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.
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.
Russel says
what temperature ??
Jbrown says
350
John says
I understand that it should equate to an hour per pound but what if you’re cooking a 20 pound brisket? You’re telling me it’ll take 20 hours to cook it to the way it should be? Call me odd but that seems like a ridiculously long time to cook anything other than a slow roast or smoking something.
Gina says
I have been making my own version for decades. Cook with spices in a slow cooker for appropriate time for weight Then take it out of the liquid , pat dry, slather it with Dijon and roast it in the oven. Saves time, the meat is tender and you cook your cabbage potatoes , carrots in the water of the slow cooker.
Peggy says
I like how it sounds although you do not sayhow long you bake it
Janet says
It says 1 hour per pound
Janet says
This is from the recipe!
Bake for 1 hour per pound of corned beef.
corned beef wrapped in foil
Bill says
What’s the best cut of corn beef to cook that doesn’t get stringy
Chris says
I am cooking three corn beef in the oven all in a roaster. They are all about 3 pounds. How do you gauge the cooking time if they are three separate pieces of meat?
Jennie says
I’m cooking 3corn beef in the oven totally 11 lb. How many hours do I cook it 11 hrs seems to long
Barbara says
Did you ever get a response to the time factor. I am doing two 4.5 lb each and would like to know.
Samantha says
No, you don't cook it for the combined weight. You cook it for the average weight of each one. So if you have three of them at 4 lbs each, cook them for the time it takes for just 4 lb.
Jody says
Don't cut with the grain. Cut against the grain.
Elizabeth says
Cut against the grain of the meat.
Michelle says
I'm trying this recipe this week, but I'm going to roast the corned beef in an electric roaster. Do you suggest I still wrap the meat in foil, or rub with mustard and spices and place directly on the rack or bottom of the roaster?
Marie says
I do mine in the electric roaster every year.
I do all the steps (mustard, My own seasoning, foil and I place on the roaster rack and fill the bottom of the pan with about 2 - 2 1/2 cups of beef broth and bake it 1 hour per pound.
Side note- (I always do 2 briskets around 4 pounds each and only calculate the time for 1 brisket not a combined weight).
Hope that helps!
Mike says
Just wanted to say THANK YOU for your spot on instructions. I followed them to the letter and my Corned Beef came out perfectly. Super tender, delicious and still.very sliceable for sandwiches. Thanks again.