This Traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe cooks everything low and slow (just like it should be) with the perfect spices in a Dutch oven or large stock pot. This delicious traditional recipe does not require any special equipment or expertise.
Traditional Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage
Are you looking for a tasty and simple dish to make for St. Patrick’s Day? Try this mouth-watering corned beef and cabbage recipe that is sure to impress your friends and family. My Mom would make this dish every St. Patrick’s Day. She loved it so much that she would even make a batch for one of the Irish priests at our church. It is such an easy recipe that you, too, can participate in the Irish custom. If you like this recipe, try Mississippi pot roast, Irish stew, hamburger stew, and cottage pie.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Ingredients
- Corned beef brisket
- Bay leaves
- Baby red potatoes and yellow potatoes
- Carrots
- Green cabbage
How to make corned beef and cabbage
First, add the corned beef to a large Dutch oven or stockpot and cover it with cool water or beef broth. Now add the bay leaves and the spice packet. Cover the pot and simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours, or until the brisket is almost fork tender.
Add the potatoes, onions, and carrots, and simmer covered for about 30 minutes. Add the cabbage wedges and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes. Remove the vegetables, cover them, and keep them warm. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Finally, trim away any excess fat from the corned beef and slice against the grain. Serve promptly in a dish with the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage with horseradish sauce or honey mustard sauce on the side.
Recipe Tips
- When simmering, leave the fat on the corned beef, as it helps cook it tender and gives it lots of flavor. For this method, cook it fat side up.
- Don’t skip the spice packet. It is full of peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, anise seeds, and crushed bay leaves. It gives the corned beef its extra delicious flavor. Simply add it to the cooking liquid with the beef.
- The key is to simmer, not boil, the beef and vegetables—low and slow, as my late mother used to say.
- For aesthetic purposes, peel your carrots; you will appreciate the bright orange color.
- Red and gold potatoes are traditional and waxy enough to stay together through the simmering. Russet potatoes will begin to break down during the cooking process.
- Don’t forget to remove and discard the bay leaves. They are sharp on the edges and could cut your mouth or pose a choking hazard.
- Once cooked, trim the fat from the beef. I like to leave a very small portion of fat on for more flavor, but my husband likes it trimmed completely. As my Mom always said, “Different strokes for different folks.”
- Slice the corned beef against the grain, as this produces the most tender pieces that do not fall apart.
- Corned beef is cured with salt and is naturally high in sodium. So go easy on any added salt.
What is the difference between flat-cut and point-cut corned beef?
Don’t let these two different cuts confuse you. Corned beef, after all, is simply beef brisket cured in salt brine. Corned beef brisket is then split into two cuts, the flat cut and the point cut. The flat cut is much leaner, but it still has a thick layer of fat, so it cooks up moist and tender. It is best for slicing and is my first pick for traditional corned beef.
The point cut gets its name from coming to a point at one end. It is marbled with more fat and connective tissue. This cut cooks up tender and juicy but is best used for shredding.
Storage and Reheat
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at 50% power for 1 minute increments until warm. You can freeze the corned beef, potatoes, and carrots for up to 2 months, but I do not recommend freezing the cabbage.
More Cabbage Recipes
Traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
- water or beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lb. baby yellow potatoes
- 5 large carrots peeled and chunked
- 1 head green cabbage cut in wedges
Instructions
- In Dutch Oven or large stockpot, add corned beef and cover with water or beef broth. Add spice packet and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours. The brisket should be fairly fork-tender.
- Add potatoes and carrots; cover and simmer for additional 30 minutes. Add cabbage; cover and simmer for 15 additional minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and discard them. Remove corned beef and vegetables from the pot and cover to keep warm. Remove any fat from the corned beef and slice against the grain.
Notes
- Leave the fat on the corned beef when simmering as it helps cook it really tender and gives it lots of flavor. For this method, cook it fat side up.
- Don't skip the spice packet. It is full of peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, anise seeds, and crushed bay leaves. It gives the corned beef its extra delicious flavor. Simply add it to the cooking liquid with the beef.
- The key is to simmer, not boil, the beef and vegetables—low and slow, as my late mother used to say.
- For aesthetic purposes, peel your carrots, as you will really appreciate the bright orange color.
- Red and gold potatoes are traditional, and they are waxy enough to stay together through the simmering. Russet potatoes will begin to break down during the cooking process.
- Don't forget to remove and discard the bay leaves. They are sharp on the edges and could cut your mouth or pose a choking hazard.
- Once cooked, trim the fat from the beef. I like to leave just a very small portion of fat on for more flavor, but my husband likes it completely trimmed. As my mom always said, "Different strokes for different folks."
- Slice the corned beef against the grain, as this produces the most tender pieces that do not fall apart.
- Corned beef is cured with salt, so it is naturally high in sodium. So go easy on any added salt.
Nutrition
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Amanda Lea
What an easy, straightforward recipe you presented us, thank you!! I just needed to check that my brain was correct on how to cook this, as I’ve both not made it in about 13 yrs and also had head trauma’s since then,…. anyway I aprreciate the conscise recipie without a ton of plugs or extranneous words, as well as the very helpful tips at the end! Thanks! You helped me make it correctly Many happy returns o’ the day to ye! Lol!!
Beth Pierce
Thank you, Amanda! I am so glad that you enjoyed the corned beef and cabbage. It is one of our favorite recipes. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!
linda
how much time for five lb corned beef?
Beth Pierce
Sorry about the delay. About 10 hours on low.
Patty F
If cooking 2 – 4 pound cornbeef in same pot does cooking time change?
Beth Pierce
It might be a little shorter if closer to 2 pounds. Check for tenderness with a fork.
Beth Pierce
If 2 lbs the time might be a little shorter. Use a fork to check for tenderness.
Connie
I am making this for a crowd and i will need the whole pot for the meat. Do you think i could remove meat after it’s don then cook veggies? When they are done, slice meat and add back to hot liquid without ruining anything? Thank you
Beth Pierce
Yes I do think you could do that. Cover the corned loosely with a piece of aluminum foil to keep it warm and keep it from drying out. Or put it in a large casserole dish and cover with plastic wrap.
Conni
Thank you so much for replying!
Patty
Made this today – all I can say is WOW and thank you. Used 1 liter of beef broth and topped it off with water to cover the meat. Best I’ve ever made or most importantly eaten.
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much, Patty! I am so glad that you enjoyed the corned beef.
Ken Gordon
I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s always great! The only thing I do is start checking the internal temperature of the brisket after an hour. It’s usually at 190F by then. Just remove it and continue with the veg. It will shorten your cooking time significantly and won’t dry out the meat from overcooking.
Beth Pierce
Thanks for the tip, Ken!
Gina Abernathy
Corned beef and cabbage is a wonderful combination. This is one of my favorite meals. Fantastic flavors.
Nikki
A classic family recipe right here. It looks incredible. Looking forward to making this for my family.
Traci
Yummm! I am loving this classic delicious recipe. It really is so easy and appreciating your helpful tips. Thank you for sharing!
Holley
Corned beef and cabbage is part of our yearly St. Patrick’s Day tradition. This recipe is super easy and quite delicious!
Dannii
This was delicious. Total comfort food, and my husband has asked for it again next week.
Jesse Iford
Love this recipe, literally the only thing I changed was to toss in a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Jesse! So glad that you like it! I just love fresh thyme!