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Corned Beef

Guinness Braised Corned Beef with Whiskey Glaze

Slow cooked corned beef in a stout braise that brings for spice and caramel flavors. Finished with a mustard whiskey glaze.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 30 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4-5 pound corned beef brisket
  • 1 large onion pealed and roughly sliced
  • 2 cups baby carrots
  • 1 packet pickling spiced from brisket package if came with it
  • 1/2 tbsp whole mustard seed
  • 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp ground clove
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1-2 sticks cinnamon
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3 cups beef stock
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2-3 bottles Guinness stout (or similar stout)
Glaze
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp grainy mustard
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1/8 cup whiskey (can use burbon or rum in a pinch)
  • 1/4 tsp black ground pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground clove

Equipment

  • Dutch oven

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
  2. Pat dry beef brisket with paper towel.
  3. Heat a large Dutch oven pot over high heat. Once the pan is hot add olive oil.
  4. Quickly sear the brisket in the dutch oven on both sides until golden brown. I usually start with the fat side first to keep the pan well oiled. 
  5. Take out brisket and turn down heat to medium.
  6. Add onions, carrots to pan and stir. Let cook for 2-3 minutes.
  7. Then add garlic and spices (include any pickling packet spices given). Stir and let the spices heat up a minute.
  8. Add in stock and sti all the bits sticking to the pan into the liquid.
  9. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve.
  10. Once liquid has heated up to almost boiling, add brisket back in fat-side up.
  11. Carefully pour in 2 bottles of Guiness stout until brisket is nearly covered (its ok to not use all of it – or maybe use more. It depends on how large the dish you are using is.
  12. Let liquid come to a boil. Cover with lid (or double foil) and move into 300 degree oven to braise.
  13. Braise for 1 ½ hours, then flip over brisket. Braise an additional 2 hours (should be fork tender).
  14. Carefully remove meat from pot in large pieces if you can. 
  15. Take about 1 cup of liquid out and strain it. You will use this to make a sauce after you glaze, you can also set aside more if you really like a l
  16. Cut the corned beef into the desired serving size pieces.
Glazing
  1. Combine all the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until bubbling.
  2. Heat oven 425 degrees
  3. Place the cut corn beef pieces on a parchment-lined oven sheet (with a rim). You will be thankful of the parchment lining in a moment.
  4. Use a basting brush to brush on the glaze on the top and try to get the sides as best you can.  If it is all dripping onto the parchment, you can use short strokes to push it back up the sides.
  5. Bake for 5 minutes, then coat the corned beef with a second layer of glaze. Continue baking for an additional 5 minutes. (Instead of baking, you can also broil the glaze for 5-6 minutes total - don't let it burn).
  6. You should have leftover glaze sauce. Add the strained broth to the glaze sauce and boil for about 10- 15 min to reduce for a serving sauce. It should be thicker, but not a gravy. You can add a thickener if desired (1:1 ratio of cornstarch to water) – add about 1 TBS, boil for a minute, then add more if needed in 1 TBS increments.

Notes

Gluten-free alterations
Traditionally, beer is make of barley, which has glutens. To make this gluten-free you can omit using any beer (add more beef broth) or use a gluten-free beer.