Almost A Convert

As a kid I hated corned beef. Also known as silverside, I thought it was just about the most disgusting, revolting meal that could be served up. Okay, sausages were pretty high on that list too but corned beef well and truly won in the "I'm not eating that and you can't make me" stakes. Mum always made plenty of white sauce to go with it and that was about the only thing that got me through.

But as prices rise and paychecks don't spread quite as far I'm starting to look for more economical meals. Corned beef is mentioned in just about every article on cheap cuts of meat, economical eating and cutting costs on groceries but I managed to ignore them and work out a whole bunch of other meals instead. One night I asked Hubby about his thoughts on corned beef and when he confessed to loving it (but never actually mentioning that in the 12+ years I've known him!) I finally gave up and caved in. I found a recipe for corned beef in the slow cooker and figured I'd give it a whirl.

This was fantastic! I really enjoyed it, which surprised the heck out of me, and so did the rest of the family. I made a really cheesy white sauce to go with it (just in case I still thought it was disgusting but had to pretend to like it for the kids) and some vegies to go along with it. See the broccoli in the photo? It's from our garden. Superb!

Slow Cooker Corned Beef

from the recipe pamphlet for the George Foreman Slow Cooker

1 silverside roast (1-1.5kg)

1 Tbsp oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

200ml beef stock

3/4 cup tomato juice

3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

sprig of thyme ( I used dried thyme)

4 cloves, to taste (didn't have any)

salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare vegetables. Trim the meat of excess fat. Heat oil and butter in a large pan and brown meat on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker. Add vegetables to the pan and saute for a few minutes, add the stock and tomato juice and bring to the boil. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce. Add the vegetable and stock mix to the slow cooker and add cloves, herbs and salt/pepper.

Cook on high for 7 - 9 hours or low for 8 - 10 hours (my slow cooker is not a George Foreman, I cooked the meat on high for almost 10 hours). Slice meat thickly and serve.