Best Baked Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe

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Enjoy this traditional Baked Corned Beef recipe this St. Patrick’s Day! By slowly roasting salty and sour corned beef with a head of cabbage and some earthy leeks, potatoes, and carrots, all of their flavors meld and balance perfectly, creating a fork-tender baked corned beef recipe. A sweet, smoky bourbon glaze ties everything together with a delicate sweetness. 

When you bake corned beef, it develops a crispy crust on the outside that gives way to tender, juicy and flavorful meat on the inside, plus its hands off! Love that!

I enjoy giving precise details in my recipe posts to lead my readers through any questions. If you’re just here for the printable recipe, feel free to click “Jump to Recipe” right under the title of this post, and you’ll head straight there!

A Traditional Irish Meal

This St. Patrick’s day, blow everyone away with some tender, oven-roasted corned beef, and cabbage.

My recipe is inspired by an old James Beard Irish corned beef and cabbage recipe, with a few fundamental changes: a slow simmer in a large Dutch oven at a low temperature in stout beer, and I’ve reduced the sugar and bourbon in this gorgeous brown sugar and bourbon glaze. 

On its own, this meat is salty and sour. By slowly roasting with a delicious stout beer, all of the deep, rich flavors of the meat are brought to the surface. It’s served with soft, sweet vegetables and coated in my rich, warm bourbon glaze. Yum! 

Simple Ingredients

Ingredients, directions and nutritional information in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

• Corned brisket of beef | The crowned jewel of the baked corned beef recipe, if you can find one purchase without nitrates or nitrites
• Peppercorns | this will replace the spice packet, but you can add the flavor packet instead of the peppercorns if you wish.
• Guinness Beer | Or other dark stout beer
• Carrots, Leeks, and Potatoes | Use Yukon gold, new or red potatoes.
• Cabbage | You can choose to slow roast the cabbage in the beer or oven roast it; either way is delicious

Bourbon Glaze Ingredients

• Brown Sugar
• Apple Juice or Cider
• Mustard | I used Dijon, but you can use your favorite mustard
• Bourbon | Replace this with additional apple cider if you choose.
• Garlic | Just a few garlic cloves add a little more depth to the glaze.

How to make Baked Corned Beef

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 1 – Important Rinse Corned Beef

Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towels. Do not worry about rinsing away the flavor, the meat is fully infused with flavor by this point and this way you rinse some of the extra salt. 

Place fat side up in the covered pot you’ll use for baking, 5-8 quarts in size — I use my Dutch Oven for thorough, even heating. You can also use an oven safe pot with a lid.

Step 2 – Add Seasoning and Liquids

First, open the Guinness, or your choice of stout, and pour over the corned beef adding cold water until it is covered two-thirds of the way.

Second, add the black pepper peppercorns or seasoning packet to the pot. If baking with leeks or carrots, add them now if you don’t mind super soft carrots, or wait and add them with the potatoes. You will not need excess salt for the meat or the veggies; it is salty enough.

And finally, cover the pot, and cook for 4 hours. Remove the meat and place it in a baking dish.

Step 3 – Add carrots and potatoes

Third add the carrots and potatoes to the beer mixture, cover, and bake for another 45 minutes. After the veggies have softened, add the cabbage*. You can also roast the greens separately in the oven or in a covered pot on the stovetop.

Increase the oven temperature to 400° F (204° C) while you prepare the bourbon glaze.

Step 4 | How to Make Bourbon Brown Sugar Glaze

Add all of the glaze ingredients to a saucepan and whisk together. Heat the mixture on low and slowly simmer, stirring regularly until it has reduced to a thicker, glossy glaze. 

Lastly, brush the glaze over the meat, coating it thoroughly. Bake for 30 minutes, basting or spooning the sauce over the meat every 10 minutes. 

Finally, remove the meat from the oven and tent it with aluminum foil on a cutting board, allowing it to rest. After 10-15 minutes, slice into half-inch, thick slices, cut against the meat’s grain, and transfer to a serving dish; nestle the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage around the beef.

Pour the remaining glaze overtop and serve the baked corned beef with cabbage and roasted veggies. The veggies are incredibly delicious when brushed with melted browned butter (or regular melted butter) before serving.

Be sure to check out my post on Traditional St. Patrick’s Day Food or this comforting Skillet Shepherd’s Pie that’ll warm you up from the inside out. And for dessert, serve Guinness Chocolate Cake and this traditional Irish coffee cocktail.

