If you’d like to take traditional corned beef up a flavor notch. Then you have got to try my recipe for Oven Baked Corned Beef.
This corned beef has a tender juicy center with crispy charred skin.
Your family and friends are sure to love this oven roasted corned beef as much as mine did.
Why You’ll Love this Oven Baked Corned Beef
- This corned beef recipe is tender and stays moist with a homemade injectable marinade.
- Make this brisket for St. Patrick’s day and serve with veggies. Or slice thin and make Ruben Sliders.
- Easy-to-make this recipe only uses a few ingredients and you just pop beef in the oven and bake.
Oven Baked Corned Beef Recipe
This tender juicy oven baked corned beef recipe begins with 4 basic ingredients: corned beef, melted butter, balsamic vinegar, and apple juice.
To elevate the flavor, I add a few extras. Here’s what you need.
Ingredients
- Corned Beef Brisket with Seasoning Packet
- Melted Butter
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Black Pepper
- Paprika
- Thousand Island Dressing
- Chili Powder
- Cayenne Powder
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Cracked Black Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Water
- Apple Juice
Corned Beef Brisket with Seasoning Packet. Point cut or brisket cut is my preferred cut. However, Use your favorite corned beef cut.
Flat cut will take less time, I’d advise to monitor the meat with a meat thermometer.
Meat Injector. Injecting meat with an injectable sauce is the secret to a juicy, tender corned beef.
Melted Butter. Make sure to use unsalted butter. Since brisket is salted enough. Another favorite is Tony Chachere’s injectable butter.
Balsamic Vinegar. Tenderizes meat due to its chemical compound, beer may also be used.
Thousand Island Dressing. Dressing acts as an adhesive for seasonings and keeps those savory spices in tact.
Chili Powder. Adds a nice colorful crust and a spicy kick.
Cayenne Pepper. My family loves spicy corned beef. For a mild corned beef feel free to skip spicy seasonings.
Onion Powder. Is a seasoning I always have on-hand in my spice cabinet. And it tends to be used on everything!
Garlic Powder. Do not use minced garlic. The crust won’t get crispy if you use minced garlic or chopped garlic.
Paprika. I love to use smoked paprika when I can find it in stores.
Cracked Black Pepper. Makes a crispy, black bark on the corned beef. Do not use in marinade, it will clog the needle. Use regular black pepper instead.
Red Pepper Flakes. Add an extra kick to this spicy corned beef.
Water. Corned beef must be covered on both sides with water to ensure meat stays moistened when cooking.
Spray Bottle. Lightly spritzing meat with a spray bottle adds such delicious flavor and helps get that top layer super crispy.
Apple Juice. Don’t skip this, spritzing adds such a delicious flavor. Use your favorite brand of apple juice or apple cider.
Aluminum Foil. Wrap corned beef in aluminum foil when it’s time to broil. Doing so, ensures the top gets nice and charred and the center doesn’t dry out.
Tips for Making the Best Oven Baked Corned Beef
- Go heavy on the seasonings, you have to season meat generously with spices. The heat from the oven will create a dark bark on your corned beef.
- If you have veggies on-hand like green pepper, jalapeno, or onion. Feel free to chop and add to the water when baking. Vegetables keep moisture in and add more flavor.
- Make sure to cover with aluminum foil and broil for a charred black crust. Most corned beef recipes cook beef at 350 degrees. However, I like to cook meat at a low temperature a little longer to make sure the meat doesn’t dry out.
- Cook meat an hour per pound at 225 degrees. Monitor flat cut because it could cook for 30 minutes less. Corned beef is tender and cooked when the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees.
How to Make Oven Baked Corned Beef
To make oven baked corned beef there are only 6 easy steps.
- Inject meat with melted butter, balsamic vinegar, paprika, and black pepper.
- Rub a thin layer of thousand island dressing on corned beef fat side facing up.
- Season the top of corned beef generously with seasonings, make a thick coat of each seasoning. This will give you a crispy crust when you broil meat in aluminum foil.
