbage, or potatoes for St. Patrick’s Day.

The magic of the Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef is in the liquids. I normally say don’t add any liquid, but in this case the vinegar and the bay leaf need a helping hand. The little bit of water you’re using is a vehicle for your bay leaf and vinegar to help flavor the meat. This recipe needs a total time of 9-10 hours, so I recommend setting this up in the crock pot in the morning if you’re having it for dinner that night.

CAN YOU OVERCOOK CORNED BEEF IN A CROCK POT?

It is definitely possible to overcook any beef in the crock pot, resulting in a cut of beef that is bordering too soft. This recipe calls for cooking on low for 9-10 hours. I would try to stick with this cooking time. I also like to keep the slow cooker on low so the brisket has more time to cook, making it tender and juicy. You could try cooking this for a shorter time on high if you’re pressed for time.

DO YOU HAVE TO RINSE OFF CORNED BEEF BEFORE COOKING?

You can rinse corned beef, but it’s not a requirement. Rinsing the brisket removes any excess salt from the meat, resulting in a more mild flavor. Or you can put the beef in the crock pot without rinsing at all.

WHICH CUT OF CORNED BEEF IS MORE TENDER?

You can buy pre-brined corned beef, or get a brisket and add the seasoning to the corned beef yourself. I like to go with a round cut of brisket in the slow cooker, because it holds its shape better than a point cut and shrinks less in the pot, which is better if you have people over for St. Patricks day. But due to the point cut having more fat, it can turn out more tender than round cut. It’s a personal choice, because in the end both are used for this dish.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN CORNED BEEF IS DONE?

For food safety, you want to make sure your beef is cooked to at least 145 degrees F. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. There shouldn’t be an issue if you cook the beef for the entire time.

Crispy Corned Beef

 

MORE ST. PATRICK’S DAY CABBAGE, CARROT, AND POTATO RECIPES

HOW DO YOU STORE CORNED BEEF?

You can store leftover crock pot corned beef in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Honestly, this usually doesn’t last past the second day at my house. You can also freeze your beef brisket with your favorite cabbage recipe for several months.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef

TIPS FOR MAKING CRISPY CORNED BEEF

  • You can fill the slow cooker up with water for a more traditional corned beef, but keep in mine that the texture of the dish will not get crispy if it’s completely covered in liquid.
  • You can add cabbage, sliced carrots, onions, and potatoes to the slow cooker when there’s about 2 hours left in the cooking time. The liquid from the corned beef will add a ton of flavor to the vegetables.
  • This may look like a lot of spices, but crock pot corned beef gets its signature flavor from this so don’t worry, go ahead and use the seasoning packet as direction on your beef brisket.
  • If your corned beef or beef brisket is too fatty, you can cut some of it off before placing in the crock pot. But leave a little bit, as this adds a lot of flavor to the dish.
  • If you need more cabbage recipes try my Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, or Stuffed Cabbage Sloppy Joes! Or mix shredded cabbage together with mashed potatoes for a basic colcannon.
  • In the morning shred leftover beef together with cabbage and potatoes to make Corned Beef Hash.
  • I don’t recommend using the leftover drippings from the beef brisket in the slow cooker for any kind of gravy, because it will be really salty. Cooking bland vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, and cabbage, work well with this water because it will season them. Add some more flavor with allspice or celery.
  • Serve your slow cooker corned beef recipe with horseradish or dijon mustard (you can also roast potatoes with dijon like these Dijon Roasted Potatoes) on St. Patrick’s Day!

Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef with a crispy crust. No soggy Corned Beef, even from a slow cooker!

Tools Used in making this Slow Cooker Corned Beef:
Slow Cooker: Love this slow cooker and how programmable it is, it has been a workhorse for me… until…
My New Slow Cooker: For larger roasts I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is more open.

