An easy stovetop method and a rich cooking liquid create tender Guinness Corned Beef with cabbage, carrots, and potatoes. This comforting meal is a delicious St. Patrick’s Day tradition.
This one pot corned beef recipe is at the top of my list when I know I’ll be home during the afternoon to watch the pot. Looking for more methods? You’ll love my Instant Pot Corned Beef and Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage.
This recipe was originally published on Valerie’s Kitchen way back in March of 2012 My how time flies! It remains one of my favorite corned beef recipes so I’ve refreshed the post with new photos and I’m bringing it to the front just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
It was ages ago when I first I discovered that cooking corned beef in Guinness infuses incredible flavor to both the meat and the veggies. I’ve made this corned beef nearly every St. Patrick’s Day ever since.
This corned beef is really as good as it gets. Once you try it, there’s no going back!
Table of contents
Recipe Highlights
- Easy Prep: With just minutes of prep, you’ll have this corned beef simmering on the stove.
- Flavorful: Guinness beer and beef broth infuse great flavor into the corned beef and veggies. This cooking liquid takes the traditional New England boiled dinner up a notch!
- One-Pot: Everything cooks in one pot, in stages, for easy cleanup.
Ingredient Notes
- Corned Beef: Costco has carried Shenson corned beef briskets for years and I’ve had very good luck with them. Shenson and other brands are also available at most grocery stores in the weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. Just be sure the corned beef you choose comes with a spice packet. Not sure whether to buy a corned beef brisket or round? See more details on this below.
- Guinness: I like to use this Guinness Stout for this recipe. It’s a bold, dark stout that adds such fabulous flavor to both the corned beef and the veggies.
- Broth: Since corned beef is quite salty to begin with, it’s important to use low-sodium beef broth.
- Brown sugar: A little sweetness offsets the rich beer flavor in a wonderful way.
- Vegetables: Carrots, small red potatoes, and a head of green cabbage.
Cuts of Corned Beef
While you’re out shopping for corned beef, you’ll quickly realize there are some choices to be made. You really can’t go wrong with any of the cuts described below. They’ll all work with this recipe and will yield a delicious result. Which cut you choose is purely a matter of personal preference.
Flat Cut Corned Beef Brisket: The flat cut brisket is a rectangular shaped piece of meat with a pretty even thickness from end to end. It’s readily available and usually less expensive than the point cut brisket.
Point Cut Corned Beef Brisket: The point is a bit thicker, comes to a point on one end, and has more fat running through it than the flat. The additional fat in the point cut brisket results in a very moist, tender corned beef.
Corned Beef Round: The round is thicker and more lean than either the flat or point cut brisket. As a result it slices beautifully and is commonly used to make pastrami. Although lean, it’s still very flavorful.
How Much Corned Beef Per Person?
Corned beef cooks down quite a bit after the long simmer, so plan for about 3/4 pound of meat per person. I always purchase a larger corned beef than I need to ensure I’ll have plenty of leftovers. For instance, I would choose a brisket that weighs at least 4 pounds to feed 6 people.
How to Make Guinness Corned Beef
- Give your brisket a rinse under cool water and pat it dry with paper towels. Place it in a large Dutch oven.
- Coat both sides with brown sugar, leaving it fat side up.
- Add the Guinnesss and enough low-sodium beef broth so that the brisket is nearly immersed but the top is just visible above the liquid.
- Sprinkle the spice packet that came with your corned beef over the top of the brisket. Place pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 3 hours.
- When the brisket is tender, transfer it to a cutting board to rest, tented with foil.
- Add the carrots and potatoes to the cooking liquid in the Dutch oven and add enough beef broth so that vegetables are almost covered. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, until the vegetables are fork tender.
- Meanwhile, cut the cabbage into 5 or 6 sections. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a serving dish and place the sections of cabbage into the cooking liquid.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the cabbage has softened. Transfer the cabbage to a serving dish.
Tips for the Best Guinness Corned Beef
Cook in stages: You don’t want to add the vegetables at the beginning of the cooking process. The corned beef needs to simmer for 3 hours while the vegetables become tender much more quickly. If you cook in stages, you can choose a larger cut of corned beef since you don’t need to fit everything in the pot at the same time.
Don’t toss the cooking liquid: There is SO much flavor in cooking liquid after the corned beef and vegetables have finished cooking. Drizzle it over the sliced meat and vegetables, when serving to keep everything moist and add even more flavor.
Rest before slicing: Allow the corned beef to rest while the veggies are cooking before slicing it against the grain. Just lightly tent it with a sheet of foil to keep it warm. Slice off the fatty layer from the corned beef and then slice it, against the grain, into 1-inch slices.
For serving: Corned beef pairs perfectly with a whole grain or stone-ground mustard. I like to toss the cooked cabbage and fork-tender veggies with a little butter and a touch of salt before serving.
Plan for leftovers: Few things are as delicious the next day as leftover corned beef. And, there’s so much you can do with it! Choose a size that will leave you with leftovers so you can make Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup, Corned Beef Hash, or Corned Beef Breakfast Sandwiches.
And, don’t forget to crack open those remaining bottles of Guinness. Or, use them to make a Snakebite Drink if you’re feeling really festive. This meal is always a fabulously tasty way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
Storage and Reheating Tips
- Refrigerate: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 day. Save some of the cooking liquid in a separate container to use when reheating the leftovers.
