Slow-Cooker Beef Brisket with Beer

AH-ha-ha-ha...last fall Josh had sent me to the store to get some beer.  What he asked for was Miller High Life, the champagne of beers.  What did I buy?  MGD.  Evidently there is a BIG difference!  In all fairness, we had just moved and I wasn't as familiar with our "new" Wilson Farms and Miller had just changed the packaging of the High Life.  I know, excuses...excuses.  But I am not a beer drinker, so I deserve a break.

Needless to say the MGD was still in the basement fridge waiting for the perfect opportunity to be opened.  Either desperation or cooking would be my guess.  Cooking it is!

As I've said before...I love the slow cooker!  However, as I planned my meals this week I must not have been thinking when I decided Friday would be a great day for this meal.  Not only was it Friday during lent (luckily we are not Catholic)...but Thursday started parent teacher conferences and I made a pot of chili for the teacher dinner, which I delivered in my  CROCK POT!  Ugh.  So Friday morning I was hoping as I drove to my conference that my crock pot would be cleaned out and I could bring it home and put it together in time so we could eat before 8pm.  SUCCESS!  Just enough time to eat by 6:30.

I had never used parsnips before, but they are the white looking carrots usually found by the root vegetables.  You peel and slice them the same way you would a carrot.  I served this meal with a fresh garden salad because my guys are not huge fans of mashed potatoes and we had had enough rice this week.
I hope you enjoy!

"The older I get, the better I was."
 

Slow-Cooker Beef Brisket with Beer
12 servings       Prep time: 15minutes

1 3lb. beef brisket, trimmed
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Cooking spray
1/4 cup water
2 cups sliced onion
1/2 cups chopped parsnips (about 2)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 bottle of light beer

Rub brisket with salt and pepper.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat the pan with cooking spray.  Add brisket to pan and brown on all sides.  Remove brisket from pan.  Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, stirring to loosen browned bits.  Add onion and parsnip; saute until tender.

Place onion mixture, vinegar, bay leaf and beer in the slow cooker.  Place brisket on top of mixture.  Cover and cook on low 8 hours.  Discard bay leaf.  Cut brisket diagonally across the grain into thin slices.  Serve with sauce.