This is the best baked corned beef recipe for St. Patrick’s Day! A flavorful honey mustard glaze is brushed on top and sprinkled with brown sugar, then the brisket is broiled in the oven to create a delicious crust.
Jessica’s Recipe Science
- A flat-cut brisket provides uniform thickness, cooks more evenly in the oven, and slices neatly across the grain for tender pieces.
- Baking the brisket, covered with water in the pan, creates steam that keeps the meat moist while softening the connective tissue.
- Adding mustard glaze before the brown sugar helps it stick. A quick broil caramelizes the sugar and forms a glossy crust.
Featured Comment 90
“I’ve never really been a fan of boiled corned beef so after looking for other ways to make it I came across your recipe. I made it for our St. Patrick’s dinner and my husband (who is Irish) said this is the only way he’ll eat corned beef now. It was so delicious! This recipe is a keeper!”—Noreen
Why It Works
When celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, most traditional recipes call for boiling corned beef and cabbage in a big pot. The problem with that method is that it can yield tough, overcooked pieces if not carefully monitored. I invite you to switch things up and give this baked version a try. You won’t regret it!
If you haven’t tried baking corned beef, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the ease of preparation, minimal ingredients, and the fact that the meat is actually flavorful. The best part is right before serving, as the brisket gets a generous honey mustard glaze that forms a delicious crust.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
- Corned Beef: A brined piece of beef brisket is ideal for baking because it contains a high amount of connective tissue and intramuscular fat, which slowly breaks down into gelatin during gentle oven cooking. This process transforms a tough cut into tender, juicy slices while the curing brine keeps the meat flavorful and moist throughout roasting. I use a flat cut brisket in this recipe, which is leaner and has a more consistent width.
- Mustard: Whole grain mustard adds a mild tang and bursts of texture from the intact mustard seeds. Dijon mustard provides a smooth, sharp acidity that balances the richness of the beef. It also acts as a flavorful binder, helping the sweet glaze cling to the brisket’s surface.
- Honey: Honey adds natural sweetness that balances the salty, savory notes of the cured beef. As it heats, the sugars help the surface glaze caramelize and develop deeper flavor.
- Sugar: Dark brown sugar contains molasses, which adds moisture and a deeper caramel-like flavor. During baking, the sugars melt and promote browning, creating a sticky, flavorful crust on the corned beef.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
The baked corned beef recipe is easy to customize! Try these delicious options:
- Corned Beef Options: Use a larger or smaller corned beef brisket and adjust the cooking time accordingly. A corned beef flat cut works well for even slicing, while a point cut offers more fat and richer flavor, but a stringier texture.
- Mustard Swaps: Substitute coarse-ground mustard, stone-ground mustard, or add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds to Dijon mustard for a similar texture. You can use all Dijon mustard for a smooth texture. Try adding some yellow mustard, spicy brown mustard, or horseradish mustard for a slightly sharper flavor.
- Sweeteners: Try maple syrup or agave nectar to maintain sweetness and help the glaze caramelize. Use light brown sugar, coconut sugar, or granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon molasses for a similar caramel-like sweetness.
How to Make Baked Corned Beef
Step 1: Preheat the Oven
Preheating the oven to 350°F (177°C) ensures that the corned beef starts cooking in a stable, evenly heated environment. This steady heat helps the connective tissue slowly soften, producing a fork-tender texture while retaining moisture.
Step 2: Prepare the Meat
The corned beef does not need to be rinsed. Pat the surface dry with paper towels. Place the brisket fat-side up on a rack set inside a roasting pan, keeping the meat elevated from the bottom. This allows heat to circulate around the roast for more even cooking, while the melting fat slowly bastes the meat, adding flavor and moisture.
Add a small amount of cold water to the pan to prevent burning. This creates a moist environment that softens the connective tissues without being submerged in water.
Step 3: Make the Glaze
Instead of the spice packet, I use a combination of honey, whole-grain mustard, smooth Dijon mustard, and brown sugar, which I add in a thin layer on top of the meat before it bakes. A little bit of whole mustard seeds gives a subtle spicy flavor.
Expert Tip: The corned beef brisket will already be cured, making it quite salty. So I don’t recommend adding extra salt and pepper or the spice packet that comes with it when baking. The seasoning packet delivers more flavor when added to a slow cooker corned beef or when cooking on the stovetop in a Dutch oven.
Step 4: Cover the Meat
Sprinkle some brown sugar on top of the corned beef for flavor. Loosely cover the brisket with aluminum foil before baking to trap some steam.
Step 5: Bake
Using an instant-read thermometer, the corned beef is ready when the thickest part reaches 160ºF (71ºC) and is fork-tender. This recipe is for a two-pound roast cooked at 350ºF (177ºC) for about 75 minutes. Extend the cooking time for larger cuts and monitor the internal temperature every 10 minutes.
