This is not the corned beef of your childhood! This is a tender, easy corned beef - cooked in an aromatic yet subtle mix of spices, and served with either a horseradish or parsley sauce - not the boring 90s corned beef everyone seems to have bad memories of! The recipe is super flexible - it can be made in a slow cooker/crockpot, on the stove or in the oven.
Corned beef is something I always make when the weather starts to get cooler - it's comforting on cold nights, easy to make and can blip away in a slow cooker/crock pot or on the stove all day. Everything cooks in a single pot or slow cooker - making clean-up a breeze.
I give two options for sauce with this corned beef recipe. The traditional white sauce, and a horseradish sauce. Spoiler: the horseradish sauce wins for me, hands down - but if you're a traditionalist, it's the best parsley white sauce that I've tried.
As corned beef is the foundation of dishes such as Reuben sandwiches, corned beef hash and more, this is a great corned beef recipe to use as the base.
Leftovers are great for a corned beef sandwich too - and even better when made with homemade deli rye bread.
What is corned beef?
Corned beef is a type of cured beef, traditionally made from brisket or silverside cuts. The name "corned" comes from the large grains of rock salt, or "corns" of salt, used in the curing process to preserve the meat before refrigeration was common.
As a staple in Commonwealth countries, it was an essential ration for military troops and sailors due to its long shelf life.
The curing process typically involves soaking the beef in a brine solution infused with spices and preserving salts, which give the corned beef its characteristic pink colour. Corned beef is a family favourite across Ireland, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, often served with carrots, cabbage and potatoes as I have done in this recipe.
Ingredients for Homemade Corned Beef
Check out the recipe card further down the post for comprehensive ingredients and quantities.
- Corned beef - either brisket or silverside. Brisket is not widely available outside the US/Canada, however if your butcher makes their own corned beef (many do), they'll be happy to corn a piece of brisket for you.
- Spice mix containing mustard seeds, coriander seeds, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, black pepper and garlic.
- Potato, carrot and cabbage for the vegetables. Feel free to substitute these out if you would prefer something else.
I also have recipes for two sauces, either a horseradish or parsley sauce.
For the horseradish sauce
- Sour cream - use full fat.
- Horseradish cream - i.e. jarred horseradish. If you're using fresh horseradish, which is difficult to find, you'll need to use significantly less than the recipe says. Finely grate it and add it to taste.
- Reserved cooking liquid from cooking the corned beef.
- Fresh chives.
For the parsley sauce
See the full recipe: parsley mustard white sauce for corned beef.
- Bechamel sauce ingredients - butter, flour, milk.
- Dijon mustard
- Parsley
Essential equipment you need to make Corned Beef
To make corned beef, you'll need one of the following:
- A slow cooker or crockpot.
- A Dutch oven.
- A large, heavy based pot with a lid.
- A baking dish that has a lid - this is suitable only for the oven.
How to cook Corned Beef
Check out the recipe card further down the post for comprehensive instructions.
- Prepare the vegetables by slicing the cabbage into wedges, the carrots into chunks. Lightly crush the garlic with a pestle, heel of a knife or something else that's heavy, like a saucepan. Remove any gnarly bits from the potatoes and halve any larger potatoes. Finely slice the chives.
- Add the beef and spices to a slow cooker/crockpot, Dutch oven or baking dish. Add water until it is half way up the beef.
- Cook the beef until tender.
- Rest the beef for at least 10 minutes.
- Optionally, make a sauce to serve it with - I have options for parsley and horseradish sauces.
Tips
- Corned beef should be cooked low and slow. This keeps the meat tender and stops it from drying out.
- If using silverside, don't remove the fat before cooking - it helps keep the meat moist. If using brisket, you can remove some of the fat cap as it can be thick - but leave on at least 1/2 cm (1/4"). Excess fat can be removed from both cuts after it's cooked and rested.
- Slice against the grain for the best result.
What to serve with Corned Beef - the best sides and sauces
I like to serve my corned beef with the horseradish sauce, and vegetables cooked in the same broth that the beef is cooked in. Typically, I cook cabbage, potatoes, and carrots, but you could use your favourite veg such as:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Swede
- Parsnip
- Pumpkin
- Peas
- Beans
- Brussels sprouts
The Irish do corned beef well, and they love their mashed potato - they do it best, and either Champ or Colcannon work very well with Corned Beef.
Talking of the Irish, Irish Soda Bread is a great side to serve with the beef.
If you wanted a baked potato dish, you could try my best roast potato recipe or potato au gratin (aka scalloped or dauphinoise potatoes).
What's the best way to cook Corned Beef?
My preference for corned beef is to cook it in a slow cooker/crock pot. It's convenient to let it blip away while you're going about your day and doesn't require checking to see whether you need to top the water off or it's catching.
If you don't have a slow cooker or crock pot, stovetop cooking yields a good result. Failing that, use an oven. You'll need to check the water level every 30 minutes for the oven or stove and add water if needed.
Regardless of how you choose to cook it, you'll need a lid to cover the beef.
The beef should not be browned before cooking - in my testing, the texture was marginally worse and it made no difference to the taste.
