Corned Beef and Cabbage in an Electric Roaster

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This Corned Beef and Cabbage in an Electric Roaster recipe simmers corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots in apple juice or cider. It provides a sweet twist to a traditional recipe for a crowd.

Cooking Corned Beef and Cabbage in your Electric Roaster is So Easy

Did you know you can use an electric roaster oven to braise a delicious corned beef and cabbage recipe? This is one of those “throw it all together and cook” recipes. It makes juicy, flavorful slabs of corned beef and cabbage for a crowd like nobody’s business.

Once or twice a quarter, I help feed 300+ people for our weekly Fed and Led event at church. I round up my small group bible study members and spend two afternoons preparing everything in the church kitchen.

The church owns several electric roasters, which are the perfect way to feed lots of people at once. We’ve cooked ham, baked potatoes, prime rib, and even a turkey in a roaster.

Want a smaller version of this recipe? Keep reading to find the slow cooker version!

Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe Ingredients `

• Corned beef briskets: These come with an enclosed seasoning packet inside the packaging. When choosing a corned beef brisket, be sure to choose the briskets labeled as a “flat” cut. Do not use the briskets labeled as a “point” cut. For this recipe, the briskets should be 3-4 pounds in size.
• Small red potatoes
• Baby carrots
• Cabbage
• Sweet yellow onions
• Whole grain mustard: This adds great flavor and some zing to the meat, the vegetables, and the simmering liquids.
• Whole cloves of garlic
• Fresh thyme sprigs: If you don’t have fresh thyme, substitute dried thyme from your cupboard.
• Apple juice or apple cider: I loved how the apple juice gave the corned beef a slightly sweet flavor. Talk about delicious. Because the vegetables are only cooked for one hour in apple juice, they don’t taste sweet.

How to Slow Cook Corned Beef in an Electric Roaster

For exact ingredient quantities and complete printable instructions, read my recipe card.

Remove the insert, add 1-2 cups of water to the roaster, and replace the pan. Spray the insert well with non-stick spray, then preheat the roaster to 275 degrees F.

Spread the quartered onions in an even layer over the bottom of a greased electric roaster. Scatter the garlic cloves over the onions, followed by the fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Drizzle this with melted butter.

Gently pour the apple juice over the onion layer. Discard any liquids (this is the brine) that remain in the packaging.

Place the beef briskets fat-side-up on top of the vegetables in the electric roaster. It’s ok if you have to stack one on top of the other two. I prefer placing the fat-side-up of the corned beef briskets to allow the fats to be rendered down into the meat.

Pat the top of each brisket dry with paper towels. Then spread the jar of whole grain mustard over each brisket. Divide and slather it fairly equally between them.

Open the spice packets with the corned beef briskets. Sprinkle each one evenly over the mustard on each brisket. Sometimes, the seasoning packets are in a separate title package with the brisket, and sometimes, they have already been added to the brine that the brisket is contained in.

Let the corned beef briskets braise for 5 hours and begin to get tender when tested with a fork. What to Know for Successfully Cooking Corned Beef Every Time

The ticket to cooking tender corned beef successfully is always cooking low and slow. You cannot rush a good corned beef brisket.

Corned beef often gets a bad rap because it hasn’t been cooked long enough for the connective tissues within the meat to fully breakdown. This makes the meat tough to chew.

Cooking a low and slow brisket breaks down all that collagen and those sinewy muscle fibers while the fat renders itself right into the meat, creating something absolutely delectable!

While the corned beef cooks, slice each head of cabbage in half, then cut out the hardcore. Slice each cabbage half into 6-8 wedges.

At the 5-hour mark, place the carrots and whole baby potatoes around the briskets, then spread the cabbage out, covering everything in the roaster.

Cover the electric roaster with the lid once more and cook everything (still at 275 degrees F.) for another hour or until the briskets, potatoes, and carrots are very fork-tender when tested with a fork at the center.

Stick a fork into the brisket and gently twist, pulling the fork towards or away from you. If that speared piece comes easily from the brisket, you’re golden. The brisket is ready!

If the meat remains in one big hunk and doesn’t easily give to the pressure you put on the fork when you test it, keep cooking the brisket (covered) until it’s fork tender.

Remove the briskets from the electric roaster to a large cutting board with a channel around the edge for the meat juices to gather when slicing the corned beef. Tent the briskets with foil and let them rest for 30 minutes. Carve the briskets across the grain into 1/2-inch slices.

Place the corned beef slices alongside the vegetables onto plates then drizzle with the pan juices and enjoy.

