Get ready for a flavor explosion! My Mom’s Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes is the ultimate comfort food, perfect for an easy dinner any night of the week, not just on St Patrick’s Day. For her recipe, brisket is slow-cooked in a fragrant broth until melt-in-your-mouth tender. After the meat is removed, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage are simmered in the same broth, absorbing the richness of the corned beef, onion, garlic, and cloves. Finally, the brisket is glazed with a sweet and tangy mustard, brown sugar, and clove mixture for an irresistible finish.
Table of Contents
- Best Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
- What is Corned Beef Brisket?
- Corned Beef Cabbage Recipe Ingredients
- How to Cook Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Serving Braised Corned Beef
- Best Side Dishes to Serve with Corned Beef and Cabbage
- What to do With Leftover Corned Beef
- Corned Beef Cabbage FAQs
- Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots
Best Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner! While my family isn’t Irish, growing up, every March we were treated to my mom’s distinctive Corned Beef and Cabbage. In her typical style, she took the basic boiled corned beef brisket and amped up the flavor through two steps:
- She braised the brisket (cooking in a moderate amount of liquid over low heat for several hours) in a scrumptious broth of onion, garlic, whole cloves and bay leaf. Braising the meat in this spicy liquid not only ensures the meat comes out super flavorful, it’s also very moist and tender.
- As if that wasn’t enough, mom finished the brisket off with a glaze of Dijon mustard, brown sugar and cloves.
Cooking the potatoes, carrots and cabbage in the broth leftover from cooking the meat just layers in even more deliciousness. So, put on some green and get cookin’!
What is Corned Beef Brisket?
Brisket is an inexpensive cut of beef, which is cured for around a week in a salt brine (a mixture of large salt crystals and water, sometimes with added seasonings) to make corned beef.
Why is it called Corned Beef?
The term “corned” refers to the size of salt crystals used to salt-cure beef – they are the size of a corn kernel.
Why is Corned Beef served with Cabbage?
Eating corned beef was popularized in the United States by Irish immigrants during the 19th century. They chose to pair it with cabbage, because it was an inexpensive vegetable. Fortunately, the two flavors work well together, so the combination stuck!
Corned Beef Cabbage Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious recipe, all of which should be available at your local grocery store:
- Corned beef brisket
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Whole cloves
- Bay leaves
- Small white potatoes (Yukon Gold or red-skinned)
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Dijon mustard
- Brown sugar (light or dark)
- Ground cloves
What kind of cabbage is best for corned beef?
I recommend using green cabbage which is readily available in grocery stores. When cooked, the leaves become soft, with a slightly sweet flavor. And, the taste, color and texture perfectly complement the the corned beef, carrots and potatoes.
What kind of mustard is best for corned beef?
For her corned beef brisket, mom liked to coat the top of the meat with Dijon mustard. For corned beef sandwiches, I recommend Dijon, yellow or spicy brown mustard.
Quick Tip
Make sure to rinse your corned beef brisket before cooking. Not rinsing can result in an overly salty dish.
How to Cook Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned Beef and Cabbage is truly one of the easiest one pot meals you’re ever make! Here’s all you have to do:
- Braise corned beef.
Place corned beef, onions, garlic, whole cloves and bay leaves in large Dutch oven. (If your corned beef came with a spice packet, feel free to toss it in as well.) Cover with water, cover and simmer on a stovetop for 3 hours (one hour per pound) or until fork tender. - Prep oven.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. - Remove beef; cook vegetables.
Remove meat from liquid and set in a shallow baking dish, leaving cooking liquid and spices in the pan. Add the potatoes and carrots. Cover, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cabbage wedges and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until the vegetables are done. - Finish beef in oven, let rest.
While the vegetables are cooking, spread the Dijon mustard on the fat side of the meat. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cloves and sprinkle over the top, pressing down to adhere to the mustard. Place beef in a shallow baking pan and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is nicely glazed. Remove from oven, place on a cutting board, and let the meat rest for 5 minutes. - Slice beef and serve.
