My husband's side of the family has significant Irish heritage (Up Mayo!), so I always make sure to celebrate accordingly come St. Patrick's Day. I do depart from tradition in that I forego the cabbage, but I believe the classic spices and methods for corned beef are essentially perfect to begin with, so I see little point in trying to improve on it.
This corned beef recipe is great because it's fairly hands-off, and still produces an amazingly tender, impressive dinner. It embodies the simple beauty of Irish cuisine, and reminds me of misting rain and foggy evenings sitting in the pub.
Notes
- Alternate Vegetables: If you're sick of carrots and potatoes, you can try other root vegetables such as turnips or beets for a new flavor combination. I recommend getting smaller turnips and beets—they are not quite as bitter as the large ones and will cook more quickly.
- Sauces: This will pair extremely well with any mustard- or horseradish-based sauce. Just grabbing the bottle of regular mustard out of the fridge works great too.
- Cutting Corned Beef: You will want to make sure you have a sharp knife and are cutting against the grain of the meat (perpendicular to the direction of the fibers). Cut thin slices to serve traditionally, or cut and shred to put on sandwiches. Cutting too large of a chunk or in the wrong direction may result in your dinner guest getting long strings of meat. While still delicious, it's not as appealing to eat.
- Crockpot Cooking: You can also throw this into a slow cooker rather than using the oven. You can skip bringing the meat and water to a boil on the stove and just put it directly in the slow cooker along with your seasonings. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4, and still add your veggies at the 2-hour mark.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
FAQ
Yes! That's just an easier way to get to the same result as this recipe. Feel free to use the pre-mixed spices that come with your meat. Sometimes corned beef comes with two packets—I generally use both.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Grace Says:
Make sure to save the broth that's left over from cooking your corned beef. You can freeze or can it for later. It's delicious as a base for split pea soup, and many others.
📖 Recipe
Classic Corned Beef with Vegetables
Ingredients
- 5-7 lbs corned beef brisket
- 3 quarts water
- 2 onions
- 1 t salt
- ½ T whole cloves
- 2 t mustard seeds
- 2 t coriander seeds
- 1 t black peppercorns
- 1 t fennel seeds
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 lb carrots
- 2 lbs potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325℉. Rinse the corned beef brisket and add it to a large, oven safe pot with a lid, like a dutch oven. Add the water, and ensure there is enough water to cover the brisket with at least 2-3 inches above it. Quarter the onions and stick the cloves into the onion chunks. Add the onions and all spices to the pot with the corned beef. You can use a bouquet garni bag if you don't want the spices free floating around, but you don't need one.
- Bring the pot to boil on the stove. Then turn off the heat and cover the pot. Put the pot into the oven and allow it to cook for 4 hours.
- Peel the carrots and potatoes if you'd like, then chop them into large pieces. Add them to the pot in the oven at the 2-hour mark.
- After the 4 hours, ensure the carrots and potatoes are cooked through and tender by poking them with a fork. Then remove the corned beef and place it on a baking sheet.
- Turn the oven heat up to 400℉, and brown the corned beef for 5-10 minutes until it's darkened and crispy on the top. Then remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before cutting it. Lift the vegetables out of the broth and arrange them around the corned beef for serving.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!