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!
Jump to:
Recipe highlights
- Economical: Briskets are typically a cheaper cut of meat, especially when compared to other cuts of beef. And cheaper meats should be cooked low and slow to turn into tender deliciousness. And the other ingredients you need are probably already in your pantry!
- Simple: No fancy equipment or slow cooker is needed to make this dish. It is super simple to prep and bake this recipe.
- Texture: When cooked low and slow for several hours, the brisket comes out perfectly tender! And it makes a wonderful meal, slice for sandwiches, use leftovers for eggs and hash!
- Flavor: By slow roasting your corned beef, instead of boiling it, the flavor is enhanced and you end with a truly delicious meat and not bland piece of rubber.
When I first tried making corned beef, I followed the directions on the package and slowly boiled it. Boiling the corned beef is how the Irish Americans first prepared this dish, too. It truly tasted awful and we threw it all away.
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 learned that I could bake my 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.
This is the only way to cook a corned beef. But you forgot the best way to use any leftovers: Reuben sandwiches!
– Alison
Ingredients you need
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy
- 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. If you are eating low carb, you can also use alternative brown sweetener.
Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
Step-by-step directions
- Prep the roast. Drain liquid from corned beef package and pat dry with paper towels. This next step is 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.
- Place on foil. 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).
- Add the mustard. Whisk together mustards and spread half of it over the top of the corned beef. Reserve remaining mustard. Sprinkle brown sugar over the mustard covered corned beef.
- Bake. 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 2-3 hours, or until fork tender. You will bake approximately 1 hour per pound of corned beef.
- Optional brown. If you want it lightly browned, open the foil wrapping and broil for 2-3 minutes.
- Rest. 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.
Special thanks to Simply Recipes for the inspiration. 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.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover corned beef in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
TO REHEAT: I am not a fan of reheating meats in the microwave. Instead I like to pan fry slices. If you have large chunks of roast, you can reheat in the oven. Just wrap in foil and place in a 300ºF oven until warmed through.
The beef gets cured using large grains of rock salt, aka “corns” of salt. The beef sits in this brine giving corned beef its distinctive pink color. This curing process helps tenderize a normally tough cut of meat.
If salt is an issue for you, place your brisket in a pot fat side up and cover with water. Once the water comes to a boil, remove from heat, discard the water then bake as recipe directs. But I personally do not boil the meat before roasting it, I just rinse it. Par boiling is not necessary, but is dependent on your own personal taste.
If you are enjoying my recipes, please sign up for my newsletter and get my free 28-day meal plan! You can also follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
Baked Corned Beef with Mustard Crust
Ingredients
- 3 lb corned beef brisket
- ¼ cup honey mustard
- ¼ cup whole grain dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- 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.
- 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).
- In a small bowl, whisk together mustards.
- Spread half of the mustard mixture over the top of the corned beef. Reserve remaining mustard.
- Sprinkle over the mustard covered corned beef with brown sugar.
- 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 for 2-3 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 190º F (90º C). You will bake approximately 1 hour per pound of corned beef.
- Open the foil wrapping and broil for 2-3 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly browned.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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.
You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my eMail list, too!
Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Is it OK to use a roasting pan instead of tinfoil?
Hi Sherri-
You can place it directly into a roasting pan, but you do need to cover it with foil while it bakes.
Laura
Where is the cooking temperature? I was hoping to find that at the top of the article. Oven temp should be right at the top of the page.
All of the recipe details are in the recipe card below. Just click the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the page and you’ll find everything. Oven temp 350ºF.
Warren, it is stated in the first sentence if you scroll down to the recipe. 350°
Leave the fat ON the corned beef. It gives it so much more flavor. It scrapes right off with a knife once it’s cooked and you get all that delicious flavor.
Without the fat the meat can be dry and bland.
I forgot to put the brown sugar on top. Will this affect the taste? Can I put it on at then end
It just won’t have the sweetness to it, just a mustard topping. It caramelizes while it cooks, so adding it at the end just adds sugar.
