What is the best way to cook tender corned beef?

Question

My lovely irish mom used to make corned beef and cabbage every St. Patricks day. The way she prepared it seemed effortless and the meat was so tender - melted in your mouth!! She said there was a trick to it. She passed away and the recipe was lost with her. Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

You've got two ways to prepare this- boiled on the stovetop or baked/braised in the oven. Boiling (actually simmering nice and low so it doesn't get tough) gives you lots of flavorful broth to cook your spuds, carrots and cabbage in and baking gives you more of a roasted flavor and not as much liquid. Both are great. For boiling use a stock pot at least 6" or 8" tall, for braising use a roasting pan only a little higher than your beef.

Brown it in your pan a bit on all sides with a little oil if there isn't enough fat to keep it from burning. Towards the end of browning, spread a little Colman's mustard on top. I know, it's English so don't tell anyone! Also, throw in a chopped onion and carmelize it well. This will give lots of flavor to the broth.

After your beef and onion are browned, it's time to add liquid. I like to use a can of Guinness to deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Now the techniques diverge:

Boiling:

Add another can of Guinness and enough water to cover the beef plus an extra inch or so. Add the seasoning packet, if it came with one. Bring it up to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Again, don't boil the crap out of it, just a nice mellow simmer, it could take 3 hours to really get it just right. About the last hour or so, when you see it's starting to get tender, put in your carrots and potatoes. During the last 10 minutes, lay your cabbage wedges on top so you can fish them out later without breaking them.

Baking/braising:

Add another can of Guinness and just enough water to just enough water to come 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up the side of the beef. Braise in a 325º oven for up to 3 hours, until tender. About the last hour or so, when you see it's starting to get tender, put in your carrots and potatoes. When the corned beef is really tender, take it out of the roasting pan and let it rest on a platter. Lay the cabbage wedges in the broth and return to the oven until the cabbage is finished.

Cabbage:

I like to keep the cabbage in wedges. It looks pro and if someone doesn't want cabbage, they don't have to pick it out of the broth. Take off any nasty outer leaves and cut into wedges. Make sure you leave the core intact so it won't easily fall apart.

Which technique? If you like the broth, stove top. If you like a more roasted texture to your corned beef, make it in the oven. A combo technique is to start it on the stovetop for a few hours, then transfer the beef to a roasting pan and finish it in the oven with the potatoes and carrots, then you can boil the cabbage on the stovetop in the liquid. Anyway, it's a classic, hearty and filling.

Serve with bread and butter and more Guinness. Lots of it, plus a wee drop of Irish whiskey if you're so inclined.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Answer 2

Almost everyone here gave you good answers. But really, in today's world, unless you have more time than sense, a crock pot IS the ONLY answer. The flavors have time to just all meld together and it is fool proof. Put the hard veggies on the bottom of the crock pot (potatoes, carrots, onions) then the brisket, then about an hour before done place the cabbage on top. (with all the requisite seasonings; and don't use water for heaven's sake. Watery corned beef! What is that.) Actually, corned beef is not an irish invention, the best is from Kosher Delis ... and the best in the world from Meyerberg's deli in San Jose California (used to be in the Town & Country Shopping Center) second best at Cantor's Deli in Los Angeles Have a great dinner

Answer 3

Whether you are interested in Corned Beef and Cabbage because of Saint Pats Day or you just happen to like corned beef, you now have a favorite and famous restaurant recipe.

Corned Beef And Cabbage Recipe
Preparation time: 20 minutes. Cooking time: 2 1/2 hours. Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:
5 pound corned beef brisket
1 1/2 tablespoons pickling spice
1-2 Bay leaves
4 - 6 peppercorns (optional since your brisket is already seasoned)
2 heads of green cabbage
5 pounds small, red-skinned potatoes (for broiled or mashed potatoes)
Horseradish Sauce or spicy mustard

