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.
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.
Notes
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.StorageStore 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!