A guide for how to make the best Corned Beef and Cabbage in the oven for St. Patrick’s Day! This corned beef recipe is served with tender cabbage, carrots and potatoes with the option to make horseradish sauce to go along with it!

Corned beef and cabbage is a classic St. Patrick’s Day meal that is often only made once a year, at least in my house! And it’s always a favorite. What’s not to like about hearty, tender corned beef combined with onions, carrots, and potatoes? Don’t even get me started on the leftovers. Rueben sandwich anyone?

Let’s make a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner in the oven.

How to cook corned beef in the oven:

While corned beef brisket is traditionally boiled, I found that I prefer roasting it in the oven with Guinness beer (you can also use beef broth or water). The flavor is incredible!

1. Preheat oven – 325 degrees Farenheit
2. Rinse – corned beef generally comes pre-brined. Rinse any remaining brine from the corned beef then pat dry and place it in a dutch over or roasting pan with the fat cap facing upwards.
3. Season – a corned beef brisket usually comes with a packet of spices. Spread a layer of yellow mustard or dijon mustard over the fatty part of the brisket, then sprinkle the spice packet over the top along with a little bit of brown sugar.
4. Add liquid – Guinness beer is a great option to use here, but you can also use beef broth, water, or another beer of your choice.
5. Cover – use aluminum foil or a lid to cover the corned beef.
6. Bake – initial bake time is two hours. Then it’s time to add vegetables.
7. Prep the vegetables – cut large red potatoes into quarters, cut whole carrots into thirds, and cut the cabbage and onion into wedges.
8. Add Vegetables – after the corned beef has roasted for two hours, add the vegetables.
9. Continue Baking – another 60-90 minutes will be needed for a total of 3.5-4 hours for a 3-4 pound corned beef brisket.
10. The internal temperature of the corned beef should be between 180-190 degrees for the perfect tender result.
11. *Optional – Remove the veggies and broil: if you’d like to add beautiful color to the corned beef brisket, remove the veggies and broil the corned beef on high for 3-5 minutes.
12. Rest – allow the corned beef to rest for 10 minutes.
13. Slice – cut the corned beef into slices making sure to cut against the grain.

How to cut corned beef:

Corned Beef should be cut across the grain. What does that mean? Pay attention to the direction of the muscle fibers in the meat. When you are looking at the meat, you can see lines or striations running across. Those are the fibers.  To cut against the grain means that you are going to cut opposite of those fibers. 

Brisket is generally a tough cut of meat. Cutting corned beef against the grain results in shorter strands of meat in each slice. This makes the meat more tender and easier to chew.

Best cut of meat for corned beef:

When it comes to corned beef, the beef cut makes a difference. There are two cuts most often used:

1. Brisket– A cut of brisket that has good marbling will result in a juicy, flavorful corned beef when it is slow-cooked.
2. Round – this comes from the leg of the cow and isn’t quite as tender as the brisket cut. 

A brisket is broken down further into a flat cut and a point cut.

• Flat Cut – more lean, generally more uniform in shape
• Point Cut – more marbling, with a bit more fat – generally more flavorful when cooked right. A point cut can take a bit longer to become tender.

My preferred choice is a flat cut brisket because I prefer the more uniformed shape for presentation purposes. 

Spices for corned beef:

Corned beef usually comes with a packet of spices. The traditional spices used to flavor corned beef include:

• Whole peppercorns
• Coriander seeds
• Cloves
• Bay leaves
• Mustard seeds

Why corned beef and cabbage is an Irish Tradition:

While we think of corned beef and cabbage as Irish, it’s more of an Irish-American tradition originating with Irish immigrants when they arrived in America. They discovered that corned beef was affordable and easily accessible, and with time, corned beef and cabbage became a staple in their households replacing the Irish tradition of cured pork with potatoes.

How to know when corned beef is cooked through:

Corned beef is safe to eat once the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. However the optimal temperature for fork-tender corned beef is somewhere between 180-205 degrees F.

Allow the corned beef to cook for about 1 hour per pound of meat.

185-190 degrees F is the sweet spot for me- it has just the right amount of texture and tenderness. Use a meat probe to check the internal temperature of the meat.

What to serve with corned beef

The beauty of making this corned beef and cabbage recipe is that the side dishes cook with it! Serve corned beef brisket with tender cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and onions.

Feel free to serve this with horseradish sauce. To make horseradish sauce for corned beef you’ll need:

• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons horseradish
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon mayo
• A splash of Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve.

Corned Beef and Cabbage is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition that I absolutely love. I prefer to make my corned beef in the oven – I find it easier and more flavorful than boiling a corned beef brisket.

If you happen to need an appetizer to go along with your dinner, try our Slow Cooker Reuben Dip!

I love to hear from you. If you make this recipe for corned beef and cabbage in the oven, please leave a comment or tag me on social media and let me know what you think. Enjoy!