Instructions:
Trim excess fat from corned beef if necessary
Place corned beef in a large soup pot with seasonings and cover with cold water
Bring pot to boil and reduce heat
Remove meat from pot (but save the liquid), and place meat in a roasting pan and pour some of the beef cooking liquid over the corned beef (enough to cover the meat half way)
Cover the roasting pan and roast meat in a preheated 325 degree F oven for about 2 hours or until fork tender in the center
Prepare the vegetables by washing and cutting each cabbage into 8 wedges and scrubbing the potatoes
Place potatoes in a soup pot, pour beef cooking broth into the pot, cover and bring to boil
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are done (15-20 minutes)
Place cabbage wedges in a baking pan and pour a little corn beef broth over the cabbage, cover and bake in a 350 degree F oven until crisp tender (about 15 minutes)

To Serve:
Cut the corned beef brisket across the grain into slices, holding the knife at an angle to get broader slices
Place the sliced meat in the center of a platter and arrange cabbage around meat
Pour or ladle a little corned beef broth over all
Serve potatoes on another platter or in a large serving bowl
Serve with horseradish sauce or spicy mustard

Answer 4

Sorry to hear about your mom. Happy St. Patrick's Day

Braised Corned Beef with Cipoline Onions and Cabbage

Ingredients
5 pounds Corned Beef Brisket
6 tablespoons Peppercorn or Packaged Pickling Spices
1 pound Organic Carrots peeled and halved
1 medium Organic Cabbage (use Red Cabbage quartered or cut into wedges
2 cloves Fire Roasted Garlic chopped
Butter melted
1 pound Cipolline Onions peeled and halved

Preparation
Place the corned beef in water to cover along with the peppercorns or mixed pickling spices (corned beef sometimes comes with a pickling spice package). Cover the pot or kettle, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 hours or until tender, skimming scum off surface occasionally. During the last hour, add the carrots and onions and cover again. During the last 15 minutes, add the cabbage. Transfer meat and vegetables to a platter and brush the vegetables with the melted butter. Serve with boiled parsley potatoes, cooked separately

Answer 5

A three-pound corned beef will take about 3 hours to become perfectly tender. Check the meat occasionally, adding more water if necessary. Your corned beef is ready when it pulls apart easily. For a one-pot feast, you can add shredded cabbage and chunks of potatoes and carrots to the pot during the last half hour of cooking.

Answer 6

Baked Corned Beef

INGREDIENTS:
corned beef brisket, about 4 pounds
1 tablespoon mixed whole pickling spices
1 rib celery, sliced
1 onion, cut up
1 carrot, sliced
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1/2 cup sweet pickle juice

PREPARATION:
Wash corned beef and place in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Cover with cold water and add pickling spices. Add celery, onion, and carrot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

Cool corned beef in the broth. ( the broth you do your cabbage and veggies in) Place beef in a shallow roasting pan. Score fat. Mix brown sugar with mustard and rub over the brisket. Pour pickle juice into the pan. Bake at 300° for 1 hour, basting occasionally with the pan drippings.

Answer 7

take your roasting pan, place a little water in the bottom of it... you also will need something to keep the corned beef brisket up out of the water ... there are several methods to do that there are even wire type trivets made for cooking to se in bottom of pan...

but for convienience you could ball up pieces of aluminum foil to do this...

anyway to that water I add a little oil... I prefer peanut oil, you can use vegetable, or other cooking oil, even olive oil...

lay the corned beef above the water/oil mix then add the cabbage on top of it....

the water will lightly steam the cabbage and the brisket at the same time... use the lid on your roaster...

refer to the cooking instructions on the package your corned beef comes in time and temperature...

Also you may want to add just a little Lemon Juice from concentrat to the water... it'll make the cabbage stay tasting fresher...

Walt

Answer 8

Just put it into a crock pot with a bunch of cut up cabbage and carrots and about a cup or two of water. Turn to "low" for about 8-10 hours and enjoy. Or simmer on the stove top.
It's very simple and foolproof.

Answer 9

I don't know if this is the best way, but I always cook mine in either a crock pot or on the stove on really low heat for about 12 hours. It comes out tender. I'm curious if anyone has a better way too. Good luck to ya.

Answer 10

I watched Good Eats on Food TV last night, and he said the trick was to soak the beef in the brine for 10 days.