This beer-braised corned beef recipe is full of flavor and can easily be turned into a one-pot meal.
I honestly love having corned beef dinners all throughout the year, but once Valentine's Day is over I start really craving corned beef since St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner.
While the traditional boiled corned beef dinner is great, I also really like making this beer-braised corned beef recipe. It has a bit deeper flavor that you can turn into more of a meat with sauce and is just a nice change from the same old same old.
I really like that it's pretty much a set and forget type of meal while the corned beef cooks for several hours, which results in a very tender meat and delicious broth that you can turn into a sauce to pour over the meat and some colcannon (Irish-style mashed potatoes).
Sometimes I'll also boil my favorite veggies to have with corned beef in the resulting broth so they are extra flavorful. Serve with some rye or Irish soda bread and you have a complete hearty meal that will taste like you have been slaving over the stove all day.
Both cuts of corned beef should be fine for this recipe. We usually get a larger corned beef at Costco, but I found some smaller cuts on sale at one of our local grocery stores to use in this corned beef recipe.
I used two since they are on the smaller side, but that does mean they cook quicker than a larger cut.
Recommended Equipment
I'm often asked what products I use when cooking, so here I'm sharing some of my must-haves to make this beer-braised corned beef recipe.
- A dutch oven to cook the corned beef in. You want a nice heavy pot with a sturdy lid to make this corned beef. I used these dutch ovens almost every day and they are such great quality, especially for the price.
- A good knife for slicing the onion, corned beef, and other veggies. These knives are very affordable but have held up very nicely over the years for me.
- A skimmer - This tool is one of my favorites in the kitchen. It can be used when frying, poaching eggs, or, as in this recipe, to remove the vegetables from the broth (and so much more).
- Soup bowls for serving. I love all parts of this corned beef recipe from the corned beef, veggies, and certainly plenty of the broth/sauce. These bowls from World Market are very affordable and I use them for both serving and eating.
What To Serve With Corned Beef
Here are some of my favorite recipes to serve with this corned beef recipe.
- Colannan (Irish-Style Mashed Potatoes) are great if you don't like having the traditional boiled vegetables.
- Homemade Yeast Rolls are perfect to dip into the delicious corned beef broth.
- Sauteed Green Beans with Bacon, Cranberries, and Almonds is another tasty and green side dish alternative.
If you happen to have leftovers here are our favorite 15 recipes for leftover corned beef.
Beer-Braised Corned Beef Recipe
This beer-braised corned beef recipe is packed full of flavor and easily turned into a one-pot meal.
Ingredients
- 3 - 4 pounds corned beef brisket
- ½ - 1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- Corned beef seasoning packet (that's included in your corned beef packaging) or about 1 tablespoon of your desired pickling spice
- 1 large white or yellow onion, cut into half-moon slices
- 1 - 2 cloves of garlic, cut in half OR ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- 1 - 2 bottles beer, preferably Guinness; you could also use beef broth (low-sodium) or water, but the flavor won't be as strong
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cornstarch if you want a thicker sauce
- Vegetables, such as green cabbage, sliced carrots, cubed potatoes, corn on the cob, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Remove the corned beef from the packaging, then rinse, and then pat dry.
- Place the sliced onion in a large dutch oven and season with a pinch of ground black pepper. Place the corned beef fat side up over the onions and cover with a thick layer of brown sugar, breaking down any large clumps with your fingers. Sprinkle the seasoning packet or pickling spices, and garlic over the brown sugar. I don't like to add salt and pepper until just before serving because you never know how salty the meat will already be.
- Pour the beer around the corned beef until it just covers the beef, trying to not disturb the brown sugar too much. You may need more beer depending on how big your pot is, or you can use beef broth or water. It is important to make sure the beef is covered with liquid so it doesn't end up tasting bitter.
- Place the lid on the dutch oven and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 3 - 6 hours until the corned beef is tender. Once tender, remove the corned beef from the pot onto a plate and loosely cover with foil. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
- While the beef rests, you can reduce the broth on the stove over medium-high. If you want a thicker sauce mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into ¼ cup cold water until completely mixed in. Then stir the mixture into the broth and cook until it's thickened. Check for seasoning before serving.
- If you want to cook vegetables in the broth, check the broth for seasoning, clean and cut the vegetables into the desired size and cook until fork-tender, about 20 - 30 minutes. Serve broth or sauce with sliced corned beef and veggies in soup bowls and enjoy.