Best sauce for corned beef? Horseradish vs white sauce
See the full recipe: parsley mustard white sauce for corned beef.
My personal preference is horseradish. Horseradish is a great pairing for beef. White sauce, usually with added parsley, is the traditional option though - make sure you add a little mustard for the best result. See the linked post above for my recipe.
Make ahead, reheating and freezing corned beef
Corned beef can be made ahead of time. Leftovers will be good for around 3-4 days, kept in the fridge.
If you have leftovers, it's worth keeping the cooking liquid as it's the best way to reheat it - either sliced beef or the whole piece. You can reheat in the oven, slow cooker or stove, or in the microwave.
Without the cooking liquid, gently steaming slices works well. As a fallback, microwave the corned beef on medium power to reheat.
Corned beef can be frozen, along with the vegetables. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and microwave to reheat.
If you have some leftovers, try my corned beef hash recipe.
Corned Beef
| Prep | Cook | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mins | 240 mins | 250 mins |
- 1.5kg (3.3 lb) piece of corned beef brisket or silverside, see note 1
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 3 bay leaves
- 10 cloves
- 5cm (2") cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- 800g (1 3/4 lb) baby waxy potatoes, halved
- 6 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1/2 green cabbage, cut into 4 wedges
- 125g (4.5 oz) sour cream
- 75g (2.5 oz) horseradish cream see note 2 for fresh or prepared horseradish
- 80ml (1/3 cup) braising liquid, spices removed
- 3 tbsp chives, finely sliced
- Salt and pepper, to taste.
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter
- 2 tbsp (20g) plain flour
- 125ml (1/2 cup) corned beef liquid or beef stock, see note 1
- 250ml (1 cup) milk whole/full fat
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard or sub for Dijon if you prefer
- 2 tbsp cream optional - adds richness
- 10-16g (3-5 tbsp) fresh parsley, finely sliced lower thick stems discarded
- Salt and pepper, to taste preferably white pepper
- Prepare the vegetables by slicing the cabbage into wedges, the carrots into chunks. Lightly crush the garlic with a pestle, heel of a knife or something else that's heavy, like a saucepan. Remove any gnarly bits from the potatoes and halve any larger potatoes. Finely slice the chives.
- Add the beef and spices to a slow cooker/crockpot, Dutch oven or baking dish. Add water until it is half way up the beef.
- Slow cooker - cook on high for 4-4.5 hours. Add the potatoes and carrots for the final 2 hours, and the cabbage for the final 90 minutes. For low, allow 9-10 hours and ideally add the potatoes and carrots half way through.
- Stove - Cover and gently simmer the corned beef for 3 to 3½ hours. Add the potatoes and carrots for the final 45 minutes, and the cabbage for the final 25 minutes. Check the water every 30 minutes and add more if necessary.
- Oven - bake the corned beef in a covered roaster at 160C (320F) for 3½ to 4 hours. Add the potatoes and carrots for the final 1½ hours, and the cabbage for the final 50 minutes. Check the water every 30 minutes and add more if necessary.
- Rest meat - remove the meat from the cooking liquid and cover in foil for 15 minutes to rest while you make the sauce. The vegetables can be kept warm in the cooking liquid during this time, but turn the heat off.
For the horseradish sauce
Make the horseradish sauce just before serving, as you need some of the braising liquid from the corned beef.
- Add the sour cream and horseradish cream to a bowl.
- Add the water, stirring as you do until you get to a sauce consistency. You might not need all the liquid, or you might need a little more - it will depend on the thickness of both your sour cream and horseradish cream.
- Stir through the chives, and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the parsley sauce
Make the parsley sauce while you're resting the corned beef.
- Make the roux – melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, whisking occasionally, for about 30 seconds until bubbling.
- Make bechamel - gradually whisk in the stock and then the warm milk, a little at a time, whisking until smooth.
- Thicken - simmer the sauce for a few minutes, until thickened. Whisk occasionally.
- Add mustard - whisk in the mustard and cream (if using).
- Add parsley - remove from heat and stir in the chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Beef cut - either silverside or brisket is traditional. I think that brisket is the better cut, however it's not widely available outside of the US/Canada. Many butchers make corned beef though, and they'd be happy to corn a piece of brisket for you - just ask.
- Horseradish - in Australia, this is typically sold jarred as "horseradish cream" which is diluted with water and often mustard. For prepared horseradish, use 25g (1 oz), or for fresh horseradish, around 16g (1/2 oz). As always, adjust to your taste.
- Best cooking method - my preference is slow cooker/crockpot. If you need to choose between stove and oven, I'd use the stove.
- When is beef cooked - corned beef is cooked when it’s tender enough to easily pierce with a fork or slice without resistance. The internal temperature should reach around 90C (195F) - if it’s tough, it needs more cooking time.
- Salt - the recipe does not contain salt because the salt content of the beef is generally sufficient. If you're using a salt-reduced piece of corned beef, you might want to taste the water when you start adding the vegetables and add a little salt if it does not taste salty enough.
- Parsley sauce - I have a post with full details for making the corned beef parsley white sauce if you want step-by-step pictures.