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Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef with a crispy crust. No soggy Corned Beef, even from a slow cooker!
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 9 hours
Total Time 9 hours 5 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Irish
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 3 pounds corned beef , with packet
  • 1 cups water , maybe less depending on size of slow cooker
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Add corned beef, fat side up, to the slow cooker.
  • Add the minced garlic, spice packet, sugar and pepper to the top of the meat and rub on.
  • Add the vinegar and bay leaf to the side of the corned beef and add just enough water to come up about 25% of the way to the top of the meat.
  • Cook on low for 8-9 hours.
  • If for some reason the corned beef is not browned on top, or enough to your liking, put under a broiler (6-7 inches away) for 1-2 minutes.
  • Leave the oven door open a bit so you can look in, this isn't something you can leave unattended.

Nutrition

Calories: 351kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 2072mg | Potassium: 509mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 46.3mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 2.9mg
Keyword: corned beef, Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef

 

Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef with a crispy crust. No soggy Corned Beef, even from a slow cooker!
Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef with a crispy crust. No soggy Corned Beef, even from a slow cooker!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I never ever leave reviews or comments on recipes. UNTIL TODAY. I made this corned beef today – followed instructions and then went off book a little – added a little mustard on top before cooking. Cooked for 8.5 hours. Let sit in hot crock pot and cool down for another 30 min or so. And then tossed that baby in the air fryer at 375 for about 5 minutes. I gotta tell you: this is the most tender, delicious corned beef I’ve ever made – and in the top of one’s I’ve ever had. Super yummy. The long low and slow rendered the fat beautifully so it was just juice and moist and flavorful. It also releases a lot of juice so I think next time I might do 3/4 C water. GREAT RECIPE. THANK YOU!!

  2. I couldn’t believe how good and easy this was to cook?? my new way to cook my corn beef for St. Patrick’s Day!!!

  3. Just tried this with a 3.75 pound corned beef, but after trimming the significant layer of fat, it was probably more like 2.5 pounds. I followed the instructions using white sugar, not brown, and cooked in a crock pot on low for 6 1/2 hours, checking with a meat thermometer at 4 hours, as I’m not used to using my older model crock pot for meat. I did need to run it under the broiler to get a nice even crisp on it, and served it immediately with fabulous results. I have a couple of very large pieces that will need to be baked in the oven, so looking forward to other readers’ success with that method, either wrapped in foil or using a covered roaster. Great recipe!

  4. Excellent, my go to recipe, been using this for years as my once a year corned beef for St Paddy’s day-family loves it??

  5. Excellent, my go to recipe, been using this for years as my once a year corned beef for St Paddy’s day-family loves it??

  6. I seen that there were comments about adapting this to the oven any thought you can share on this because I’m not able to find those, it only lets me look at their most recent even when I try to reload the comments

  7. The corn beef sive scene did not come with any packet. In fact the one I have right now in the frigerator doesn’t have 1. What should I use for the packet spices? Because everyone says what a good recipe it is but nothing I’ve seen comes with any spice packet

    1. I’ve used “Pickling Spice” by McCormick in the past, a chef told me that trick, pretty much the same thing.

    2. You should be able to find pickling spice, and that will work, too. I usually add some because the packets are enough for me anyway!

    1. I made this recipe last year and did it by it self and it was delicious! Now tomorrow I will be putting my baby red potatoes, onion, carrots and cabbage at half way. I’ve done other recipes that you put it all in at once, but I thought the vegetables were over cooked! Good luck and Erin go bragh!

    2. I’ve always added the carrots and potatoes early in the crackpot and the cabbage (if there’s room) for the last 2 hrs.

