If you are looking for the best, easiest way to make baked corned beef, you have come to the right place. For years I couldn't figure out how to make corned beef just the way I liked it to taste, but as it turns out, it's really simple: I now know how to cook corned beef in the oven!
Before we get into all the specifics of how to cook corned beef in the oven, let's start with the basics:
What is corned beef?
At the most basic, corned beef is a piece of beef brisket that has been cured in rock ( "corn" ) salt and usually something else that you don't really want to know about, like delicious, delicious nitrates and nitrites.
Look, in seriousness, I don't love nitrates and nitrites either, but once a year ... well I make an exception.
Because corned beef is delicious.
Corned Beef with Mustard and Seasoning
Now that you know what corned beef is, let's move on to the how of it all. If you'd rather watch how it's done, check out this video:
How to cook corned beef in the oven:
- Rinse the corned beef off with water and pat dry
- Rub the corned beef in your favorite mustard ( dijon for me )
- Sprinkle whatever magic seasoning was provided to you in the package of corned beef on the top ( fat side up )
- Wrap tightly in foil and place on an ovenproof pan with high sides so the moisture released during cooking doesn't overflow
- BAKE!
How long to cook corned beef in the oven?
The time to bake corned beef in the oven until it is tender, juicy, but still sliceable, is really simple to remember! Bake it for one hour per pound, and if your corned beef isn't a "perfect", even weight, round up to the quarter pound for times. For instance, a 2.65 lb corned beef should cook for the same time as a 2.75 lb corned beef: 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Here's some common times to spare you any math:
- 1 lb corned beef : bake 1 hour
- 2 lb corned beef: bake 2 hours
- 2.25 lb corned beef: bake 2 hours 15 minutes
- 2.5 lb corned beef: bake 2 hours 30 minutes
- 2.75 lb corned beef: bake 2 hours 45 minutes
- 3 lb corned beef: bake 3 hours
- 3.5 lb corned beef: bake 3 hours 30 minutes
- ... you get the idea!
Don't forget, once you take the corned beef out of the oven, it needs to REST before you slice into it, otherwise it will end up dry.
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I love to have oven baked corned beef and cabbage!
So make sure to make some sautéed cabbage to go with your corned beef. It's a great vegetable side dish for St Patrick's Day!
Baked Corned Beef in the Oven
Ingredients
- 1 package corned beef seasoning packet included
- ¼ cup dijon mustard
- 1 sheet foil heavy duty preferred
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a large piece of aluminum foil in an oven-proof dish with high sides like a Pyrex dish.Remove the corned beef from the package. Set the spice packet aside. Throw out any other packaging. Rinse the corned beef with cold water, pat dry, and set it on the foil in the dish, with the fatty side on the top.
- Rub ¼ cup of mustard all over the corned beef ( top, bottoms, sides )
- Open the seasoning packet, and sprinkle the seasoning on top of the mustard-rubbed corned beef. The seasoning only needs to go on the top of the meat, not all over.
- Tightly wrap the corned beef with the foil it's resting on. Place pan with the foil wrapped corned beef into the oven. Bake for 1 hour per pound of corned beef.
- Once the beef has cooked, remove it from the oven and open the foil. Optional: Broil the corned beef for 5 minutes, or until the top begins to crisp. After all cooking ( broiling or not ) has completed, let the corned beef rest for 10 minutes before transferring it to a cutting board. Slice the meat against the grain and serve with sautéed cabbage.
Delicious and much better than boiled!
Extremely tasty and so simple. The hour per pound was perfect.
Super delicious! However, very salty. Are there any tips to help get rid up the salt?
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Rinsing the beef first can help remove some of the salt. Some people have reported that soaking it in plain water for a few hours can also help, although I have not tried that myself.
To reduce salt, I bring the corned beef to a boil, dump the water and bring to a boil again and then bake the corned beef. It really helps.