Corned Beef With Potatoes, Carrots and Roasted Cabbage

This classic corned beef recipe is an all in one dinner cooked with potatoes, carrots and roasted cabbage. The tender and juicy beef pairs so well with the hearty root vegetables and the roasted cabbage is a special treat.The beef brisket that is cured in a salt solution also has so much flavor from all the different spices and then is gently simmered to become so tender that it just melts in your mouth. I love that you can cook this all at the same time with the vegetables and have a stunning entree that complements each other so well. The baby potatoes and carrots are cooked right along with the beef. I roast the cabbage separately to make it extra flavorful; roasted cabbage is amazing. I highly recommend it, if you haven’t tried it before. The leftovers are wonderful too, simply reheated or recreated into the most incredible hash. 

What is Corned Beef?

Corned beef is a salt cured beef brisket. The meat is held in a salty brine with lots of other spices and herbs to give it flavor. After it is “pickled”, the beef is boiled or braised. This was a very popular way of preserving meat back in the day, and the “corned” refers to the large salt kernels that were used to preserve it. It is wonderful served as a main course, but is great sliced thin and as deli meat in sandwiches and wraps. The most popular corned beef sandwich is the Reuben, made with rye bread, corned beef, Thousand Island or Russian salad dressing, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. (Have you tried it?)

What Cut of Meat Should You Buy?

In most stores, it will be labeled as “corned beef”. The flat cut is much more even, so try to choose it if you can. The other type of corned beef that is available is the point cut. If you can’t find “corned beef”, look for a beef brisket.

All About the Brine:

The brine is a heavily salted solution. I also add a bit of sugar, fresh garlic and lots of spices to give the meat lots of extra flavor. I use mustard seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns and bay leaves. If you buy a beef brisket that has already been in a solution, rinse it, and keep it in the brine for 12-24 hours only. If you buy a beef brisket that has not been brined, keep it in the brine for at least 3 days and up to 5 days. The salt solution needs time to change the structure of the beef and cure it, so don’t skip this step. Otherwise, you will have boiled beef, not “corned beef”.

Brining the Meat and Cooking It:

Combine all the brine ingredients in a large container – I like using a stockpot.

Trim the beef brisket from excess fat. Submerge the beef in the brine and keep refrigerated for 24 hours, if you bought a cut of beef that was in a salt solution. If you are using a cut of meat that was NOT in a salt solution, keep it in the brine for at least 3 days, up to 5 days.

Take the beef out of the brine, (discard the brine), and rinse the beef brisket under cold water. Place the brined brisket into a 6-8 quart dutch oven.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour water over the brisket and add the onion, celery, garlic cloves, bay leaf, black peppercorns, coriander seeds and mustard seeds.

Cover the dutch oven and bring to a boil on the stovetop. Move the beef to the preheated oven. Bake for 2 1/2 – 3 hours, until the beef can easily be pierced with a fork.

Prepping and Cooking the Vegetables

Meanwhile, wash the baby potatoes and cut the carrots into approximately 2 inch long pieces, about 1/2 – 3/4 inches thick.

Remove the onion, celery, and as much of the spices out of the liquid that the beef has been cooking in. Add the potatoes and carrots to the dutch oven along with the beef.

Turn up the heat to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cover the dutch oven and place it back in the oven for another hour or so, until the potatoes and carrots are tender and cooked all the way through.

Other Options of Cooking the Vegetables:

In the recipe, I add the potatoes and carrots during the last hour of cooking the beef and they both cook at the same time. If you use a larger dutch oven or baking dish, you can also add the cabbage during the last 20-30 minutes of cooking. I prefer roasting the cabbage – it becomes slightly sweet, so tender and flavorful when it is roasted.

You can also cook the vegetables separately on the stovetop while the beef is in the oven. They will cook much faster on the stovetop than in the oven – 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of the vegetables.

Roasting the Cabbage:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut the cabbage head into approximately 6 wedges. Place the cabbage on a large rimmed baking sheet. Brush both sides of the cabbage wedge with the melted butter. Season with salt and ground black pepper on both sides as well.

Roast in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, then flip oven and cook for another 12-15 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and slightly golden.

Serving the Corned Beef and Vegetables:

Remove the corned beef out of the broth, and scoop out the potatoes and carrots.

Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with a cheesecloth or paper towel.

Slice the corned beef against the grain. Serve with the potatoes, carrots and roasted cabbage. Garnish with fresh parsley. You can also drizzle additional melted butter over the potatoes and carrots.

I like serving the beef and vegetables with some of the broth and a mustard horseradish cream sauce.

How to Make a Hash Out of the Leftovers:

Cut the potatoes and carrots into cubes. You can cut the cabbage into cubes as well, but I prefer to thinly slice the corned beef and the cabbage.

Heat butter or oil in a cast iron skillet or a nonstick skillet. You can also dice an onion and sauté it first, but that is optional. When the oil/butter is hot, add the vegetables and beef and cook until golden brown, flip to the other side and cook until golden brown too. Keep cooking until all the vegetables and beef are heated through and as golden brown as you like, on medium high heat. You can serve it with a fried egg and fresh herbs on top – SO good.

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