The seasoning packets in corned beef is basically just pepper corns, mustard seeds and bits of bay leaves, maybe a little dried onion & garlic, but you can use "Pickling Spice" as well.
I have been cooking Corned Beef for about 40 years now and one of the tricks I have found over the years for cooking it is to start out by putting your beef in COLD water and slowly heating it up to a simmer only in the spices. Never BOIL the meat, just simmer it or else the meat will be tough.
The perfect corned beef & cabbage recipe. What I do after I've following Chef John's recipe to the letter and have let it rest for 10-15 minutes is mix up some brown sugar with dejon mustard and coat the top of the brisket and stick it under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes until the sugar & mustard have "carmelized". Just that little bit of sweetness adds that extra "surprise" with each bite. My family & friends love it...thanks to Chef John!
As corned beef recipes go this is one of the best and easiest I have ever made. I used a 5.5 qt. dutch oven and a 2.5 lb. corned beef. Even with a small head of cabbage it was a tight fit for all the ingredients. So the next time the only thing that I would do different. Is to start earlier giving myself plenty of time. Now cooking wise let the corned beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, cook to fork tender and done. Once fork tender done remove the corned beef,potatoes, onions and carrots aside. Now add the cabbage into the liquid cook cabbage till done. Also by doing this you can now adjust the cabbage to your taste if you like it spicy or sweet or just let it cook in the liquid till done. Overall a winner and a keeper recipe. Thanks Chef John for another great recipe!!!!
I just made this corned beef, scaled down to a 2.5lb piece of meat. It's absolutely the best corned beef I've ever had. I live in NYC and am no stranger to Carnegie Deli, Katz's Deli, and 2nd Ave deli, but I would take this corned beef over them any day.
This gets 5 stars just for Chef John's comment "this is a perfect meal because you can make even if you're drunk" Ha Ha! Plus it tastes get too!.
Used this recipe for a 3.75 lb brisket...came out perfect! I have only made corned beef one other time, and it was made in the crock-pot. From now on I am using this recipe, on the stove top, and making it more often! The video helped me a great deal as well! Thank you, Chef John!
Chef John's Corned Beef & Cabbage Haiku: "Sad St. Patrick's Day. Followed this whole recipe, didn't work for us." The only thing that ended up being edible in this meal was the cabbage and the carrots. The potatoes weren't done, and the corned beef was not tender. I didn't change a single thing about the recipe; for all the timing, ingredient amounts, and methods that I stuck to, and the fact that CJ recipes rarely are a miss, but this was a major disappointment. Glad that my husband brought home a gorgeous bakery loaf of Irish soda bread b/c it tasted just marvelous sopping up the broth. The pot's been simmering for 6 hrs. now so I'll just leave it there til the potatoes are edible, but the corned beef's gone to the neighbor's dog.
Simple, savory, and a perfect St. Patrick's Day dinner. Try substituting apple juice for the water. That's what my mom would do. What surprised me most about Chef John's Corned Beef recipe? He did NOT tell us "that spice packet that comes with? Throw it away!" Thank you Chef John not just for the recipe, but more importantly: for the confidence to cook!
I really liked this recipe. In fact I like all of Chef John's recipes. Keep on cooking and sharing chef John!