Laura
Can I quickly open the foil and add it? Still have an hour left of cooking
Sorry for the late response, I wouldn’t bother. Opening it releases the steam that is cooking your brisket.
I’m too late to help, but, I completely forgot the brown sugar for this year’s St Pat’s day brisket. It was still very good.
Tip: The 4 1/4 brisket I bought looked beautiful in the vac pac…nice evenly thick! Discovered it had a nasty thin end tucked in and around where it could not be seen in the packaging. Made the mistake of cooking it the way it was packed (thin end tucked under) without trimming off the thin end’s fat cap. Not a good idea.
I am using a larger brisket as well, and used ground mustard with horseradish to give it a kick! Fingers crossed! ☘️
Love the addition of horseradish! Hope you all enjoy it!
Laura
Can we pull out the corned beef brisket at 190f when cooking it at 250f in the oven? I heard that the collagen breaks down and becomes tender when it reaches around 180-195f. I feel that pulling out at 145f would still be too tough since brisket is a TOUGH cut.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to doneness of brisket. Some like it fork tender but still holding its shape, while others like it fall apart tender. I confess that I stop checking with a thermometer when I make this brisket recipe, as I stick a fork in it and see if it is fall apart tender.
I’ve made this twice. 350 for two hours both times. No temping etc. Perfect results. Hardest part is sealing up the brisket without letting foil touch the sugar/mustard topping. Tip: don’t try to move the foil wrapped brisket into the pan…put the foil in the pan first then add brisket, topping, and seal all while already in the pan.
Apologies. Meant to say: at 350, 2 hours for 3 pounder, 3 hours for much thicker 5 pounder. No temping. Perfect results.
It really does make a delicious corned beef – thank you for sharing your results!
Laura
I took a 3 lb briskett preped it exactly as this recipie was written, put in the 350 oven in tented foil. Cooked 1.5 hours inside temp reached 149. In about 1.5 hours. Took it out let it rest. Tough as a truck tire. Just now placed it back in at 250 and will monitor it carefully. Hopefully it tenders up. Have no clue why it didn’t come out like most anyone else’s?????
A few things can affect how your corned beef turns out. I find that the flat cut is more juicy and tender than the point cut. But I have made both with this method and it turns out. Also the position of the thermometer makes a difference, too. Make sure you are inserting the thermometer thru the side of the brisket to the center instead of inserting from the top. How much fat is on the brisket also affects how tender and juicy your brisket will turn out.
Excellent alternative to standard boiled corned beef. To reduce the salt, rinsed and soaked in cold water which was changed two or three times over an hour. Would have done maybe an hour longer but was short on prep time. This leeches the salt out. Soaking too long would reduce flavor I think. Anyway, proceeded with recipe except 325 for 3 hours (350 seemed too high to slow roast) and rested for 20 minutes. Well received with compliments. Will use this method again. Thank you for posting the recipe.
Thank you, Leslie, for sharing your experience. It really is a wonderful and versatile recipe, and honestly the only way I cook corned beef!
This is the only way to cook a corned beef. But you forgot the best way to use any leftovers: Reuben sandwiches!
Homemade Corned beef hash is another option…SO much better than the canned stuff!
I roast the corned beef , uncovered on a rack over a water bath with pickling spices between 250-275 degrees for 6-8 hrs or until fork tender & top fat is carmelized & crisp! Let it rest to room temperature before slicing. Best corned beef you will ever eat!
Hi Diane,
Yay! I am so happy that you loved the recipe and for letting me know.
Laura
Always my go to recipe for corned beef. I par boil mine. Don’t like ALL that salt! Love this for really good left over corned beef Sammie’s!
Thanks for this recipe. I will be trying it. Swift-Premium used to make a ”corned beef for oven roasting that was great so I can’t wait to try it.
Once I started baking my corned beef, I never went back! I hope you like it!
I never cooked corn beef brisket before and this is a very easy recipe, I’ll try it
It’s definitely easy and I hope you like it!
This is the best idea for cooking corned beef ever!
This really was the best corn beef ever!
Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Thank yoou for providing
this info.