Step 6: Remove and Glaze Again
After the beef is cooked, the remaining honey mustard sauce is added, followed by a generous sprinkling of more brown sugar.
Step 7: Broil
The layer of sugar caramelizes under the broiler’s hot heating element, creating a gorgeous golden-brown crust. It only takes a few minutes, so keep a close eye on the color.
Step 8: Rest, then Slice
Rest the corned beef on a cutting board for at least 10 minutes before slicing. This allows for carryover cooking and prevents the meat from losing juices and drying out. Slice the beef against the grain. It will be easy to identify because this cut has very coarse grains.
Frequently Asked Questions
Corned beef is either brisket or round, and they’re both tougher cuts of beef that benefit significantly from slow, moist-heat cooking. The beef is cured in a brine for several days in a solution of salt, sugar, pickling spices, and curing salt, like tinted cure mix, Insta-Cure #1, or Prague Powder 1 (a mixture of salt, sodium nitrite, and pink coloring).
Some manufacturers make the beef more flavorful by allowing a salt solution to penetrate the meat’s cell walls. The salt physically moves with water from outside the membrane into the cell walls over time. This yields a brined, flavorful corned beef that retains moisture during cooking.
Cook corned beef in the oven at 350ºF (177ºC) for about 75 minutes for a 2-pound roast. The beef is done when the thickest part reaches 160ºF (71ºC) on an instant-read thermometer and is fork-tender. For larger cuts, extend the cooking time and begin checking the internal temperature every 10 minutes until it reaches the target.
While the corned beef is baking, you can prepare a few tasty side dishes. I suggest serving this year’s feast with homemade mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, sautéed cabbage, or roasted brussels sprouts. To complete your meal, bake a loaf of Irish brown bread. Don’t forget to enjoy with a glass of Guinness or Irish coffee.
Serve This With
If you tried this Baked Corned Beef, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Baked Corned Beef with Honey Mustard Glaze
Ingredients
- 2 pounds corned beef
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 5 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven – Set the oven rack to the center position. Preheat to 350°F (177ºC).
- Prepare the Meat – Remove the corned beef from the package, discarding the spice packet. Dry the surface with paper towels. Place the beef fat-side up on a wire rack set on top of a roasting pan. Add about 1 inch of water to prevent the juices from burning while cooking.
- Make the Glaze – Combine whole grain mustard, Dijon, and honey. Then evenly spread 3 tablespoons (about half) of the mixture on top of the corned beef.
- Cover the Meat – Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of brown sugar on top of the glazed meat. Then loosely cover the pan completely with foil.
- Bake – Bake the corned beef until tender, and the internal temperature reaches 160ºF (71ºC), about 75 minutes. Add more time as needed to cook thoroughly.
- Glaze Again – Carefully remove the pan from the oven and transfer the corned beef to a baking sheet lined with foil. Set oven temperature to broil. Glaze the meat again with the remaining mustard mixture, then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over it.
- Broil – Cook until the top of the meat turns golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Rest, then Slice – Remove the corned beef from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board. Slice against the grain and serve immediately.
Notes
- Serving Size: 4 ounces of sliced corned beef
- Roasting Pan Liquid: Check the water level after an hour and add more as needed to keep the juices from burning.
- Mustard Ingredients: 6 tablespoons of pre-mixed whole-grain Dijon mustard can be used in place of the two individual ingredients.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Joyce says
I’m curious to know if you first
rinse your corned beef to eliminate some of the saltiness?
Jessica Gavin says
I don’t rinse the corned beef but you can if you’d like.
Dee says
I’ve made this before and everyone loved it! This year I’d like to make it ahead of time. Can I make this a day ahead? What would be the best way to reheat?
Thank you!
Jessica Gavin says
Great to hear! I would reheat the corned beef by wrapping it in foil, and baking at 300 degrees until warm, about 20 to 30 minutes. Unwrap and add the mustard and brown sugar glaze, and broil according to the recipe instructions.
S Dahl says
Hi,
I’d love to try this for St. Patrick’s day this year, but… There’s always a but isn’t there? Lol.
Let me start with I’m sorry. I know that you put a lot of time and effort into creating your recipes. It always makes me feel bad when people don’t follow them or tell you all the ways they change it. While I know that such posts can be very helpful to others when we don’t have a needed ingredient on hand, I still feel bad for the person who created the recipe.
So I’m sorry to ask this, but ( there’s that but again, lol) I have several family members who will not eat meat with any type of sweet glaze or topping or sweetness of any kind. Could you please offer some alternatives to this for baking a corned beef? And I sincerely apologize. I mean no disrespect.
Thank you!
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Dahl- Great question! You can skip the glaze completely, or just add the dijon and whole-grain mustard blend on top for flavor.