Corned Beef and Cabbage

In this traditional recipe popular for St. Patrick’s Day, corned beef is slowly cooked with cabbage, carrots and red potatoes until tender and then served sliced with the vegetables on the side. This dish is much more Irish-American than Irish. Beef traditionally wasn’t actually all that available in Ireland – in Gaelic Ireland cows were a sign of wealth and were considered sacred. 

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

What is a flat-cut brisket? 

Brisket comes from the lower chest of the cow. Since it is a weight bearing area of the cow the connective tissue is tough which makes it a great cut for slow cooking or smoking. The flat, also called the first cut, lays flat with a fat cap on top (hence the name). It is a leaner cut and slices well which makes it a great cut for this recipe. 

What gives corned beef it’s red color? 

The sodium nitrite and table salt combination (pink curing salt also referred to as Instacure and Prague powder) used in the brining process gives corned beef its red color. The addition helps to preserve the meat by fighting harmful bacteria while it keeps the color bright rather than a grey. It’s a controversial ingredient and can easily be omitted in this recipe. 

How to Make Corned Beef and Cabbage

1. Make the brine. To brine the brisket bring a large pot of water over medium heat and stir in both salts, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, cloves, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and allspice, stirring until the mixture is warm and the salt and sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Brine the brisket. Let the brine come to room temperature then add to a container large enough to fit the brine and the brisket. Add the brisket and weight the meat down with something heavy like a plate. Cover and refrigerate for 5 days, turning once a day.
3. Rinse the brisket. When ready to cook the brisket, or if using a store bought packaged corned beef brisket, remove it from the brine and rinse it completely.
4. Add to a baking dish. Heat oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Place the brisket in a Dutch oven or baking dish large enough to hold the brisket.
5. Cook the corned beef. Pour the beer over the top. Add just enough water until the brisket is covered. Tightly cover with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Let cook for 2½ hours.
6. Add the vegetables. Add the potatoes and carrots into the liquid around the beef then add the cabbage over the top. Cover and cook until the brisket is tender enough that a fork can easily be inserted into the meat, about an additional hour.
7. Let cool and slice. Let cool then remove to a cutting board and thinly slice the meat against the grain into ½” slices and serve with the potatoes, carrots and cabbage.
8. Store. Keep the meat in the cooking liquid until ready to use, for up to 3 days.

Tips and Tricks for This Recipe

When should I add the vegetables? 

Add the potatoes, carrots and cabbage towards the end of the cooking process. They are added after the meat is tender, so they don’t overcook. Cooking the vegetables in the meat-flavored cooking liquid will give it the great flavor that comes from the spices. 

How to Store Corned Beef

Keep the meat in the cooking liquid until ready to use, for up to 3 days.

How to Reheat Corned Beef

I slice the corned beef then add to a microwave-safe bowl with some of the cooking liquid and heat on high for about a minute or until warmed.

Other Recipes to Try

If you enjoy this corned beef recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:

• Bangers and Cauliflower Mash with Guinness Gravy and Mushy Peas
• Reuben Sandwich
• Irish Tacos with Corned Beef & Guinness Caramelized Onions
• Colcannon with Kale

Corned Beef & Cabbage

Print Pin

Prep Time 5 days d

Cook Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Serves 6

US Customary – Metric

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pink curing salt (Sodium nitrate)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 5 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons mixed peppercorns
• ½ teaspoon whole allspice
• 4 pound flat-cut beef brisket, fat trimmed
• 2 (12-ounce) bottles lager beer
• 1½ pound red potatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 small bunch carrots, trimmed and peeled if needed
• 1 medium head green cabbage, core left intact and cut into 4 wedges

Instructions:

• To brine the brisket bring a large pot of water over medium heat and stir in both salts, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, cloves, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and allspice, stirring until the mixture is warm and the salt and sugar is completely dissolved.
• Let the brine come to room temperature then add to a container large enough to fit the brine and the brisket. Add the brisket and weight the meat down with something heavy like a plate. Cover and refrigerate for 5 days, turning once a day.
• When ready to cook the brisket, or if using a store bought packaged corned beef brisket, remove it from the brine and rinse it completely.
• Heat oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Place the brisket in a Dutch oven or baking dish large enough to hold the brisket.
• Pour the beer over the top. Add just enough water until the brisket is covered. Tightly cover with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Let cook for 2½ hours.
• Add the potatoes and carrots into the liquid around the beef then add the cabbage over the top. Cover and cook until the brisket is tender enough that a fork can easily be inserted into the meat, about an additional hour.
• Let cool then remove to a cutting board and thinly slice the meat against the grain into ½” slices and serve with the potatoes, carrots and cabbage.
• Keep the meat in the cooking liquid until ready to use, for up to 3 days.

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