I love corned beef. Mark only puts up with it on my behalf. When I saw The Country Cooking of Ireland on the library shelf, I had all these grand intentions of making a more Mark-friendly St. Patrick’s Day dinner. This cookbook is truly drool-worthy – the photography is beautiful and had me considering things I’d never think of eating (like, everything in the “Offal” section). If you’re interested in Irish cuisine, I highly recommend checking it out.

In the end, I just couldn’t break up with my corned beef – I love it too much – but this slight variation was enough to make it a little different than the usual. The original recipe called for boiling the corned beef for serveral hours – the traditional preparation – but it worked perfectly in the crockpot too.

I served this alongside roasted potatoes and – of course – cabbage.

Corned Beef with Parsley Sauce
(adapted from The Country Cooking of Ireland)
Serves 4

2 lb. corned beef brisket with spice packet
2 T. butter
1 T. minced onion
2 T. flour
3/4 c. milk
2 t. minced fresh parsley
1/2 t. spicy brown mustard
Pinch of nutmeg

Place the brisket in a slow cooker. Sprinkle spices from spice packet over the brisket. Add just enough water to the slow cooker to cover the brisket. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When finished, reserve 3/4 c. of the cooking liquid.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add minced onion and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour and cook for an additional minute. Add the reserved cooking liquid, milk, parsley, mustard and nutmeg, whisking until smooth. Cook for 4-5 minutes longer, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens.

Serve the corned beef sliced, with the sauce poured over it.