Corned Beef & Cabbage Recipe (2024)

Slow-simmer corned beef, add some cabbage at the end of the cooking time, and you'll have a deliciously tender Corned Beef & Cabbage one-pot dinner. So easy and so good, you'll wonder why you don't make it more often!
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Corned beef is not a common dish here in the South. In fact, I often have a hard time even finding corned beef brisket in our grocery stores.

But when I do find it? -- It's totally worth grabbing it up and making a big ol' pot of Corned Beef & Cabbage or our family-favorite, very-similar New England Boiled Dinner.

Having grown up in New England (Vermont, to be exact), I grew up eating corned beef. My born-and-bred-Southern-boy husband, though? Not so much. In fact, he says he once witnessed a pretty heated debate about the stuff between a Northerner and a Southerner!

The Northerner involved in said debate was talking about enjoying corned beef & cabbage.

Corned beef is actually a brisket that is then salt cured -- turning the brisket into the distinctive thing we know as corned beef.

The Southerner involved in said debate ... a cattle farmer, mind you ... was calling into question said Northerner's knowledge of cuts of beef, heatedly asking just exactly what cut from the cow corned beef was. And heatedly stating that there was no such cut called the 'corned beef.'

Which, indeed, is true.

There is indeed no cut of beef called corned beef. That Southern cattle farmer was exactly right. I'm not so sure this was worth a heated debate, though.

Corned beef is actually a brisket, a cut from the breast or lower chest of beef, that is then salt cured -- turning the brisket into the distinctive thing we know as corned beef.

Corned beef comes in two varieties of cuts -- flat cut and point cut. Point cut has more fat marbled through it whereas flat cut, due to it's shape, produces nicer, prettier slices.

So I guess that makes corned beef a ... thing? ... not a cut?

Personally in my mind, who cares if it's a cut or not?? Corned beef sure tastes delicious, and that's all that matters to me.

And when that corned beef is cooked up and served with big wedges of cabbage? It's divineness in a pot.

Now, brisket is a tougher cut of beef that requires long, slow cooking in liquid to tenderize it. In the case of this Corned Beef & Cabbage, that liquid is a mixture of beer and a whole lot of water, in which the beef is simmered for several hours. This long slow simmer produces deliciously fork-tender beef.

Brisket is a tougher cut of beef that requires long, slow cooking in liquid to tenderize it. In the case of Corned Beef & Cabbage, that liquid is a mixture of beer and a whole lot of water.

To cook up a pot, first start by soaking the corned beef brisket in cold water for about 30 minutes. This removes some of the salt absorbed into the meat during the salt curing process. Don't skip this step -- or you'll end up with an excessively salty finished dish.

Then place the corned beef in a large stock pot or Dutch oven and pour abeer over the beef. Use any old kind of beer except something that's dark, like a stout or a porter. Dark beers are just too bitter and intense for this preparation.

Add water to the pot until the liquid level reaches about 1 inch over the top of the beef brisket. Then add in the spices from the spice packet that comes in the corned beef package.

If yourcorned beef brisket happened to not come with a spice packet (or you just want to amp up the flavor of the cooking liquid!), use about a teaspoon of pickling spice.

Corned Beef & Cabbage

Slow-simmer corned beef and add some cabbage at the end of the cooking time for a deliciously tender Corned Beef & Cabbage one-pot dinner. You'll wonder why you don't make it more often!

prep time: 35 Mcook time: 3 H & 30 Mtotal time: 3 H & 65 M

ingredients:

4 to 5 lb. corned beef brisket
1 (12 oz.) beer {anything except stout or porter}
1 head green cabbage, cut into 6 to 8 wedges
4 carrots, peeled and cut in large chunks {optional}

instructions:

How to cook Corned Beef & Cabbage

Remove the corned beef brisket from its packaging, setting aside the spice packet that comes with it. Rinse the beef brisket with cold water.
Place the beef brisket in a large Dutch oven and cover the beef with cold water; let stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes to remove some of the salt. After soaking, discard the water.
Pour beer over the beef; add fresh water until the water level reaches about 1 inch over the top of the beef brisket. Add the spices from the spice packet.
Bring the water up to a boil. Use a slotted spoon to skim off any foam that forms on the top.
Cover, reduce the heat, and gently simmer for 3 hours or until the beef is fork tender.
Add the cabbage and carrots {if using} to the pot. Increase heat and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce heat and continue to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Remove corned beef to a cutting board and trim off the fat. Cut meat into slices, cutting across the grain of the meat. Place slices on a serving platter.
Use a slotted spoon to remove cabbage from the pot, letting excess water drain. Place on the serving platter alongside the meat.

TRACEY'S NOTES

Either flat cut or point cut corned beef brisket works for this dish. It is easier to cut a flat cut into nice slices, while a point cut has more fat marbling and will produce juicier meat.
Beer may be omitted or replaced with 1 1/2 cups apple juice. If using beer, be sure not to use a stout or porter beer as these are too bitter for the dish.
If the corned beef brisket doesn't come with a spice packet {or you just want to amp up the flavor of the cooking liquid!}, use about a teaspoon of pickling spice.

https://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2015/03/corned-beef-cabbage-recipe.html

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