Palmer’s Direct To You Market
Whole Corned Beef
So you’ve picked up a whole corned beef. While it’s a big cut, preparing it is surprisingly simple. Cook it low and slow, give it time to become tender, and you’ll have plenty of delicious corned beef for your St. Patrick’s Day meal—and leftovers to enjoy all week.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 4 hrs
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients
- Whole corned beef brisket (or portion of whole brisket)
- Included seasoning spice packet (A pickling spice blend with mustard seed, coriander, peppercorns, bay leaf, and other spices for classic corned beef flavor)
- Water or beef broth
Traditional additions:
- Green cabbage, cut into wedges
- Carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- Potatoes, halved or quartered
- Yellow onion (optional)
Instructions
Cooking Time Guide
Corned beef is best cooked slowly at a gentle simmer.
- Simmer or braise:
- 45–60 minutes per pound
If cooking the entire brisket at once, expect a total cooking time of 16–20 hours.
Most customers prefer to portion the roast first:
- 5 lb portion: about 4–5 hours
- 3–4 lb portion: about 3–4 hours
The corned beef is ready when it becomes fork tender and easy to slice.
Traditional Cooking Method
Place the corned beef in a large pot or roasting pan.
- Cover with water or broth.
- Add the included seasoning spice packet.
- Bring to a gentle simmer. Do not boil hard, as this can toughen the meat.
- Cook until fork tender.
- For a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal, add cabbage, carrots, and potatoes during the last 30–40 minutes of cooking.
Yield
- A 21 lb corned beef will yield approximately 16–18 lbs cooked after natural cooking shrink.
- This equals roughly 30-40+ servings, depending on portion size.
Notes
What to Do with the Extra Corned Beef
A whole corned beef brisket is a large cut, and most households will cook only a portion at a time. The good news is it stores very well both before and after cooking.
If You Don’t Plan to Cook It All at Once
After opening the package, divide the brisket into smaller portions.
To store uncooked portions:
- Cut the brisket into manageable pieces (3–5 lbs is common).
- Pat dry and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or vacuum seal.
- Place inside a freezer bag or airtight container.
- Label and freeze.
Freezer storage:
- Up to 3–4 months for best flavor.
- When ready to cook, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and prepare as normal.
Storing Cooked Corned Beef
Cooked corned beef is great for leftovers and reheats well.
Refrigerator storage:
- Store sliced or whole in an airtight container for up to 4–5 days.
Freezing cooked portions:
- Slice or portion the meat.
- Wrap tightly or vacuum seal.
- Freeze for 2–3 months.
Adding a little cooking liquid when reheating helps keep the meat moist.
Great Uses for Leftover Corned Beef
- Corned beef hash
- Reuben sandwiches
- Breakfast scrambles
- Corned beef tacos
- Irish nachos