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.
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 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 browns into a delicious crust.
What is corned beef?
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).
Preparing the meat
The beef does not need to be rinsed. Just pat dry the surface with paper towels. Place on a rack set on top of a roasting pan, so it’s elevated from the bottom. This allows the heat to circulate and helps the roast cook evenly.
Add a small amount of cold water to the pan to prevent burning. This also creates a moist environment that softens the connective tissues without being submerged in water. Loosely cover the brisket with aluminum foil before baking to trap some steam. Make sure that the meat is fat-side up so that it flavors baste itself as it cooks, just like a roasted chicken.
Skip the seasoning packet
The brisket should 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 or boiling liquid.
Make a stunning crust
Instead of the spice packet, I use a combination of honey, whole grain mustard, smooth dijon mustard, and brown sugar added in a thin layer on top of the meat before it bakes. A little bit of whole mustard seeds gives a subtle spicy flavor.
After the beef is cooked, the remaining honey mustard sauce is added, followed by a generous sprinkling of more brown sugar. The layer of sugar gets caramelized under the hot heating element of the broiler and creates a gorgeous golden-brown crust. It only takes a few minutes, so keep a close on the color.
The target internal temperature
Using an instant-read thermometer, the 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), which takes about 75 minutes. Extend the cooking time for larger cuts, monitoring with a thermometer every 10 minutes.
Rest and 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.
What I would serve with this
While the meat is baking, you can prepare a few tasty side dishes. I suggest serving this year’s feast with creamy, homemade mashed potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts. To complete your meal, bake a sweet Irish soda bread with cherries and almonds for a nice twist on the traditional recipe.
Recipe Science
Osmosis occurs during wet curing
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 of the membrane to inside the cell walls over time. This yields a brined and flavorful corned beef.
More Corned Beef
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. Evenly spread 3 tablespoons (about half) of the mixture on top of the meat.
- Cover the Meat – Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of brown sugar over the top. 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.
- Remove and Glaze – 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 with the remaining mustard mixture, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.
- Broil – Cook until the top of the meat turns golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Rest, then Slice – Remove beef from the oven and allow it to 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 so the juices don’t burn.
- Mustard Ingredients: 6 tablespoons of pre-mixed whole-grain Dijon mustard can be substituted for 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.