  8. Wonderful recipe. Next time I am going to decrease the vinegar and sugar to 1 tablespoon. Will definitely make again!

  9. This corned beef recipe is definitely a keeper!!!! So good and flavorful!! Poked holes with a knife through it to make sure the favor got all the way through! Cut all meat AGAINST the grain to ensure tenderness…

  10. This corned beef recipe is definitely a keeper!!!! So good and favorful!! Poked holes with a knife through it to make sure the favor got all the way through! Cut all meat AGAINST the grain to ensure tenderness…

  11. Can you clarify #3 in the instructions is it to 25% measuring from the top of the meat which I interpret as 75% from bottom to top. Or is it 25% measuring from the bottom which would be far less liquid

      1. I think I’m still confused as well, do you want 25% liquid or 75% liquid and only a little of the top of the brisket out of water? I did the 75% which was closer to a cup of water.

  12. I’ve made this recipe several times. It’s my “corned beef sandwich” corned beef recipe!

    Question: is it ok to prepare, season the meat with the other ingredients and put the crockpot in the fridge the evening prior to cooking the corned beef?

  13. I ruined my 3.28 lb organic uncured corned beef round flat. Set the crock pot for 8 hours to check it early. Ended up checking it at 7 hours and it was already too late. I could tell by looking it was too late, checked it with the thermometer and it was 202 degrees when I pulled it back out. Maybe something is wrong with the low setting on my crockpot? I am wondering if it’s because this recipe uses so little liquid. I wish I had used the instructions on the bag and cooked it on the stove top.

    1. That’s so sad. I no longer trust the crock pot. I had four at once and every one ran hot. I prefer to use a heavy cast iron dutch oven, and I’ll even add foil under the lid. Alternatively, a local corned beef butcher advises wrapping his roasts in foil, loosely, but sealed tight, without any added liquid at all. I always put the foil-wrapped corn beef in a roasting pan, too, because it will release a ton of liquid and you don’t want to spill it all over the oven. This method comes out very, very well when I make his. The only issue is that other store bought corned beefs can be excessively salty, in which case adding more water helps dilute that. The extra both is great for boiling potatoes and vegetables anyway. Whatever you do about the liquid, you can replace your slow cooker by using the oven at a low temp.

  14. I ruined my 3.28 lb organic uncured corned beef round flat. Set the crock pot for 8 hours to check it early. Ended up checking it at 7 hours and it was already too late. I could tell by looking it was too late, checked it with the thermometer and it was 202 degrees when I pulled it back out. Maybe something is wrong with the low setting on my crockpot? I am wondering if it’s because this recipe uses so little liquid. I wish I had used the instructions on the bag and cooked it on the stove top.

    1. I’ve found that newer slow cookers in general are much hotter than older slow cookers. I always find that even on low the food is cooked sooner than the recommended cooking time.

  15. The dish is amazing. I have made it a couple time. After the beef is thru cooking I like to put the whole brisket under the broiler to crisping the outside. Works great. Yummy!

  16. Sounds like you didn’t cook it long enough she said 9 hours, not 7 but it also depended on the poundage.

  17. Super flavor. Cooked the day ahead as directed. Refrigerated overnight. Sliced perfectly thin for sandwiches. Used extra extra sourdough rye bread, grilled on one side. Homemade coleslaw, provolone cheese, brown mustard, thousand island. Side dish of apple slices, red grapes and orange pieces. Kettle chips. Kosher dill spears. A meal for royalty!! A new family favorite!!!

  18. I’m wondering why mine isn’t tender at all. I’m 7 hours into slow cooking and it is super tough. What may have I done wrong?

    1. Sounds like you didn’t cook it long enough she said 9 hours, not 7 but it also depended on the poundage.

  19. This is the best corned beef recipe I’ve ever had – turned out 100% perfect, and I just googled it again because I’m making it again tomorrow.

  20. I’m trying this recipe right now but I used monk fruit as the sweetener. Has anyone else tried this? I will update my results.

  21. Hi,
    I’d love to try this recipe. You mention a spice packet with the corned beef. My corned beef didn’t come with any spice packet. Can you recommend a spice packet or just give me the spices (with their measurements) so I can make it myself? I’m not very good at eyeballing this kind of stuff.
    Thanks. I’ll let you know how it comes out.

