Everyone needs to have a recipe for Stovetop Corned Beef in their recipe collection for St. Patrick’s Day or any day! This method of cooking, turns out corned beef that has a melt-in-your-mouth texture. And with this easy recipe, you’ll only need 5 ingredients! Use the leftovers to make Reuben sandwiches or corned beef and cabbage soup.
What’s the best way to cook corned beef?
- Stovetop Corned Beef: The absolute best method for cooking corned beef is to cook it in liquid, low and slow on the stovetop with added flavorings or seasoning packets. This traditional method allows the meat to cook evenly, and it will turn out a very tender corned beef. I have a bit of a fancier stovetop recipe too: Irish corned beef cabbage and carrots.
- Slow Cooker Corned Beef: This is also a good method for cooking corned beef. It should be cooked for 8 hours on low. You may also wish to try our recipe for slow cooker Guinness corned beef.
- Instant Pot Corned Beef: Add your corned beef, spice packet, plus 1 bottle of beer and 2 cups of water; pressure cook for 90 minutes with a 15 minute natural release.
Ingredients needed:
- Corned Beef: Buy brisket that has been cured in a brine (with an added spice packet). Look for the flat cut corned beef.
- Spice Packet: This typically comes WITH the package of corned beef that is soaking in brine.
- Onion: I like to use a sweet yellow onion or a white onion.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: It enhances the flavor of the corned beef and helps to tenderize the meat too.
- Brown Sugar: The sweetness balances out the savory spices.
- Garlic Cloves: Garlic is always a flavorful addition!
How to make Stovetop Corned Beef:
- Rinse your corned beef, keep the spice packet and discard the package and all its juices.
- Add your hunk of corned beef to a pot, and cover it with water. Then add all of the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, and skim the foam that will appear on top.
- Lower the heat to a simmer and put a lid on the pot. The corned beef will just simmer for many hours at this point. When fork-tender, it’s done!
- Slice ACROSS the grain for the most tender slices of corned beef.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure you don’t skip the step of rinsing your corned beef or it may be too salty.
- Do not add the brine from the package of corned beef to your cooking pot. It’s super salty, and it should be discarded.
- When making stovetop corned beef, place your slab of corned beef fat-side-up in the pot. The fat will render and baste the meat as it cooks, keeping it moist.
- Do not use chicken broth for your cooking liquid… only water. The corned beef has a lot of sodium in it from the brining liquid. No need to add more sodium by using broth. Water works perfectly!
- Covering the pot reduces the evaporation of water in the pot, and that means the liquid will stay put and keep that corned beef as tender as can be.
What kind of sauce should you serve with Corned Beef?
Many people like traditional, Dijon or coarse ground mustard to go with their tender slices of corned beef.
Here’s a recipe for a mustard sauce, if you’d like to try it!
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then whisk the rest together and stir it into the butter. Bring it to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for a few more minutes:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup mustard
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Variations:
- Add 1 bottle of Harp or Guinness to the pot with the water and the corned beef when making corned beef on the stove. It’ll add a little extra flavor.
- If you want to cook veggies in the corned beef broth, remove the corned beef when it’s nice and tender and move it to a foil covered plate. Add carrots, sliced potatoes and chunks of cabbage to the cooking water, and cook for about 15 minutes, until tender.
What Should You Serve with Corned Beef?
This stovetop corned beef recipe is simple enough to make for a weeknight dinner. And it’s actually our very favorite corned beef recipe to make for an American St. Patrick’s Day. Serve with mustard, pickles, garlic parsley potatoes, roasted carrots, sauteed cabbage and good Irish soda bread!
By the way, in Ireland they don’t eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. They’re more likely to enjoy Irish Stew with some soda bread.
Stovetop Corned Beef
Here's a great, easy corned beef recipe that is perfect to make for a weeknight dinner or to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds corned beef (sizes vary – can use anywhere between 3 and 5 pounds)
- water
- spice packet from corned beef package (see Recipe Notes below if spice packet is not included)
- 1 whole onion, sliced
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 4 large garlic cloves, smashed
Instructions
- Take your corned beef out of the packet it is in, and rinse it thoroughly. You will not use the brine that it has been sitting in, so discard that. Put the corned beef in a large, heavy pot and add enough COLD water to cover the corned beef by one inch. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and skim all the foam that rises to the surface.
- Lower the heat to a simmer. Put the lid on the pot. Cook, turning every 30 minutes or so, for about 3 to 4 hours. At 3 hours, start to check tenderness every 15 minutes with a fork. When it's perfectly tender, you should be able to stick a fork or a thin knife into the corned beef very easily. Remove the corned beef from the liquid to a cutting board.
- Serve, slicing across the grain. Or wrap it carefully in aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days; reheat at 300°F for 30 minutes in the foil; unwrap and heat about 15 minutes more.)
Notes
If a spice packet is not included with the corned beef, you can combine the following to add to your simmering corned beef:
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 10 whole peppercorns
- 5 whole allspice berries
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 503kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 33g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 16g, Cholesterol: 122mg, Sodium: 2765mg, Potassium: 713mg, Fiber: 0.05g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 0.2IU, Vitamin C: 62mg, Calcium: 31mg, Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
