Homemade Corned Beef Recipe: How to Make Corned Beef

Corned beef is beef brisket that has been cured in a salt brine and pickling spices. The nitrates in pink curing salt give corned beef its signature deep pink color. Corned beef is traditionally made with flat cut brisket (as opposed to point cut) because the even thickness ensures even cooking. Once cured, the corned beef is typically boiled in water, beef broth, or Guinness beer. You can boil corned beef on the stovetop, bake it in the oven, or make slow cooker corned beef. In America, corned beef is strongly associated with St. Patrick’s Day, served with boiled potatoes, carrots, and cabbage.

In the 1600s, corned beef was popularized in Ireland. However, beef was too expensive for most of the Irish population to afford at the time, so most corned beef was produced for trade with England. The 1660s, England banned the importation of live Irish cattle. This flooded the Irish market with inexpensive, local beef. At the time, salt was less expensive in Ireland than it was in other parts of the United Kingdom, so salted beef became an even more lucrative export to Europe and America.

For impoverished Irish-Americans immigrants, corned beef was an inexpensive, large cut of meat that could replace ham for celebrations and holidays. Affordable vegetables like carrots and cabbage, along with an Irish staple, the potato, were served alongside the corned beef. This meal became synonymous with Irish tradition and soon became associated with St. Patrick’s Day for Irish Americans.

Corned beef has many applications on breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. Consider the following ways to prepare and enjoy corned beef:

1. 1. Traditional corned beef: You can serve corned beef with boiled potatoes, cabbage, and carrots on a large platter. Make a side dish of creamy horseradish sauce or parsley sauce made from parsley and a buttery bechamel to drizzle over the boiled dinner.
2. 2. Corned beef hash: Popularized in American diners, corned beef has is made with diced corned beef served over crispy hash brown potatoes with an egg.
3. 3. Corned beef sandwich: Corned beef is also popular in Jewish-American delis. Serve corned beef sliced thin in a classic Reuben sandwich or on rye bread with slaw and dijon mustard or Russian dressing.