- Place corned beef in a 9×13 in glass baking dish and pour water around the meat. The water should cover the corned beef half way on all sides. Sprinkle corn beef seasoning packet in water. (Do not sprinkle the seasoning packet on corned beef)
- Prepare a spray bottle with apple juice. You will lightly spritz corned beef every hour with apple juice for a sweet heat flavor.
- Cook corned beef in the oven at 225 degrees for 4 hours. When done, cover corned beef with aluminum foil and broil on low until the top is charred.
Tools You’ll Need for this Recipe
More Delicious Recipes to Try
How to Bake Corned Beef
In this oven baked corned beef recipe the secret for a tender melt in your mouth brisket is to inject corned beef with a homemade marinade. Then coat fat side with thousand island dressing and season generously with spices. Cook this corned beef on low heat ( fat side up) and spritz every hour with apple juice for a sweet heat.
Ingredients
- 4 lb Corned Beef Brisket
- 3/4 Cup Melted Butter
- 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- Meat Injector
- Thousand Island Dressing
- Chili Powder
- Cayenne Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Paprika
- Cracked Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Water
- Corned Beef Seasoning Packet
- Spray Bottle
- Apple Juice
Instructions
- Make injectable sauce by combining 3/4 cup melted butter, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon paprika, and 1 tablespoon black pepper. Whisk until smooth and fill meat injector with homemade sauce. ( you'll fill the injector a few times)
- For point cut and brisket cut inject corned beef on each side. If you have a flat cut inject on sides and top, fat side up.
- Rub thin layer of thousand island dressing on corned beef fat side up. Season top generously with chili powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, cracked black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Place corned beef in a pan fat side up and pour water around corned beef until sides are covered. Sprinkle water with corned beef seasoning mix. Each hour lightly spritz corned beef with apple juice.
- Cook point cut corned beef at 225 degrees for 4 hours. Then cover brisket with aluminum foil and broil on low until top is charred. (About 10-20 minutes depending on the cut.)
- Allow meat to rest for 20 minutes. When ready to cut, slice corned beef against the grain. Serve with cabbage, carrots, and potatoes! Or slice corned beef thin and make delicious homemade corned beef sliders!
Notes
- The thicker the cut the better injection holds. Inject meat with the grain.
- Inject meat with homemade marinade. For a tender, melt in your mouth, corned beef recipe.
- Season meat generously with spices. Heavily seasoning brisket is the secret to thick, crispy bark.
- Feel free to add chopped veggies to the water if you have extra on-hand.
- Spritz meat every hour lightly with apple juice for a "sweet heat"
- Corned beef is tender and cooked when internal temperature is 180 degrees.
- Make sure to let meat rest 20 minutes. Then slice corned beef against the grain or meat will be tough and chewy.
How to Cut Corned Beef
One of the most important steps for tender corned beef is not only part of the cooking process. It is also how you cut corned beef that determines its texture.
You have to slice corned beef against the grain, which means to cut brisket in the same direction the muscle fibers are going.
How you do this is first, flip meat over, next, see which direction the muscle fibers are going, and lastly, cut in the same direction for a corn beef cut perfectly.
Make sure you do this. If you cut corned beef wrong. You will have a tough, hard piece of meat.
What is Corned Beef?
Corned beef is beef brisket that is cured in a salt water solution for 7-10 days.
Did you know? That corned beef is actually an American tradition and not an Irish tradition. Like some may claim.
The Irish ate a majority of vegetables, potatoes, and if they did indulge in meat their traditional meal would be “bacon and cabbage”.
Different Types of Corned Beef Cuts
There are two cuts of corned beef you can purchase. Point cut and flat cut.
The difference between the two is, point cut has more fat and is ideal for corned beef sliders. While flat cut is a leaner part of the brisket and perfect for serving sliced, whole cuts.
Moreover, if you purchase a corned beef in the store that just says brisket, it’s likely you are getting both cuts of meat. That cut is delicious as well.