Corned Beef

Enjoy the best Corned Beef ever with this simple homemade recipe! It’s easy to make in the oven, or in a slow cooker, after a 5 day brine in the fridge. The corned beef seasoning adds so much flavor to this traditional recipe, and a low, slow cook in beef broth makes this corned beef brisket juicy, tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

My journey to making homemade corned beef started when I decided to make corned beef seasoning to add flavor to store-bought corned beef. I was so inspired by the delicious flavors of the seasoning mix, that I decided to try my hand at making homemade corned beef for the first time.

With my membership card in hand, I headed to Costco to buy all of their briskets. Okay, maybe not all of them, but I bought a lot of brisket!

I tested the recipe with 5, 7 and 10 day brines, with different amounts of salt in the brine, and with different amounts of seasoning on the corned beef. I cooked it in broth and beer, just broth, in the oven, and in the slow cooker. Needless to say, this recipe was thoroughly tested and perfected before it made it’s way on to the blog!

So now it’s your turn to head to the grocery store and pick up a brisket to make homemade corned beef! And be sure to make extra, because the leftovers make the best hash for breakfast and corned beef sandwiches for lunch!

Ingredients

• Brisket – for this recipe I used a flat cut brisket. The brisket comes from under the breast and contains a lot of connective tissue, which is why it’s an ideal cut for low, slow cooking. The flat cut brisket seen in this post is the leaner half of a whole brisket. The point cut is the other half of the brisket that is fattier than the flat cut. Either one can be used to make this recipe, just know, that after you’ve cooked the brisket and removed the fat, you’ll end up with less corned beef (by the pound) if you use the point cut, instead of the flat cut.
• Salt – when using salt in a brine, the weight of table salt, kosher salt and pickling salt can vary greatly. This is why I use ounces, instead of cups, when making a brine. A basic kitchen scale online is less than $20 and something I use every week in the kitchen. If you don’t want to purchase a scale, you can use 1 cup of salt for this recipe.
• Granulated sugar
• Corned beef seasoning – click the link for my homemade spice blend, and the original inspiration for this recipe. It’s easy to mix up in 5 minutes and you can keep it in the pantry for up to 6 months, so you can easily make it ahead of time. It combines a delicious combination of spices like coriander seeds, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, bay leaves and fennel seeds.
• Premium curing salt #1 – also called prague powder #1, pink salt, or pink curing salt, I’ve always ordered this ingredient online, but you might also be able to find it at some specialty meat and butcher shops. This ingredient is made using sodium nitrate, which prevents food from going bad while it’s being cured or brined for an extended period of time. It’s also what gives the corned beef it’s signature bright pink color.
• Garlic cloves – fresh minced to add flavor to the brine.
• Beef broth – since this is the main ingredient used to cook the brisket, I recommend purchasing, or making, a high-quality beef stock. I recommend stock for this recipe because it has a richer, deeper flavor than beef broth. I found this Custom Culinary Beef Base at a restaurant supply store in San Diego and am absolutely obsessed with it. You can order it online direct with a $5 shipping charge. It’s a little expensive for beef bouillon, but oh my gosh the flavor is so good. (Not sponsored, just obsessed!)
• Carrots + onion + red potatoes + cabbage – optional additions to cook with the brisket.

Instructions

I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Brine the corned beef

1. Prepare the brine. Add 1 gallon of water to a large pot on the stove over high heat. Add sugar, salt, corned beef seasoning, pink curing salt and garlic to the pot. Bring the water to a boil, stir the brine until the sugar and salt have dissolved in the water. Turn the heat off and allow the brine to cool before pouring it over the brisket.
2. Brine the brisket. Place the brisket in a large container that can fit a 5 pound brisket and gallon of water. I tested this recipe using a 2 gallon zipper bag for one of the briskets. I placed the bag in an aluminum pan, to keep the brisket standing up and fully submerged in the brine, and just in case the bag leaked at all in the fridge. I also tested the recipe, placing the brisket and brine in a large roasting pan. I placed a ramekin on top of the brisket to make sure it was fully submerged in the brine. If using a roasting pan, or large container to brine the brisket, make sure to cover it fully before placing it in the fridge. If the brisket is fully submerged in the brine, you do not need to flip the brisket during the brining process. The brisket should be brined in the fridge for a minimum of 5 days and maximum of 10 days. The longer the brisket sits in the brine, the saltier the final corned beef will be. I recommend somewhere between 5-7 days.

Cook the corned beef in the oven

When it’s time to cook the brisket, follow the instructions below to cook it in the oven, or jump to the next section for how to cook it in a slow cooker.

1. Season the brisket. Remove the brisket from the brine. Do not rinse it. Simply transfer it from the brine to a large dutch oven. Cover the brisket with corned beef seasoning.
2. Add liquid. Pour beef broth into the dutch oven with the brisket. You can also use half broth and half beer if you’d like. I tested it both ways and enjoyed them both. If you like beer, definitely give it a try! I recommend using a pale ale, red ale or amber ale.
3. Add vegetables. Add quartered red potatoes, peeled, cut carrots and large diced onions to the dutch oven. If they’re not completely covered in the liquid, that’s okay. They’ll steam on top of the liquid in the dutch oven. Once you’ve added everything to the dutch oven, turn the heat on the stove top to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and transfer it to a preheated 350°F oven for 4 hours.
4. Remove from the oven and serve. After 4 hours, remove the pot from the oven. Remove the lid, then use a large slotted spoon to scoop the vegetables out of the pot and place them on a serving dish. Cover with a piece of foil to keep them warm. Remove the corned beef from the liquid and place it on a cutting board. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Slice the corned beef against the grain in 1/4 inch slices. Place on the serving dish with the vegetables. If you’d like to serve it with cabbage, I recommend preparing steamed cabbage while resting the corned beef. If you prefer to cook it with the corned beef, I recommend adding cabbage wedges to the dutch oven during the last 30 minutes of cook time.

Cook the corned beef in a slow cooker

If you prefer to set-it-and-forget it, use a Crock Pot slow cooker to cook the corned beef.

1. Season the brisket. Remove the brisket from the brine. Do not rinse it. Simply transfer it from the brine to a slow cooker. Cover the brisket with corned beef seasoning.
2. Add liquid. Pour beef broth into the slow cooker with the brisket. You can also use half broth and half beer if you’d like. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8-10 hours.
3. Add vegetables. Half way through the cooking time, add quartered red potatoes, peeled, cut carrots and large diced onions to the slow cooker. Continue cooking, then if you’d like to add wedges of cabbage, add them with 1 hour left on high, or 2 hours left on low. You can also steam the cabbage separately to serve at the end.
4. Remove from the slow cooker and serve. After the cook time, turn the slow cooker to warm. Use tongs to remove the corned beef from the slow cooker and transfer it to a cutting board. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing. Slice the corned beef against the grain in 1/4 inch slices. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the slow cooker and serve them with the corned beef.

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