Slice beef and serve with tender potatoes, carrots, and cabbage on the side.
how to cut corned beef
Like slicing any beef, cut corned beef across the grain. The “grain” are those lines in the meat that all run in one direction – cut across those lines.
Serving Braised Corned Beef
Here are a few suggestions for how to serve Corned Beef and Cabbage:
- Arrange slices of corned beef down the middle of a large serving platter, with the vegetables around the side. Then, serve buffet style (platter can be too heavy to pass at the table with everything on it!)
- Arrange beef slices on a serving platter, and place each vegetable in a serving bowl. Either serve buffet style or pass at he table family style.
- Place beef slices on individual dinner plates with single servings of the vegetables on the side.
Best Side Dishes to Serve with Corned Beef and Cabbage
One of the beauties of this recipe is that it’s a one pot dish which eliminates the need for additional side dishes. I do like to serve some bread on the side – Anise Bread, Herb Quick Bread, or Parmesan Buttermilk Cornbread are all delicious! And, you can also add a nice horseradish sauce on the side.
What to do With Leftover Corned Beef
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To maximize the versatility of your leftovers, I recommend storing the corned beef and vegetables separately. This way, you can easily repurpose the corned beef for delicious sandwiches or corned beef hash, while the flavorful vegetables can be enjoyed as a side dish or incorporated into other recipes. Here’s how I make sandwiches and hash:
- Corned beef (Reuben) sandwich – place slices of leftover corned beef on rye bread with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing. Best if warmed to melt the cheese. (Sometimes I add mustard, too.)
- Corned beef hash – sauté chopped leftover corned beef, potatoes and carrots in olive oil until crisp, season with salt and pepper, and top with a fried egg.
Corned Beef Cabbage FAQs
While both corned beef and pastrami undergo salt curing, they differ in their cuts of beef, spices, and cooking methods. You can find more details in this Eater article: What’s the difference between Corned Beef and Pastrami?
For juicier, more flavorful beef, choose the point cut, which boasts more internal fat (marbling). However, if easier cutting and uniform slices are your priority, opt for the leaner flat-cut brisket.
Cook it fat side up; the top layer of fat helps to seal in the flavor.
Mom always said it should be cooked covered, to retain as much moisture as possible.
I like to braise (or boil) it for 45 to 50 minutes per pound.
Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes and Carrots
Mom’s Corned Beef and Cabbage is full of flavor, due to slow-and-low braising of the brisket in a flavorful broth, combined with a delicious glaze of mustard, brown sugar and cloves. Potatoes, carrots and cabbage are cooked in the meat broth, infusing them with onion, garlic, clove and corned beef flavors.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 175 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 3 pounds corned beef brisket, rinsed and patted dry
- 2 medium yellow onions, sliced
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 18 to 24 small ( 1 to 2 inch) Yukon gold or red-skinned potatoes, peeled
- 6 medium to large carrots, peeled and cut into 2” pieces
- 1 medium to large cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
- Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Place corned beef, onions, garlic, whole cloves and bay leaves in large Dutch oven. Cover with water, cover and simmer on a stovetop for 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours (45 to 50 minutes per pound) or until fork tender.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove meat from liquid and set aside, leaving cooking liquid and spices in the pan. Add the potatoes and carrots. Cover, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage wedges and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until the vegetables are done.
- While the vegetables are cooking, spread the Dijon mustard on the fat side of the meat. Mix together the brown sugar and cloves and sprinkle over the top, pressing down to adhere to the mustard. Place beef in a shallow baking pan and bake for 20 minutes or until top is nicely glazed. Watch carefully to make sure the glaze doesn’t burn.
- Slice beef and serve with potatoes, carrots and cabbage on the side.
- Category: Main dish, beef, gluten free
- Method: Braise and bake
- Cuisine: Irish-American
Note: This recipe was originally posted in March 2016, then updated significantly in January 2023 and again in February of 2024.