Corned Beef With Brown Sugar Glaze and Mustard Sauce

Written by
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Diana Rattray
Updated 06/27/19
Corned Beef on plate

Jeff Kubina/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 3 hrs 30 mins
Total: 3 hrs 50 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
710 Calories
38g Fat
15g Carbs
73g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 710
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 38g 49%
Saturated Fat 16g 78%
Cholesterol 307mg 102%
Sodium 638mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Protein 73g
Calcium 113mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

A corned beef brisket makes a delicious St. Patrick's Day meal or Sunday dinner. This thick and tangy mustard is excellent with the corned beef, and it makes a great spread for those leftover corned beef sandwiches the next day.

When you buy a corned beef brisket, the cut you choose can make a difference. There are two common cuts: the pointcut and the flat cut. If you want a fall-apart, shreddable pot roast style of corned beef, choose the fattier point cut. The flat cut is the best choice of roast if you plan to serve the beef sliced. You might also find other cuts of beef labeled "corned," including the very lean eye of round and the tongue. Think about how you want the cooked meat to look and how you want to use the leftovers.

Even if the brisket is large, the leftovers present dozens of possibilities for future meals. Corned beef hash is a delicious replacement for breakfast hash browns. And there's the Reuben or Rachel sandwich with layers of sauerkraut or coleslaw with Swiss cheese on rye. Casseroles of corned beef and potatoes or Reuben mixtures make fabulous all-in-one meals. 

The mustard sauce is a tasty condiment to serve with the meat, but feel free to make a horseradish sauce if you prefer that flavor.

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Ingredients

  • For the Corned Beef:
  • 1 (5-pound) corned beef brisket
  • 12 whole black peppercorns
  • 1 large dried bay leaf
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
  • For the Mustard Sauce:
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons dry mustard
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 large eggs (beaten)
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • Optional: a dash of ground cayenne pepper

Steps to Make It

Note: while there are multiple steps to this recipe, this corned beef dish is broken down into workable categories to help you better plan for preparation and cooking.

Corned Beef

  1. Place corned beef in a kettle; cover with water, and add peppercorns and bay leaf. Simmer for about 3 1/2 hours, until tender.

  2. Place meat, fat side up, on a rack in broiler pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of brown sugar over the meat. Broil about 4 to 5 inches from heat until sugar bubbles.

  3. Slice meat and serve with the mustard sauce.

Mustard Sauce

  1. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter; add the flour, and stir to blend. Continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

  2. Add the dry mustard to the roux along with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, the salt, and cayenne pepper, if using. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly.

  3. Gradually stir the milk into the roux mixture and cook until mixture thickens and begins to boil, stirring constantly.

  4. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot mixture to the beaten eggs, then quickly stir egg mixture back into the hot mixture in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, constantly stirring, for 1 minute longer.

  5. Remove from heat, and whisk in the 1/4 cup of vinegar.

  6. Serve the sauce warm with the corned beef brisket.

Glass Bakeware Warning

Do not use glass bakeware when broiling or when a recipe calls to add liquid to a hot pan, as glass may explode. Even if it states oven-safe or heat resistant, tempered glass products can, and do, break occasionally.