Slow Braised Corned Beef
This year, I decided to try a recipe for slow braised corned beef in the oven slow and low, instead of my go-to baking it with honey-mustard or apricot-mustard glazed corned beef. This slow braised corned beef was so tender and juicy and we all thought it was delicious! The onions and garlic melted in your mouth and the braising sauce was flavorful. This may be my new go-to corned beef recipe. I paired this corned beef with my daughter’s favorite Irish side dish Colcannon and roasted carrots.
Slow Braised Corned Beef
Ingredients:
- 2½ lbs corned beef, rinsed thoroughly **Throw away the pickling packet
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- Garlic powder, to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced into rings
- 7 cloves of garlic
- ¼ cup water
How to Make Slow Braised Corned Beef
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
Heat a large Dutch oven braising pan with olive oil over medium-high heat.
Discard the pickling packet. Rinse the corned beef thoroughly then dry well with paper towels. Season both sides of the corned beef very well with freshly cracked black pepper and garlic powder, to taste. Side Note: DO NOT season with salt! The beef has been soaked in a brine and will be very salty.
Place the corned beef fat side down in the hot braising pan. Sear for a couple of minutes, until golden brown, then flip over and sear all sides of the corned beef, including the ends. Remove and place on a plate with a tin foil tent.
Add the onion slices and garlic to the Dutch oven braising pan and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute.
Add the water making sure to break up any bits off the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat. Place the seared corned beef on top of the onions and garlic then seal the braising pan with a heavy well sealing lid and place it into the oven.
Braise for 5-6 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender. Carefully remove it from the braising pan and place it on a cutting board. Let the meat sit for at least 5 minutes.
While the meat is resting, remove as much fat from the top of the braising liquid with a spoon. Taste the liquid and if it’s too salty, add 1/4 cup of water, or more, until it tastes great.
Cook over medium heat until heated through; taste and season with freshly cracked pepper, if needed. Serve the sauce on the side along with the onions and garlic, if desired. Enjoy.
So good!! It looks amazing! Very tasty i guess!
Kisses
Absolutely delicious pam and I can only imagine how tender and juicy it must be.
Cheers,
Lia
So tender and succulent!
You are two days early – that is good because I can use your recipe on Thursday. I am not crazy about boiling the beef, so this looks like a much better method.
Beautiful! I am definitely going to try this, soon!
I don’t think I’ve ever had corned beef Pam
Decided to try this recipe for the corned beef because I often find the boiled method is too washed out and soupy for my taste.
Followed your recipe, BUT I misread the amount of garlic, so there are 18 cloves of garlic in the braise. Yes, 18!
Have another hour to go, but my kitchen smells like heaven!
After I pull the meat, I’m going to assess the grease to liquid ratio, skim if needed, and add carrots and cabbage wedges to cook in the braising liquid.
I will let you know how it turns out.
You never let us know how it turned out! 😛
Thank you so much for sharing this simple and delicious recipe! We used the onions and garlic sa Very on top and served with side of coleslaw. The meat was tender and delicious!
Has anyone tried putting the carrots underneath the meat to cook all in 1 Dutch oven?
I put large carrots, med sized, peeling on whole red potatoes, onions and garlic and then put my brisket on top. Fill the pan with vegetable broth one inch from the top of the brisket and cover with foil. I use a flatter pan and make sure my foil is tight. I boil my cabbage wedges separate as they only take a few minutes. I cook this 6 hours on 275. It is great.
I’ve used this recipe twice and got flavorful, tender corned beef both times. The gravy is also good and goes well on mashed or boiled potatoes.
Best corned beef I have ever prepared! It was so moist yet just fell apart. In fact, I have never had better.
Ellen,
Thank you so much for taking the time to say such a kind comment! I’m very happy you loved the corned beef.
-Pam
Very disappointed. Small, 3 pound brisket, followed directions, used Le Creuset cast iron/ceramic braising pan with glass lid. Seared in the pan, middle rack of 275 degree oven for 5 hours. Brisket turned into shoe leather. On reflection, probably wise to check after 3 hours and use an instant read thermometer.
Bob,
I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you.
-Pam
Next time use foil to really seal the pan. Your glass lid probably allowed all the liquid to escape. I never have a problem using my Dutch oven with cast iron lid!
The best! The key is: low+slow=tender.
Mike,
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
-Pam