slow cooked corned beef and cabbage

i'm from cleveland, ohio and my family introduced me to corned beef at a very early age. there is a restaurant in cleveland called slyman's. it has THE best corned beef sandwich's known to man. and woman. first of all, whenever we got there, it was always a line all the way out the door. but we didn't care. no one cared. we all wanted a sandwich! their corned beef sandwiches are piled sky high to the point where you will not be able to take a regular bite. you gotta bite half of the bite. lol. the corned beef literally melts in your mouth. it's extremely thinly sliced and full of flavor. every time i go back home, i HAVE to go there. needless to say, my mom cooked corn beef a lot. she rarely used the slow cooker but would simmer it in a pot. she didn't really use any spices or aromatics. just the wonderful flavor of corned beef. i would always look forward to it. this recipe is my version but it still takes me back. it reminds me of home.
ingredients:
- 1 (2 - 3lb) corned beef - raw, keep pickling packet
- 3 cups of water - or enough water to almost cover the corned beef
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar -
- 2 bay leaves -
- 3 garlic cloves - minced
- 1/2 onion - sliced into rings
- 3 carrots - peeled, chopped on the bias
- 1/2 of large head of cabbage - shredded
instructions:
take the corned beef out of the packet and reserve the pickling packet.
to the slow cooker, add the corned beef, pickling packet, water, balsamic vinegar, bay leaves, garlic and onion.
cook for about 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
add in the carrots and cabbage. season the cabbage with salt/pepper to taste.
cook for another hour - 1 hour and 1/2 (on high) or until the cabbage and carrots are fork tender.
remove the corned beef to a cutting board. slice to desired thickness, against the grain.
serve with the cabbage and carrots.
use the leftovers for my cheesy reuben sandwiches!
feel free to use savoy or napa cabbage, which would not take as long to cook as regular cabbage. however, they are usually more expensive.
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