Outside the realm of the Reuben sandwich and the occasional hash, most people think of corned beef as a dish for St. Patrick’s Day. But that needn’t be so! Amazing corned beef has a place on your table all year long, and we have the time and temperature tips to be sure your corned beef is as flavor-packed, tender, and juicy as it can be. Let’s learn how to make this tasty dish—from scratch!
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner! To celebrate the holiday, we suggest the iconic Irish-American classic of corned beef and cabbage. Not only is this meal a delicious way to celebrate the Irish-American holiday, but making corned beef at home is also a satisfying cooking project! Whether you’re making corned beef for the first time or a cooking pro curious about how others make it, take a look at the list below of the five mistakes to avoid and what to do instead to ensure corned beef perfection.
Instead: Treat corned beef just like steak. Look for the lines of visible muscles fibers on the meat as this is the “grain” of the meat. Always sliced corned beef against the grain instead of slicing with it. Cutting through the muscle fibers shortens them and makes each piece easier to chew.
Instead: Cooking corned beef takes patience as it’s a tough cut of meat that benefits from a lengthy cook time. For stovetop cooking, plan on at least three hours for a three-pound corned beef or eight to 10 hours for a three- to four-pound cut that’s cooked on low in the crock pot.
Simmering corned beef on the stovetop is a tried-and-true method that results in very tender beef. One of the keys to simmering corned beef correctly is the amount of water in the pot. When there’s not ample liquid to cover the meat, your dreams of tender corned beef may be replaced by a tough, chewy result.
What’s going on here?
Collagen breakdown is a function of time and temperature. Once you breach the threshold of gelatin creation—about 160°F (71°C)—the meat will begin to soften. But at that temperature, it will take 36 hours to get tender! At 205°F (96°C), that time is reduced to a mere 3 hours. But because the total internal temp will have climbed so much higher, other protein reactions will have happened that make the meat flakier and drier.
Does corned beef get tender the longer you cook it?
Why does corned beef take so long to cook?
Make sure you don’t forget the pale ale. A corned beef and cabbage meal typically takes a long time to cook. Why? Because corned beef comes from brisket, a tough cut of meat. You need its connective tissue to break down so you can have tender results.
Is corned beef tough?
Corned beef starts out as a brisket which is a very tough piece of meat. This meat must be properly cooked, or it will turn out tough every single time. If you’ve tried to dry roast or fry brisket, it is no wonder the meat is tough as shoe leather. You are going to have to change things up and try something else.
What happens if you cook corned beef too long?
Cooking corned beef for too long causes it to become tough not tender as will cooking it too hot. Corned beef comes from the lower chest of the cow known as the brisket, which holds up the 1200-1600 pound animal. So the meat is comprised of dense, tough muscle, and mostly connective tissue already.
Can you cook corned beef over high heat?
Cooking over a high temperature. High heat is not a friend to brisket. When cooked at a boil for too long, corned beef is likely to turn out tough and chewy, rather than soft and tender. Do this instead: Regardless of the cooking method, corned beef is best cooked over low heat.