Corned Beef

I’ve always found homemade corned beef to be way better than store bought, with the tiny seasoning packet that never seems to bring enough flavour to the potatoes and cabbage I add to the pot.

Rather than using a spice packet at all, my recipe uses a homemade spice mix - it gets used both in the brine and in the final boil.

This time around, I tweaked my spice mix for both content and amount, and the end result BLEW MY DAMN MIND.

This is far and away the best corned beef either of us have ever had in our entire lives. No exaggeration.

Not only was the tender texture of the beef perfect - and loaded with flavour - the spice in the boil gave a fair amount of kick to the vegetables in the boil.

This is no bland corned beef and cabbage - you don’t even need to add chicken broth or beef broth to the boil! AUGH so good!

The only thing to keep in mind: This is no spur of the moment endeavor.

Curing your own beef requires a week of it resting in the fridge, so if this is your first time? Just know that you have to plan ahead!

The actual labour involved is super insignificant, you just need to be aware of both the time involved, and the fridge space you’ll need to allocate for that time.

Serving Suggestions

As is, this is a fantastic corned beef and cabbage recipe - a complete meal when it’s done.

You can serve this traditional boiled dinner with some Guinness beer, a chunk of Irish soda bread, and call it a day.

That said, there are all kinds of great uses for leftover corned beef! Consider the following:

Corned Beef Hash

Chop up some corned beef, fry it in a pan with some onions and cut up potatoes.

Sure, you can use frozen hashbrowns if you like... but if you REALLY want to do justice to the meat?

The best way is to cook some extra potatoes in the boiled dinner, and let them chill before cutting THEM up for the hash.

It’s the same principle I use to make my Best Hash Browns Ever - the boil gives the finished hash browned potatoes the best texture and flavour, IMHO.

Just brown up the potatoes and onions as much you like, add the corned beef, and cook until heated through.

Epic Corned Beef Sandwiches

Thick slice some leftover corned beef, serve it up with whole grain mustard and Swiss cheese between a couple slices of rye bread - SO good!

Other Recipes

Looking for another great way to use up this flavorful, tender meat?

Set some aside for use in one of these fabulous recipes:

Reuben Egg Rolls
Irish Pizza
Reuben Buns
Irish Nachos
St Patrick's Day Charcuterie Board

... any of which are not only perfect St. Patrick's Day food, they’re sure to be loved any time of year!

Ingredients

This recipe has a bit of a laundry list of ingredients, but they’re all pretty simple ingredients and should be easy enough to find in most grocery stores.

Some notes for you:

Beef Brisket

There beyond designations like “grass-fed beef” and “organic” are a couple main types of brisket out there.

In terms of the cut of beef itself, you’re likely to find:

Point Cut Brisket

This is the part of the brisket that was attached to the rib, and has a LOT of fat involved.

Flat Cut Brisket

This is a brisket that’s had most of the layer of fat - the “Deckle” cut off, and is what I prefer to use when making homemade corned beef. (Though many prefer to use the point cut!)

That said, if you end up getting point cut - as I did when making the batch to photograph - you can always carefully cut the excess fat off before brining it.

Pickling Spice Mix

This recipe uses a homemade pickling spice mix, both for the brine and for the boil. You’ll use some of it up front, and keep the rest in an airtight container while the brine does its thing.

My pickling spice blend uses:

Mustard Seeds
Black Peppercorns
Allspice Berries
Coriander Seeds
Red Pepper Flakes
Whole Cloves
Dill Seed
Bay Leaves
Cinnamon Stick
Ground Ginger

Prague Powder

As with my Back Bacon, Montreal Smoked Meat, and Peameal Bacon recipes, this corned beef recipe uses Prague powder #1 cure , a pink curing salt that’s a mixture of salt and sodium nitrite.

This bright pink salt is commonly used in cured meats, and is what brings the vibrant pink color to this homemade corned beef.