  22. I made this in the crock pot and not a scrap of corned beef was left, literally!! And for corned beef, that’s saying a lot. I want to make this again but my corned beef is way too big for my crock pot. Have you ever cooked it in the oven low and slow? If so, how did you cook it? Thanks so much!!

  23. I followed the recipe minus adding the packet on top. I chose fresh cracked pepper to cut the sodium. I cooked it low and slow for 9hrs and I was sad to see a grayish looking brisket. I tossed it in the air fryer for 10 min on 375 to add the crisp and color then wrapped it in foil to let it rest. Hands down the BEST CORNED BEEF I’VE EVER MADE! I will never cook it any other way! Awesome recipe, thank you!

  24. I am new to making corned beef, and was impressed by all the reviews here – and the pictures look amazing. Mine did not turn out as described at all, and I’m wondering where I went wrong. I did 9 hours in the slow cooker on low, adding potatoes, carrots and cabbage at 7 hours. Vegetables were cooked perfectly and delicious, but the internal temperature of the meat was over 200, and it was dark brown and dry. I tried a second brisket the next day without added the veggies thinking it might help to just do the meat separately, with the exact same result. Meat was already 180 in 2 hours, and dark brown. How is everyone getting this beautiful pink color and juicy-ness? Mine is soggy and overdone every time. Is starting with ‘corned beef’ different than starting with brisket? I thought they were the same, just minus the spices. Is my crockpot temperature messed up? I’m not new to the kitchen, what am I missing here?

    1. Hi Jaqcal, yes Corned Beef is different from brisket even when using the same cut of beef. Corned beef is cured with a pink salt that gives it a very vibrant pink color even when cooked to a shreddable well done. If you use a brisket it will never have the same color. What do you mean by soggy though? A slow cooker couldn’t get a whole brisket to 180 degrees in 2 hours. Would love to troubleshoot more.

  25. I made this back in April and it was delicious!! Problem being there were no leftovers!! Corned beef was on sale last week and I have two 3lb. briskets, will I need to adjust the cooking time?

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I wouldn’t stack them in the slow cooker, cook them one at a time to be sure they cook through well.

  26. I’ve never made corned beef brisket before, and I’m so glad I picked this recipe. Fantastic flavor and I love the crispy crust. I found a mustard horseradish gravy recipe that went perfectly drizzled over the corned beef. Note to self next time…boy does it shrink! LOL Will definitely make again.

  27. Best corned beef recipe I ever made. Perfectly tender and so flavorful. I cooked my cabbage in a frying pan with lots of garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt & pepper. Mixed the corned beef in with the cabbage and served it with egg noodles. It was a hit!! I liked the fact that everything wasn’t boiled in water.

  28. Tastiest corn beef….. so tender!
    Never had tasted one so good!
    Thank you for sharing – it’ll be a regular at our place ?

  29. This was so amazing. I’ve only made corned beef once or twice before, and they were not this good. I made the oven roasted adaption of 1 hr/ pound that I found in the comments. Otherwise, I did everything the same, except I used brown sugar, as I didn’t have regular. Still warranted amazing results. So easy, and it was so tender. Will never make it another way again. I also sent it to my mother-in-law, as I told her about it, and she requested the recipe. My husband said “it’s actually REALLY good!” Thank you!!!!

  30. This is truly the best corned beef I have ever made! It was a huge hit with everyone in my family and so easy to make.

  31. Oh M G. Do exactly as Sabrina says. Sooooo delicious. Served with buttery horseradish roasted potatoes. Will use this recipe over & over. Thank you for sharing!

  32. My husband said this is the BEST corned beef he had ever eaten. Thank you!! I found my go to way to cook corned beef!! This recipe is an absolute winner!

  33. Eh, while the corned beef was delicious I in no way had a crispy top, even after a broiler session. The sugar in the braise really added a nice flavor to the meat though.

  34. I am currently making this right now…after reading about the confusion of how much wate, I may not have put enough water in. Will this make it tougher? I am 7 hours in…