Barley and lentils in slow cooker?

[whm1974]

The last time I made corned beef and cabbage in my slow cooker I forgot to rise the meat and the end result was the cooker getting full of water, but the food was fully cooked and tender after ~12 hours.

I'm getting a craving for Corn Beef again, but this time skip the cabbage and use barley and lentils instead. Do I include them from the start or add them latter like half way? What I'm thinking is that the barley and lentils will absorb some of the excess water while cooking.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Lentils and barley don't cook at the same rate as corned beef.

I would:

Rinse corned beef and simmer with spice packet (if any) for several hours.

With 30-45 minutes to go, throw in the barley and lentils. Watch that the barley doesn't absorb too much liquid because it can seriously gunk up the bottom of a dry pot.

OR

Take out the corned beef and smoke covered on a charcoal grill for about 30 - 45 minutes as a finishing step, and use this time to simmer the barley and lentils in the corned beef water. You'll have delicious smokey corned beef.

YMMV because lentils tend to get hard and crunchy when salted before cooking. The beef broth will be salty so not sure how this would affect lentils. Rule of thumb for lentils is to salt after cooking, not before, to prevent them from staying crunchy even when cooked. So maybe cook the barley with the beef broth and cook the lentils separately for 15-30 min until soft, then throw them in with the broth. Make sure the broth isn't too salty or else all of that salt will be absorbed and concentrated into the barley.

 

[whm1974]

I didn't know that about salt and lentils, thanks.

 

[whm1974]

On another note maybe I'll just make pot roast with slow cooker using barley and lentils. I'm supposed to watch my salt intake anyway.

 

[whm1974]

Lentils and barley don't cook at the same rate as corned beef.

I would:

Rinse corned beef and simmer with spice packet (if any) for several hours.

With 30-45 minutes to go, throw in the barley and lentils. Watch that the barley doesn't absorb too much liquid because it can seriously gunk up the bottom of a dry pot.

OR

Take out the corned beef and smoke covered on a charcoal grill for about 30 - 45 minutes as a finishing step, and use this time to simmer the barley and lentils in the corned beef water. You'll have delicious smokey corned beef.

YMMV because lentils tend to get hard and crunchy when salted before cooking. The beef broth will be salty so not sure how this would affect lentils. Rule of thumb for lentils is to salt after cooking, not before, to prevent them from staying crunchy even when cooked. So maybe cook the barley with the beef broth and cook the lentils separately for 15-30 min until soft, then throw them in with the broth. Make sure the broth isn't too salty or else all of that salt will be absorbed and concentrated into the barley.

So how much barley and lentils do I add, half a cup of each or a whole cup? I have a 5 Quart slow cooker.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

So how much barley and lentils do I add, half a cup of each or a whole cup? I have a 5 Quart slow cooker.

Lentils and especially barley absorb 2.5 - 3 times their volume in water. And you don't want them to soak up all the water which will leave the bottom of your pot dry to gunk up on the burner. So it depends on how much water you intend to add to the corned beef.

 

[whm1974]

Lentils and especially barley absorb 2.5 - 3 times their volume in water. And you don't want them to soak up all the water which will leave the bottom of your pot dry to gunk up on the burner. So it depends on how much water you intend to add to the corned beef.

Thanks. I usually add a cup or less of water when I make corned beef and cabbage in the Crockpot. So with a half cup of each, this should be about three or four cups of water?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Thanks. I usually add a cup or less of water when I make corned beef and cabbage in the Crockpot. So with a half cup of each, this should be about three or four cups of water?

Yup, sounds good. The corned beef will release some water as well but it's fine to overshoot the water.

 

[whm1974]

What about adding mushrooms and how much?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

What about adding mushrooms and how much?

Mushrooms can't be overcooked and will end up releasing water, so you can add them at the start in this case.