Variations

• Skip the Alcohol – Substitute the stout with mushroom, chicken, or beef broth. The complex flavor of bourbon is harder to replicate, but you could use ginger beer or more apple cider if preferred. 
• You can replace the peppercorns in this recipe with the seasoning packet that comes with the meat. 
• Add More Veggies – Plenty of other delicious vegetables, with oven-roasted corned beef and cabbage — turnips, onions, green beans, and brussels sprouts are excellent choices!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Corned beef?

And why is it called corned beef? This article from The Smithsonian is fascinating with the history and origin of corned beef, which in fact was first started in England.

However; the Cattle Acts of 1663 and 1667 prohibiting the export of live beef from Ireland to England. The British actually came up with the term corned beef or salted beef describing the size of the salt crystals used to cure the beef — they were corn kernel sized; corn beef or corned beef was formed, this was in the 17th century.

History of Irish Corned Beef

“With the large quantities of cattle and high quality of salt, Irish corned beef was the best on the market. It didn’t take long for Ireland to be supplying Europe and the Americas with its wares. However; this was much different than the corned beef we enjoy today.

The Irish immigrants almost solely bought their meat from kosher butchers. And what we think of today as Irish corned beef is actually Jewish corned beef thrown into a pot with cabbage and potatoes. The Jewish population in New York City at the time were relatively new immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe.

The corned beef they made was from brisket, a kosher cut of meat from the front of the cow. Since brisket is a tougher cut, the salting and cooking processes transformed the meat into the extremely tender, flavorful corned beef we know of today.” Smithsonian

This is one of the many reasons I love food blogging and I love history, the history behind traditional dishes is fascinating to me. I encourage you to read the entire article as it chronicles much of the history behind this famous St. Patrick’s day dish.

Storage

Store leftover corned beef in an airtight container refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to 3 months. To rewarm, you can quickly fry slices of corned beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Use leftovers to make a Reuben sandwich, give these fun variations from fellow bloggers a try, like this Rachel Sandwich (use leftover corned beef instead of the turkey), which is so good on toasted rye bread.

Try this classic Reuben sandwich or this delicious Cream of Reuben Soup using leftover corned beef!

Baked Corn Beef Recipe

This is the best-corned beef recipe for the whole family, served with horseradish, hot sweet honey mustard, Dijon mustard, or regular whole grain mustard.

Don’t just save this tasty recipe for St. Patty’s day either; fill the whole house with the tempting flavors, corned beef, and cabbage dinner.

How long to bake corned beef according to weight

The general rule of thumb when slow-cooking corned beef in the oven is about an hour per pound of corned beef brisket; however, use a meat thermometer once it hits 145° F (63° C), and it’s done! But let it rest!

• 1 pound – 1 hour
• 1 ½ pounds – 1. 5 hours
• 2 pounds – 2 hours
• You get the idea!

More recipes you will love:

• Bourbon Glazed Ham (Coca Cola Ham)
• Bangers and Mash with Milk Stout Gravy {Sausage and Mashed Potatoes}
• Traditional Shortbread Recipe
• Lucky Charms Bars
• Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup
• Instant Pot Rustic Mashed Potatoes {Stovetop & Crockpot too}

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Baked Corned Beef Recipe

Author: Kathleen Pope

4.50 from 20 votes

Traditional Baked Corned Beef and Cabbage this St. Patrick’s Day! Slow roasting salty and sour corned beef with leeks, potatoes, cabbage and carrots, all of their flavors meld and balance in perfect harmony creating fork tender baked corned beef recipe with a delicious smokey bourbon glaze.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course St. Patrick’s Day

Cuisine Irish, American

Servings 6 -8 Servings

Calories 754 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  STAUB Cocotte, 5.75 qt, Grenadine
• ▢
  AmazonBasics Enameled Cast Iron Covered Dutch Oven, 7.3-Quart, Green

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Baked Corned Beef

• ▢ 3-5 pounds corned beef , brisket, rinsed and patted dry
• ▢ 8 whole peppercorns, or use spice packet
• ▢ 12 ounces Guinness , or your favorite dark beer, stouts work great too
• ▢ 3 large carrots, peeled and quartered
• ▢ 2 whole leeks, washed well, sliced, rinsed and chopped
• ▢ 4-6 whole red potatoes, washed and quartered
• ▢ Do NOT ADD SALT

Bourbon Glaze

• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• ▢ ½ cup apple juice or cider
• ▢ 2 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ▢ ½ cup bourbon
• ▢ 1-2 cloves garlic , minced or pressed