Note: this is NOT the same thing as Himalayan pink salt! Prague cure is only to be used in small amounts for brining, and should never be consumed as-is.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you’ll need:

Kosher salt
Brown Sugar
Garlic Cloves
Red Potatoes
Large Carrots
Green Cabbage

... I just don’t really have anything to add, for these last few ingredients!

How to Make Homemade Corned Beef

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is a pictorial walk through.

Make The Spice Mix

Measure the mustard seeds, peppercorns, allspice berries, coriander seeds, pepper flakes, cloves, and dill seed into a nonstick pan.

Toast the spices over medium heat - stirring constantly - just until fragrant.

Transfer toasted spices to the small bowl of a mortar and pestle set - or spice grinder.

Crush or blitz the spices just a little bit - you want them broken up a bit, but not completely pulverized.

Stir in the crumbled bay leaf, cinnamon stick pieces, and ground ginger, stir to combine.

If you’re not making the brine immediately, transfer to an airtight container and store it somewhere cool and dark.

Make the Brine

Measure 4 cups of water (cool water) into a large pot, add salt, brown sugar, Prague powder, garlic cloves, and ¼ cup of the pickling spice mixture.

Store the remaining spice mixture in an airtight container for use in the cooking process!

Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add remaining cold water, stir to combine.

Allow to cool to room temperature.

Brine the Brisket

If you don’t have a large bag to brine the beef in, cut the brisket into 2 approximately equal sized chunks (crosswise, NOT lengthwise!).

Trim most of the visible fat from the fat side, if you’d like. Some people don’t bother, but I don’t like the extra fat on mine.

Wrap and chill until ready to use, if the brine isn’t already cool.

Once the brine is cooled, place one chunk of brisket in each of 2 gallon sized freezer bags - or 1 large bag, if you have one brisket piece.

Pour half the bring into each bag, if using two, or all of the brine (or as much as will fit) into 1 large bag.

Push out most of the air, seal the bag(s), and put them in the fridge – I put both bags into a 9 x 12 cake pan, just in case of leakage, etc.

Allow the brisket to brine in the fridge for 7 days, turning once daily to ensure the brisket(s) are completely submerged.

Cook the Corned Beef Brisket

After 7 days, discard excess salt brine, and thoroughly rinse the beef piece(s) with cold water.

Place the corned beef in a large pot or large Dutch oven, add enough water to cover it by a couple of inches.

Add the remaining pickling spice, stir well.

Cover and simmer for 3-4 hours, until brisket is fork tender and pulls apart relatively easily.

Note: the cook time can vary WILDLY. Take the cooking time provided as loose guidelines only - keep an eye it!

Add potatoes and carrots to the pot, cover and cook another 15 minutes or so.

As the potatoes and carrots are cooking, slice your green cabbage into wedges.

At the 15 minute mark, add the cabbage wedges to the pot, try to submerge them as much as possible.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat and vegetables from the broth.

Serving

Transfer the corned beef to a cutting board, use a sharp knife to cut slices across the grain - thick or thin, whatever you prefer!

Serve corned beef with boiled vegetables, spicy mustard, and horseradish sauce.

Note: If horseradish is too intense for your tastes, you can thin it out with a little sour cream, if needed!

Leftovers

Leftovers can be cooled to room temperature before being stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

I like to store leftovers in a bit of reserved cooking liquid, to prevent it from drying out.

More St Patrick's Day Recipes

Looking for more fun, tasty recipes to serve on St Paddy's Day? Here are a few fun Irish - and Irish-inspired - recipes to try:

Green Velvet Cake
Irish Stew Meatballs
Keto Irish Cream
Irish Pizza
Shepherd's Pie
Keto Shepherd's Pie
Irish Nachos
Hearty Beef Stew
Keto Beef Stew
Rainbow Bagels
Rainbow Charcuterie Board
Rocky Road to Dublin Brownies

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