24 of the most Amazing Corned Beef Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are the secrets to cooking corned beef? ›

It is often sold precooked, but if you have purchased it raw, the best way to cook corned beef is slowly. You can bake, boil, or cook it in your slow cooker, but the key to a tender, flavorful meal requires at least a few hours.

The most common method for cooking corned beef and cabbage is boiling. Put the meat in a large pot, cover it with water or beef broth, add a seasoning packet and boil before lowering the heat to a simmer. Cook for 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is tender and cooked to your liking.

Point Cut: The Secret to a Flavorful Feast

As a cut of corned beef derived from the fattier end of the whole brisket, it's distinguished by its significant fat marbling and denser connective tissue, characteristics that promise a juicier and more flavorful feast.

Depending on the pickling solution used for the meat, you may be in for a saltier meal than you bargained for if you cook the meat without rinsing it. And don't worry: Rinsing won't make the beef taste bland! The flavor is infused deep into the beef during the curing process.

Corned beef is made from one of several less tender cuts of beef like the brisket, rump, or round. Therefore, it requires long, moist cooking. Corned beef is safe once the internal temperature has reached at least 145 °F, with a three minute rest time, but cooking it longer will make it fork-tender.

Slow-cooking corned beef is an effective way to achieve tender results with minimal hands-on time. Simply turn on the slow cooker in the morning, then go about your day without worry, leaving the house if need be, while your meat magically tenderizes.

To make the corned beef, open the sealed package right over the slow cooker, because you want to include the brine in the cooking liquid. Don't discard the brine.

It's a good idea to do so. Don't worry that you will be rinsing away flavor. Rinsing the corned beef means it will be less salty. Also, keep the seasoning packet if one came with it.

Should You Boil or Bake Corned Beef? Really, it's up to you. Both methods create a juicy, tender corned beef when done properly. Traditional recipes, like our corned beef and cabbage or glazed corned beef, call for simmering corned beef in spiced water for about three hours.

Soaking helps draw out some of the salt from the curing process. Choose your cut of corned beef wisely. A point cut has more fat marbling and produces juicier slices, while a flat cut is leaner and easier to cut into nice slices.

Why is my corned beef always tough? ›

When you're done cooking the corned beef, make sure you slice against the grain of the meat. This will produce a more tender result; if you slice with the grain, you'll find a more tough and stringy texture when you chew.

Corned beef is typically made from beef brisket – a relatively inexpensive cut of beef – cured in salt brine, with some pickling spices: bay leaf, peppercorns, mustard seed, juniper berries, coriander seeds, and whole cloves. Corned beef gets its characteristic sweet and tart taste from the brine.

If you're looking for a more tender and juicy meat, the best cut of corned is point cut. It has more marbling and fat which is the reason why it's more flavorful, soft, and juicy than flat cut. Both cuts are tough cuts of meat though, so they require low heat and slow-cooking methods.

Commonly used spices that give corned beef its distinctive flavor are peppercorns and bay leaf. Of course, these spices may vary regionally. Uncooked corned beef in a pouch with pickling juices which has a “sell-by” date or no date may be stored 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator (40 °F or less), unopened.

When you're done cooking the corned beef, make sure you slice against the grain of the meat. This will produce a more tender result; if you slice with the grain, you'll find a more tough and stringy texture when you chew.