Roasted or Boiled Cabbage

• ▢ 1 small cabbage, rinsed, cut into wedges
• ▢ 2-4 tablespoons butter, melted and browned, if desired
• ▢ Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C). Remove corned beef from packaging, rinse, and pat dry. 
• Place corned beef fat side up, in oven proof 5-8 quart pot, I used my Dutch Oven. 
• Pour beer over the top, adding enough cold water if needed to bring about ⅔ way up on the beef. Toss in peppercorns (or spice packet) and add leeks and carrots if desired. You may add carrots with the potatoes later for a less mushy carrot. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO ADD SALT, the corned beef is plenty salty and the liquids will impart that saltiness to your veggies!
• Cover and cook for 4 hours in the oven. Remove corned beef to a baking dish, set aside. 
• Place carrots and potatoes into the pot with beer and juices from corned beef; return the covered pot to the oven and cook for 45 minutes or so, until veggies are tender. Once tender, or close to it add cabbage if desired. Or roast cabbage separately. You can also do this portion on the stovetop if you don’t have enough oven space, just place a covered pot on the stovetop, over low simmer. 
• Meanwhile, make the bourbon glaze. 
• Preheat the oven to 400° F (204° C). In a small saucepan, mix all glaze ingredients with a whisk, bringing the mixture to a slow simmer; keep the flame low and stir, occasionally simmering until reduced, thickened, and glossy, about 10-15 minutes. Brush glaze over corned beef, brushing sides with glaze.
• Return to the oven, roasting for 30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with glaze. Remove and tent with foil for 10-15 minutes to allow the meat to rest before slicing. 
• When ready to slice, slice against the grain into desired slices. Serve with a drizzle of glaze, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. Delicious with Irish Soda Bread. 

How to Roast Cabbage

• Preheat the oven to 450° F (232° C); line a baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup. Brush both sides of the cabbage with browned butter (or olive oil) and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes until starting to brown, then carefully turn and roast additional 10-15 minutes until cooked through. Serve with sliced corned beef and veggies.

✱ Kathleen’s Tips

• DO NOT ADD SALT! It’s tempting to salt your veggies, but this dish is plenty salty!
• In the original James Beard baked corned beef recipe, the carrots, cabbage and potatoes are served with a coating of butter as well. I browned the butter, adding more flavor! Try it!
• If you find the salty flavor of the meat too overpowering, you can boil the corned beef before baking to remove some of the salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Then, discard the water and pat the meat dry.
• Oven roasted corned beef and cabbage goes so well with Irish Soda Bread. With just 4 ingredients needed, don’t hesitate to go the extra mile and make this savory bread right at home. 

FRESH TIP | I highly recommend roasting the cabbage, it doesn’t get quite as soggy as boiling, is a bit crisper in nature and roasting adds great flavor to each individual cabbage wedge. Be sure to brush with some browned butter.

How to brown butter – To brown butter, heat butter in a small pan over medium-low heat, swirl until it foams up and gets quiet, then keep swirling the pan occasionally until brown dots form in the middle. Butter is ready when it smells nutty. 

What is the best way to roast cabbage?

Roast cabbage at 450 degrees F on a baking sheet lined with foil. Slice into wedges, coat with either browned butter or olive oil, and season lightly with salt and pepper.Once it begins to brown, after 10 minutes or so, turn and roast the other side so that it bakes through completely.

How do I know if corned beef is cooked?

The safe internal temperature of beef is 145 degrees F. Once cooked, this cut should be fork tender. If in doubt use a meat thermometer, corned beef brisket looks bright pinkish red.

What is in the spice packet for corned beef?

The seasoning packet is a blend of pickling spices made up mostly of peppercorns, bay leaf, coriander seeds and mustard seeds.

Storage

Store leftover corned beef in an airtight container refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to 3 months. To rewarm, you can quickly fry slices of corned beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Use leftovers to make a reuben sandwich, give these fun variations from fellow bloggers a try, like this Rachel Sandwich (use leftover corned beef in place of the turkey) so scrumptious on toasted rye bread.

Try this classic Reuben sandwich or this delicious Cream of Reuben Soup using leftover corned beef!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving Calories: 754 kcal Carbohydrates: 54 g Protein: 36 g Fat: 38 g Saturated Fat: 13 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g Monounsaturated Fat: 17 g Trans Fat: 0.2 g Cholesterol: 133 mg Sodium: 2918 mg Potassium: 1120 mg Fiber: 5 g Sugar: 45 g Vitamin A: 6393 IU Vitamin C: 107 mg Calcium: 122 mg Iron: 5 mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Fresh Cooky is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

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About Kathleen Pope

Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer

Hi, I’m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen. Read more about Kathleen here.