The Best Corned Beef Recipe
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 snake river farms corned beef brisket
- 6 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 2 tsp whole peppercorn
- for cabbage and potatoes
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 cup green onions (sliced white and green parts included)
- 1/2 cup horseradish
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 head cabbage (cored cut into 6 wedges)
- 1.5 pounds small red-skinned potatoes (cut in half)
- for glaze
- 2 tbsp orange marmalade
- 2 tsp dijon-style mustard
- Carbohydrate 14.341896950938 g
- Cholesterol 30.503125013081 mg
- Fat 11.8694434775537 g
- Fiber 4.5781111021203 g
- Protein 2.39996041739669 g
- Saturated Fat 7.36316389206595 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (389g)
- Sodium 196.528222440438 mg
- Sugar 9.76378584881773 g
- Trans Fat 0.883458472642986 g
- Calories 162 calories
Step-by-step
- Position oven racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heat oven to 350°F degrees
- Place corned beef brisket in roasting pan, the sprinkle garlic and peppercorns around the brisket. Add water and cover brisket tightly with aluminum foil. Braise in upper third of oven for 3 to 3.5 hours or until brisket is fork tender.
- Meanwhile, place butter, green onions, horseradish, ground pepper and salt into a glass measuring cup. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until butter melts. Mix well.
- Place cabbage wedges on one half of a baking sheet and potatoes on the other half. Drizzle horseradish-butter mixture over vegetables, turning cabbage and tossing potatoes to coat. Cover with aluminum foil. Roast in lower third of the oven with the brisket for 55 minutes.
- Uncover vegetables. Continue roasting for 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender and begin to brown.
- Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl. Remove brisket from roasting pan and place on a broiler pan rack. Brush glaze over the brisket.
- Broil the brisket so the meat is 3-4 inches from the burner for 2 to 3 minutes or until glaze is bubbly and beginning to brown.
- Carve against the grain in thin slices. Serve with potatoes and cabbage.
Why is the meat tough even after hours in the oven? The answer usually lies in moisture management during the braise. When roasting a brisket at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, sealing the pan tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil traps the steam necessary to break down tough connective tissue without drying out the protein. Adding just two cups of water provides enough liquid to generate continuous vapor throughout the three-to-three-and-a-half-hour cooking window without boiling the meat.
Traditional preparations often rely on boiling, but dry-heat oven braising combined with roasted vegetables yields superior textural contrast. Roasting small red-skinned potatoes cut in half alongside cored cabbage wedges allows the starches to brown properly in the lower third of the oven. Tossing these vegetables in a melted horseradish-butter mixture coats every surface, ensuring the fat carries the pungent spice evenly across the leaves and tubers as they roast for roughly seventy minutes total.
Sugars in the glaze require careful monitoring during the final minutes of cooking. Combining two tablespoons of orange marmalade with two teaspoons of Dijon-style mustard creates a high-sugar coating that burns easily if placed too close to the broiler element. Positioning the broiler pan rack so the meat sits three to four inches from the heat source for two to three minutes caramelizes the citrus sugars into a bubbly crust without carbonizing the exterior.
Carving technique dictates the final mouthfeel of the sliced brisket just as much as the cooking time. Slicing directly against the visible muscle fibers shortens the strands, making each bite tender rather than chewy. Paired with the roasted vegetables and pungent horseradish butter, this method transforms a standard cut of beef into a thoroughly considered meal.
