Corned Beef and Cabbage is easy to make on the stovetop! With just six ingredients and a little patience, you can have this traditional Irish boiled corned beef with potatoes, cabbage, and carrots ready for St. Patrick’s Day or any day of the year!
With St Patrick’s Day coming up I was talking about Irish recipes with a friend recently when she asked me what the best recipe for corned beef and cabbage was. This, my friends, is it. It is a simple, six ingredient traditional Irish corned beef made with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots, all cooked on the stovetop.
This recipe is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or New Year’s Day but easy enough to make on busy weeknights as well. I like to serve it with 15 minute Homemade Biscuits or Guinness Beer Bread. (If you want more Irish recipes, be sure to try my Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew as well!)
How to Cook Corned Beef to Make it Tender
Briskets are tough pieces of meat that have to be cooked properly. With a few tricks, however, you have cook perfectly tender corned beef.
- Cook Over Low Heat The most important principle to cooking briskets is to cook for a long time over low heat. This allows the tough meat to break down into that fork-tender brisket we all know and love!
- Cook Slowly Like I mentioned above, if you don’t cook this meat long enough, it will be tough. If it isn’t tender, cook it longer!
- Slice Across the Grain Brisket has fibrous strands that are tough to chew unless you cut it across the grain. Don’t miss that step!!
How to Season Corned Beef
Corned Beef is a beef brisket that has been seasoned and brined. When you purchase it, it will come with a spice packet along with it containing peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander and usually whole allspice. If your brisket doesn’t include a seasoning packet, bundle some pickling spices, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a cheesecloth and add it in its place.
Can I Make Corned Beef in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker?
It is easy to convert this recipe for the Instant Pot or Crock Pot.
- To adjust recipe for slow cooker, cook on low 3 hours, then add potatoes and carrots. Cook an additional 5-7 hours, adding cabbage two hours before serving.
- To make this recipe in the Instant Pot cook the corned beef as directed below in step 1, on high pressure for 85 minutes, then allow for natural release. Remove the beef (keep warm) and any solids from the cooking liquid and add potatoes, carrots, and cabbage wedges. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes then quick release the pressure. Slice against the grain and serve meat with vegetables.
Stovetop Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main course
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Irish
Description
Corned Beef and Cabbage is easy to make on the stovetop! With just six ingredients and a little patience, you can have this traditional Irish boiled corned beef with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots ready for St. Patrick’s Day or any day of the year!
Ingredients
- corned beef brisket (about 4 pounds) with spice packet
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 3.5 pounds small potatoes, peeled (about 10–15 potatoes)
- 8 medium carrots, peeled and halved crosswise
- 1 medium head cabbage, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Place brisket, contents of seasoning packet, brown sugar, and bay leaves in a large stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, simmer covered for 2 hours.
- Add potatoes and carrots and return to a boil.
- Reduce heat, simmer covered just until beef and vegetables are tender, about 30-40 minutes.
- Add cabbage to the pot and return to a boil. (If pot is too full to add cabbage, remove potatoes and carrots and keep warm until serving.)
- Reduce heat and simmer covered until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Remove meat and allow to rest 15 minutes before slicing against the grain. Serve with potatoes, carrots and cabbage.
Notes
- If your corned beef does not have a seasoning packet, bundle pickling spices, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a cheese cloth and add to the pot in step 1.
- To adjust recipe for slow cooker, cook on low 3 hours, then add potatoes and carrots. Cook an additional 5-7 hours, adding cabbage two hours before serving.
- To make this recipe in the Instant Pot cooke corned beef as directed on high pressure for 85 minutes, then allow for natural release. Remove the beef (keep warm) and any solids from the cooking liquid and add potatoes, carrots, and cabbage wedges. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes then quick release the pressure. Slice against the grain and serve meat with vegetables.
Keywords: corned beef and cabbage
This turned out great, thank you!!
★★★★★