We love corn bread with this complete meal and it’s delicious crumbled over the top of the cabbage, potatoes and carrots, drizzled with some of the pan juices. So simple and so perfect.

If you want perfect slices of corned beef (instead of meat falling apart into chunks), cool the fully cooked briskets and refrigerate them until chilled for at least 6-8 hours. Once chilled, the briskets will more easily be carved into beautiful slices that can be reheated.

When slicing meats such as corned beef, it’s really helpful to have a large wooden cutting board with a channel around the edge where the meat juices can gather. This channel prevents the juices from running over the sides of the cutting board and all over your counter.

Variation in the Slow Cooker

You can make a smaller version of this recipe for your crock pot.

Quarter an onion and scatter it over the bottom of a large, greased slow cooker. Top with a couple of smashed garlic cloves, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a bay leaf, three tablespoons of melted butter, and 2/3 cup of apple juice.

Lay a 3-4 pound corned beef brisket on top, fat-side-up, patting the fat nicely dry with paper towels. Spread 3 tablespoons mustard over the top, then sprinkle the seasoning packet over the mustard.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until the brisket becomes tender when tested with a fork. Uncover the slow cooker and add 1/2 lb. baby carrots, 1 pound whole baby potatoes, and half a head of cored and sliced cabbage.

Cover and cook on low for 1-2 hours or until the corned beef and vegetables are nicely tender and cooked throughout.

Remove the corned beef to a cutting board and tent with foil. After 30 minutes, carve the brisket across the grain into 1/2-inch thick (or thinner, if desired) slices. Serve with the vegetables on the side.

Does Corned Beef Need to be Rinsed

I don’t rinse my corned beef, but I do pat the top dry with paper towels so that when I add the mustard, it will stick and not slide off as I’m spreading it out.

Each cook has a personal preference, and there’s no wrong or right way here. Some cooks rinse the brine off because it’s salty, but that brine solution has already permeated the meat and there’s no way to rinse that away.

What to Look for When Choosing a Corned Beef

I like a nice “flat” corned beef that weighs 3-4 pounds – it’s very easy to work with and slices beautifully.

There will always be a good fat layer on one side of the corned beef (don’t let it scare you one bit) and you want to see lots of good fat marbling throughout the brisket, as well.

You can choose a corned beef “flat” or a corned beef “point.” I always go for the flat because I like how the fat slices so nicely once it’s tender. If you’re going to shred or chop your corned beef, opt for a point instead of the flat.

If you buy a whole brisket, that huge one that you always see in the meat case, it contains both the flat and the point. Plus, there is a lot of excess fat that has to be trimmed. I leave those for the guys who have huge smokers!

Best Size of Roaster Oven

My electric roaster is a 22-quart oven and it was very full once we added the top cabbage layer. Once all the vegetables cooked down, there was quite a bit of space remaining inside the roaster but it was very heavy.

A 20-quart electric roaster oven would work just fine for this recipe but anything smaller would requite using 3 pound briskets and only about one half to two-thirds of the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage.

As a good rule of thumb, a roaster can hold the weight of its capacity plus four additional pounds. For example, a 20-quart-capacity roaster can easily hold and cook a 24-pound turkey or two 12-pound hams.

Typically, electric roasters range in size from 16-quart-capacity to 24-quart-capacity, maybe even 26-quart.

Do Electric Roasters Need Water Added Between the Insert and the Base

There seems to be a lot of discrepancy here and every cook has their own opinion. Always consult the manufacturer’s recommendations and do as they direct.

When I’m cooking meats that I want to cook low and slow and keep very moist (such as this corned beef) I do add 1-2 cups of water between the insert and the base which puts about 1-inch of water across the entire bottom.

In my experience, adding water can help the insert cook foods more evenly beause heat radiating up from the base can’t create hot spots that burn foods in certain areas.

It also depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your recipe. If you’re ROASTING something at a high temperature, such as a turkey, and you want crispy skin, don’t add water.

**If you DO add water to the electric roaster base, be very carefuly if you move the roaster during the cooking process!! Steam can escape around the edge of the insert as the water moves inside and it’s very easy to get burned.

Ways to Use Leftover Corned Beef

If you have leftover corned beef, be sure you grill up a good Reuben sandwich.

Filled with corned beef, sauerkraut, and swiss cheese, Reuben Egg Rolls and their tasty dipping sauce are great anytime but we really enjoy them to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day.

Corned beef fritters cook up crispy and hot in just a few minutes. Serve these as an appetizer or a light lunch.