- Freeze: If you won’t consume the leftovers within a few days, you might consider freezing them. Corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes can be frozen in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 to 3 months. Thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- Reheating: Drizzle the corned beef and vegetables with some of the leftover cooking liquid to help prevent them from drying out. Leftovers can be warmed in the microwave or by simmering in additional cooking liquid in a pot on the stove, just until warmed through.
More Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day
Irish Colcannon Potatoes | Valerie’s Kitchen
Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage | Valerie’s Kitchen
Irish Soda Bread with Browned Butter | The Food Charlatan
Fudge Caramel Stout Cake | The BakerMama
Guinness Beef Stew | Valerie’s Kitchen
Traditional Irish Coffee | Nutmeg Nanny
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Guinness Corned Beef
Ingredients
- 3 ½ to 4 pound corned beef brisket with spice packet included
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 11.2 ounces Guinness Stout beer
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth, divided
- 1 head green cabbage
- 6 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 ½ pounds mini red potatoes
- butter, as needed
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Remove the corned beef and spice packet from the packaging and set the spice packet aside. Give the corned beef a good rinse under cool water and place it, fat side down, in a large Dutch oven. Coat the top with half of the brown sugar. Flip the brisket over and coat the fatty side with the remaining brown sugar. Pour the Guinness around the meat adding just enough beef broth until the brisket is almost completely immersed. The fatty top of the brisket will be visible above the liquid. Reserve any remaining broth for later. Sprinkle the contents of the spice packet over the brisket.
- Place the Dutch oven over HIGH heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to LOW, cover the pot, and simmer for 3 hours.
- Remove the cooked brisket to a cutting board and tent with foil. Add the carrots and potatoes to the cooking liquid in the Dutch oven, adding enough remaining beef broth so that vegetables are almost covered. Increase the heat to HIGH to bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to MEDIUM-LOW, cover the pot, and simmer until the vegetables are fork tender, about 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the cabbage into 5 or 6 sections. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a serving dish and place the sections of cabbage into the cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes or until the cabbage has softened. Transfer the cabbage to a serving dish. Dot the vegetables and cabbage with a little butter and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Slice off the fatty layer from the corned beef and slice it against the grain into 1-inch slices. Serve it with the cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, all drizzled with a little of the cooking liquid.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
This post was originally published on March 10, 2012. It has been updated with new text and images.
Hi there. Was searching all around the webz and found this one using Guinness Stout, my only concern is after it’s all cooked the alcohol content does diminishes right? Got the kiddos to think about. Thanks. Happy St. Paddy’s Day.
Hi Angie 🙂 After it comes to a boil and then simmers for 3 hours I believe that quite of bit of the alcohol content would indeed be cooked off. However, since we aren’t using the broth to make a gravy or sauce it really just serves to flavor the meat and veggies.
To anyone who might be reading this 5 years after it was first posted, alcohol cooks out relatively quickly at high heat. The fact that this is cooking for at least 3 hours and stout/beer has a low alcohol content to begin with, it’s safe to say that virtually all of it is cooked out.
I have the same plate/bowl! =) I’ve never cooked corned beef – always prefer stew beef than dried version. However this does look tasty!
If only I lived close enough to you – I didn’t do anything special for St. Patrick’s Day and it kind of bummed me out!
What a lovely Irish classic, Valerie. I tell ya, I haven’t had corned beef since my Italian-Irish mom used to make it every St. Patrick’s Day, but I would love to try your variation sometime. Funny how, as food bloggers, we have to think weeks ahead of holidays for these type of festive meals, huh? Great recipe!
Oh I love that you used Guinness to cook the food in…. adds such great flavor!
This looks like the best corned beef ever! I love the Guinness in it. Thanks so much for linking up at my blog hop! Pinned 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Katherine 🙂
Oh Yea – now that’s corned beef! It’s been years since I’ve made corned beef, but now you’ve inspired me to do so. Now to keep the boys from drinking all of the Guinness. 🙂
I haven’t had corned beef and cabbage in so long. My mom used to make it when I was a young girl and I remember loving it so. I don’t know why I don’t try it myself! Looks delicious Valerie!
Thanks Shelby! It is a tradition for us around here on St. Patrick’s Day. I feel compelled to cook one every year!
I make it every couple of months. I add more pickling spices then they come with.
I really like this recipe and the how-to that goes with it. I think I have the same dutch oven as you – and I happen to love making meat in it so I would easily follow your recipe to the T. Thanks for the great St. Paddy’s day meal and have a fun weekend!
Valerie, this sounds like something my husband would LOVE! I made him some Jack Daniel’s burgers last weekend and he almost freaked out! 🙂 Something about alcohol and meat….guys love it!
I saw those Jack burgers Steph and I almost freaked out too!
Willow that sandwich sounds SO good! I love all those ingredients.
What a gorgeous slab of corned beef! I’ve never actually made corned beef before, but I have no idea why, seeing how easy it is. My favorite way to eat corned beef, the way my parents always did, is to make a sandwich out of it with coleslaw, a bit of cream cheese, and (optionally) a little horseradish for kick – all piled high on an everything bagel.
I love the thought of adding a bit of guinness and making a broth for vegetables, too – this is definitely on my to-do list!!