Baked Corned Beef with Mustard Crust

Don’t wash out your corned beef by boiling it. Enjoy a flavorful and tender St. Patrick’s Day dinner with this Baked Corned Beef with Mustard Crust.

I never really understood St. Patrick’s Day. I am not Irish. I have zero, zippo Irish blood running in my veins. I’ve got Lithuanian and Iranian blood, you see. And when I moved the U.S. in the 70’s, I had no understanding about things like Leprechauns or the Easter Bunny.

I got pinched for not wearing green and couldn’t understand why my friends believed in a giant bunny that gives away candy. Fast forward 30 years later, and I’m a mom of three and having fun with the many “holidays” celebrated in the U.S. Which brings me to this lovely wonderful recipe!

Why this recipe is so awesome

Here in the U.S. we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with some corned beef and cabbage. This is ironic considering that beef was not readily available in Ireland and was considered a luxury item. The traditional Irish meal for St. Patrick’s Day was usually lamb or pork.

When I first tried making corned beef, I followed the directions on the package and slowly boiled it. It seemed good enough. I really didn’t know what I was doing, being a new wife.

Boiling the corned beef is how the Irish Americans first prepared this dish, too. Since this is a tough cut of meat, you have to cook it low and slow so it will yield tender and juicy.

I was never a fan of boiled meat, whether in a pot over the stove or in a slow-cooker. I figured there had to be another way to prepare corned beef without boiling it.

Then I found a recipe for baked corned beef and my curiosity was piqued. It made so much more sense to oven bake a brisket than to boil it. So I tried it myself. It is now favorite way to enjoy corned beef.

I have altered it to my family’s liking and sharing my version below. I omitted cloves from the original recipe because no one in my family likes cloves. I also modified the mustard topping to my personal taste.

Ingredients you need

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• Corned beef brisket: I prefer the brisket cut as it is much more tender and juicy than the other cuts. But you can use this method with other cuts of corned beef.
• Mustards: I use two mustard combinations, honey mustard and whole grain dijon mustard. You can use any kind of mustard you like. Just choose something that has depth of flavor beyond the standard yellow mustard.
• Brown sugar: You can use light or dark brown sugar.

Step-by-step directions

1. Drain liquid from corned beef package and pat dry with paper towels. (Optional) If salt is an issue for you, place your corned beef in a pot fat side up and cover with water. Once the water comes to a boil, remove from heat, discard the water and continue with the rest of the recipe. I personally do not boil my corned beef before roasting and just give it a quick rinse and pat dry.

2. Lay corned beef, fat side up, on a large piece of heavy duty, wide, aluminum foil. Evenly sprinkle peppercorns from package over corned beef (optional).

3. In a small bowl, whisk together mustards. Spread half of the mustard mixture over the top of the corned beef. Reserve remaining mustard. Sprinkle brown sugar over the mustard covered corned beef.

4. Wrap the corned beef with foil so that space is left on top between the corned beef and the foil. Place foil-wrapped corned beef in a shallow roasting pan and bake at 350ºF for 2 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 195º F (90º C).

5. Open the foil wrapping and broil for 2-3 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly browned.

6. Let corned beef rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then place on cutting board and cut at a diagonal, across the grain of the meat, into ½-inch thick slices. Serve with reserved mustard on the side.

Recipe tips and FAQs

Honestly, my whole family loves this dish so much and usually we eat it up with zero leftovers. This is now my go-to recipe whenever we have a corned beef hankering!

But just in case you do have leftovers, you can always make up some delicious sandwiches. But my family absolutely loves my corned beef mac and cheese. You can also set it up as appetizer/snack like this corned beef bruschetta. My absolutely favorite way to enjoy leftover corned beef is in my corned beef and cabbage quinoa salad.

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

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