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You don’t have to be Irish or wait until St. Patrick’s Day to savour a delicious piece of homemade corned beef. When I made it this week, my daughter couldn’t stop smacking her lips in delight and only paused to ask me why I didn’t cook corned beef more often. I had no rational explanation. My great uncle worked in New York City delicatessens for many years. He was the king of making the best pastrami and corned beef. Sadly, I never got his recipe and assumed you needed to be a master deli man to make it right. Wrong. Corned beef is  an easy, almost hands-off, simple supper to prepare. Needless to say, it is now being added to my stash of go to weeknight meals.

corned beef dinner on a white plate

What is Corned Beef?

Corned beef starts out as brisket. Pastrami can start out as brisket but can also be from a cut of beef closer to the belly called navel.  Both corned beef and pastrami start out in a salt water brine. Other seasonings, similiar to pickling spices, are often added to the brine. The salt used for corned beef is a large-grain rock salt know as “corns”, hence the name corned beef. Depending on what you do with the meat after it is brined will determine whether you are making pastrami or corned beef. Typically pastrami is rubbed with additional spices and then smoked. Corned Beef, on the other hand, is boiled with seasonings.  Since brisket is generally a tough piece of meat, both pastrami and corned beef become delicious and tender when cooked on a low heat for an extended length of time.

How Much Meat Should I Cook For 4 People?

Here’s a Balaboostas’s Secret I’ll let you in on. The first time I made corned beef for dinner, I was planning on feeding two hungry teenagers and 2 adults.  I thought 2 pounds would be more than be enough. WRONG! Corned beef shrinks when you cook it. I mean really shrinks. Kind of like when you accidently put your brand new linen blouse in the washer and dryer  and it comes out so small it can only be worn by your daughter’s favorite doll. When in doubt- cook more than you think you’ll need. The last time I made corned beef, I cooked almost 4 pounds worth for 4 people. I has some left over for lunch the following day and that was perfect.

slice corned beef on a white plate with potatoes and carrots

How to Cook Corned Beef

The beauty of this recipe is that both the ingredients and the measurements are very flexible and forgiving. You can substitue many of your pantry staples for any of the recipe’s ingredients (other than the pickling spice) that you might have on hand or wish to use up. For instance, if you don’t have Mitchell Steak Seasoning, cover both sides of the uncooked brisket with additional salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, tumeric and lemon zest. You could also use any flavorful meat rub you have in your spice rack. After you sear the meat in a dutch oven or stock pot, add the roughly chopped onions, carrots, garlic and beef broth. Toss the remaining spices into the pot by the handful. No need to dirty any measuring cups! Enjoy the freedom from precision. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for approximately 3-3.25 hours, until fork tender. Super simple. Super delicious.

raw corned beef covered in spices
corned beef with carrots, onions and spices in a dutch oven

Throw on something green, crank up some Irish jigs and let’s get cooking!

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slice corned beef on a white plate with potatoes and carrots
Print

Stress Free, Easy Corned Beef

No need to be Irish or to wait for Saint Patrick's Day to make this mouth watering, super simple corned beef. Serve with side dishes of roasted brussel sprouts or carrots and boiled or roasted baby potatoes. Bingo. You've found your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • Cutting board
  • Sharp knife
  • Dutch oven, soup pot or stew pot

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lbs. corned beef, remove from brine
  • Mitchell Steak Seasoning or favorite meat rub, optional, add enough to lightly coat both sides of meat
  • onion powder, add enough to lightly sprinkle on both sides of meat
  • garlic powder, add enough to lightly sprinkle on both sides of meat
  • tumeric, add enough to lightly sprinkle on both sides of meat
  • lemon zest from one lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large carrots , cut ino thick chunks or one 16 oz. bag baby carrots
  • 1-2 large onions, sliced thick
  • 2 32oz. boxes beef stock
  • 1-2 large handfuls pickling spice
  • 5-6 cloves garlic
  • 3-4 dried bay leaves
  • 1 handful corriander seeds, whole
  • 1 handful tarragon, dried, optional
  • 1 handful caraway seeds, optional
  • 1 handful juniper berries, optional

Instructions

  • Remove corned beef from package and discard brine. Generously coat both the top and bottom of the meat with the Mitchell Steak Seasoning or rub, if using one, onion powder, garlic powder, tumeric, lemon zest and salt and pepper.
  • Add olive oil to stock pot or dutch over and heat. Add meat, fat side down. Saute meat until lightly browned, approximately two minutes. Turn corned beef over and saute the other side for approximately 2 more minutes.
  • Add carrots, onions and beef stock. The meat should be almost covered by the stock. If not, add a litttle water to the pot.
  • Add pickling spice, garlic cloves, bay leaves, corriander seeds, tarragon, caraway seeds and juniper berries. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pot and simmer for approximately 3-3½ hours. Turn off stove and let corned beef remain in broth for 5 minutes. Remove meat from broth. Slice meat against the grain. Corned beef should be fork tender and delicious.
  • Serve with roasted or boiled baby potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts.

Notes

 
1. Don't be put off by the list of ingredients. Most are optional. This is meant to be an easy dump in your ingedients type of recipe. The corned beef will be delicious even if you omit some of the seasonings. I always err on the side of adding more flavor. That's the way I roll.
2. Pickling spice is an actual seasoning in and of itself. That's what the label says when you buy it. Some of the ingredients commonly found in pickling spice are mustard seeds, dried bay leaves, whole allspice, dried garlic, ground ginger, red pepper flakes and crushed cinnamon sticks. If you don't have pickling spice, you can add similiar ingredients individually. Buying it as a ready made mix is just easier.
3. Often brisket will come with a small packet of pickling spice. Fell free to use this as a start. It's not enough for me. That's why I suggest using pickling spice by the handful! Don't worry that pickling spice will go to waste if you buy it. I'm not one to recommend "one hit wonder" spices and seasonings. Pickling spice has many other uses. For example, you can add it to vinegar when making pickles (obviously!) or add it to water when boiling shrimp or lobster. Yum.

Love to hear your secrets for throw it in the pot, easy weeknight dinners. Please share your tips in the comments below.  Want to stay in the loop? Follow Balaboosta’s Secret on Facebook and subscribe to my emails below. Thanks, smiles.

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