Crock Pot Apple Juice and Brown Sugar Corned Beef

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Place the corned beef (cut in half if necessary), potatoes, carrots, onion, and cabbage into a large slow cooker.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple juice, brown sugar, and mustard until well mixed. Pour over the corned beef and vegetables in the slow cooker. Mix gently.

4. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.

5. Remove meat and vegetables and some of the cooking liquid to a platter with a lip to contain the juices.

6. Slice the meat thinly across the grain. Serve with vegetables and some of the cooking liquid. Rye bread with butter would be a nice accompaniment.

Low-Carb Variation

For a lower-carb version of this corned beef and cabbage recipe, replace the apple juice with water, eliminate the brown sugar, and add 1 cup chopped celery.

What the 'Corn' in Corned Beef Means

No, there is no corn in corned beef. The term derives from the beef being salt cured with large-grained rock salt, also known as "corns" of salt, a term rarely used in modern times.

Corned Beef Not Really Irish

Contrary to the prevailing belief, corned beef and cabbage is not really a traditional Irish dish. The boiled dinner tradition Irish immigrants brought with them to the U.S. was always made with pork, known as Irish bacon which is a lean cut similar to Canadian bacon, potatoes, carrots, and sometimes turnips.

In the States, pork was an expensive cut of meat, so clever Irish cooks settled for beef, a more economical protein. Corned beef, which they had experienced at the Jewish delis in their melting-pot neighborhoods, became the meat of choice because of its similarity to Irish bacon. Potatoes were another luxury in the States, so cabbage took their place in the boiling pot and a taste sensation was born.