Roasted Corned Beef Brisket with Mustard Cream Sauce
Originally intended as a St. Patrick's Day dinner and a departure from the traditional braised method of preparing Corned Beef, served with the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Mustard Cream Sauce.
Corned Beef & Cabbage, the traditional St. Patrick’s Day supper, is about as Irish as Chop Suey is Chinese. To be specific, Corned Beef & Cabbage is not an Irish dish, it's an Irish-American dish. It was born in New York City during the European immigrant migration of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, when Irish New Yorkers were able to buy corned beef briskets from Jewish delicatessens to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, which is sort of ironic if you stop and think about it.
“Corned Beef” gets its name from the large grains of salt, historically called "corns" of salt, used to cure the meat. The term "corn" in this context comes from an old English word for small, hard particles. This curing process preserves the beef and gives it its distinctive salty flavor.
The practice of "corning" meat dates back centuries, with early methods being particularly popular in Ireland and Britain before becoming widely associated with Irish cuisine and, later, with Irish-American traditions.
The traditional way of slowly simmering a Corned Beef in a savory broth is not entirely a bad way of preparing it. It's easy and you can't really screw it up. But I experimented with a technique that first braises the meat, mostly to loosen it up and dispatch some of its saltiness; then roasting it with a basting sauce; and finally broiling it with a mustard/brown sugar schmear to give the meat a final golden, crusty exterior. I serve it alongside the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Mustard Cream Sauce, with some added apple cider vinegar to round out the flavors and provide a bit of tang. The recipe for the cream sauce is posted below for convenience; just add 1/8 cup of apple cider vinegar to the recipe as written.
Along with the Kitchen Tapestry recipe, Fried Cabbage with Bacon & Caraway, you have a very non-traditional way to serve the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage supper for St. Patrick’s Day or any other time of year.
Roasted Corned Beef Brisket with Mustard Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 3-5 lb corned beef brisket
- 1 bottle beer (like, Guinness Stout)
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup beef stock (like, Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- handful whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard (like, Grey Poupon)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Mustard Cream Sauce
- 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp coriander seeds, ground to a powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place the meat in a cast iron Dutch oven, add the bottle of beer, and enough of the cider vinegar and beef broth or stock to cover the corned beef halfway.
- Add the peppercorns and bay leaf to the liquid and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat so the liquid is at a good simmer
- Put the lid on the Dutch oven, and cook the meat for one hour.
- Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and allow the meat to sit for 15 minutes in the braising liquid.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Remove the meat from the liquid and pat dry.
- Mix all of the basting sauce ingredients together in a mixing bowl and whisk until all the dry and wet ingredients are incorporated.
- Place the corned beef in a shallow roasting pan and thoroughly baste it with the basting sauce, them place in the oven.
- Baste the meat every 30 minutes with the basting sauce for 2 to 2-1/2 hours until the beef is tender.
- Mix the 1/2 cup Dijon mustard and 1/2 cup of brown sugar in a mixing bowl and slather it over the fat side top of the corned beef.
- Turn the oven broiler on high, and place the brisket 6" - 8" away from the broiler for 1-2 minutes until the top is browned and bubbly. Turn off the broiler and allow the roast to sit in the hot oven while you make the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Mustard Cream Sauce.
- Add the 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar to the Mustard Cream Sauce and serve alongside thick slices of the corned beef.
Notes
- Roasted Corned Beef Brisket as part of a St. Patrick's Day supper is intended with the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Fried Cabbage with Bacon & Caraway.
For this recipe, add 1/8 cup of apple cider vinegar to the Mustard Cream Sauce at Step #3.
Mustard Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 large shallot, finely minced
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (like, Grey Poupon)
- 1 tbsp stone ground or "country" Dijon mustard (like, Grey Poupon Country)
- 1 tsp English powdered mustard (like, Coleman's)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp honey
- pinch fine sea salt
- 4-5 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Over medium high heat, melt the butter and sauté the shallots until they start to caramelize, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the powdered mustard and whisk it into the butter.
- Add the white wine and de-glaze the pan, then add the two kinds of Dijon mustard, the heavy cream and the honey.
- Stir constantly until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 3 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
