Get ready for the BEST corned beef of your life!! Sous Vide Corned Beef makes the most tender, juicy, flavorful corned beef with the best texture. It's also incredibly easy to get started in about 5 minutes, so you can set it and forget it and have a corned beef ready for dinner with almost no work!
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and low-carb. I also have lots of ideas for what to make with leftover corned beef!
Sous vide cooking time and temp
Here's the shortcut if you're just doing a quick search to get the cook time and temp: 180 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 hours. But keep reading to get tips for how and when to make all the side dishes, how to make extra corned beef seasoning, and how to prepare corned beef from scratch.
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Sous vide corned beef brisket
I love using my sous vide cooker to make the best meats (see my sous vide shredded chicken tacos). It's the perfect cooking technique for a large cut of meat, such as a corned beef brisket.
There's nothing worse than spending hours cooking corned beef and ending up with tough, chewy meat. That will NEVER happen with sous vide corned beef!
I find that cooking corned beef in a sous vide cooker yields the most tender, juicy, flavorful meat without it being too mushy or "fall-aparty." It has a nice bite to it while being tender. And the best part is that it is SO EASY! Just set it up first thing in the morning and have tender corned beef for dinner.
The only downside to sous vide corned beef is that if you want to do the whole corned beef with cabbage and potatoes dinner, you need to cook the cabbage and potatoes separately during the last half hour that the brisket is cooking. But I find that to be well worth it, and it's very easy to do! I give you instructions below.
Related recipe: Bubble and Squeak Cakes (use leftover cabbage from St. Patty's Day dinner!)
Sous vide temperature
I cook corned beef at 180F for at least 10 hours, up to 12. That is a good temperature and amount of time for the connective tissues and collagen to start breaking down, which makes for really tender corned beef.
Related recipe: Guinness Beef & Bean Soup
Ingredients
For the corned beef:
- Corned beef brisket in brine solution with seasoning packet - this is already brined and ready to cook. You have the option to make more corned beef seasoning to fully coat it in the mixture for more flavor. See the section called "corned beef seasoning" below.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil - this is optional, for searing the cooked corned beef in a skillet to brown the sides.
For the sides:
- ½ small cabbage - sliced into quarters and separated into chunks of several layers.
- 1-2 potatoes - peeled or unpeeled and thoroughly scrubbed, that's up to you. Chop the potatoes into large chunks so they cook faster.
- 2-3 medium carrots - peeled and chopped into 2-3 inch pieces. If the carrots are really thick, slice them in half lengthwise.
- 1 quart salted beef broth - this adds flavor the veggies as they're cooking, so make sure it's really well seasoned or add some salt to the broth if you like!
Related recipe: Beef Stew for a Crowd
Equipment
- Sous vide cooker with large pot or sous vide bath container - I have this Anova sous vide cooker and attach it to a large pasta pot
- Sous vide bag large enough to fit the brisket - I have bags like these with a small suction hand pump
- Large skillet (optional, for browning the corned beef)
- Metal tongs (they're grippier than the silicone-tipped ones and make it easier to pick up a slippery brisket)
Related recipe: Healthy Green Ice Cream
Corned beef seasoning
I am always disappointed with how tiny the seasoning packet is in store-bought corned beef. It is not enough to coat the whole brisket in seasonings!! If you want to add additional corned beef seasoning to the brisket to give it more flavor, use the following ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
- 1 tablespoon whole mustard seeds (brown or yellow)
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
Crush them all together in a mortar and pestle (or crush between 2 plates). This helps release their flavor and aroma. Then sprinkle this seasoning mixture on your corned beef brisket (along with the seasoning packet that it came with) before placing in the sous vide bag to cook.
Yes, I know that corned beef seasoning typically uses a whole lot more spices in the mix, but I find that these ingredients give it a great boost of flavor without having to take out EVERY spice in your cabinet. If you do want to make corned beef from scratch with ALL the seasonings, keep reading to the "corned beef from scratch" section.
More brisket recipes to try: Smoked Brisket
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the water in your sous vide bath / container to 180F. Make sure it's large enough to hold your brisket.
Step 2: Rinse the corned beef brisket and pat it dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the seasoning packet (and extra seasoning, if using) on the fatty part of the brisket (or all over) and gently press it in with your fingers.
Step 3: Transfer the brisket to your sous vide bag and seal with a vacuum sealer or with the displacement method to remove all air.
Step 4: Cook at 180F for 10-12 hours, making sure that the brisket is fully submerged in water the whole time. Check on it every once in a while and top up with hot water if needed. Use a heavy bowl on top to weigh it down, if needed. If you want a full corned beef dinner, start cooking the cabbage and potatoes sides for corned beef during the last half hour of cooking, see the separate instructions below.
Step 5: Carefully remove the brisket from the sous vide bag. Preheat a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetable oil, then carefully brown the brisket for about 1 minute per side, using metal tongs to flip it.
Step 6: Slice and enjoy!!
How to serve sous vide corned beef
Corned beef with cabbage and potatoes
To serve a corned beef dinner with cabbage and potatoes (and carrots if you like!), place the beef broth and chopped veggies in a large pot. If the liquid doesn't cover the veggies, add more broth or some water. Season with a bit more salt to make sure the veggies come out tasty. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the veggies are thoroughly cooked. The cabbage might cook faster than the potatoes or carrots, so you can remove it from the pot earlier. Serve warm with corned beef.
Corned beef sandwiches
I love me a good corned beef sandwich! Get your favorite bread or bun, brush on some spicy mustard, add a few sliced pickles, a few slices of corned beef, top with the cooked cabbage or some lettuce, and enjoy!!
Shredded corned beef
Sliced corned beef is delicious, but there's something about shredded corned beef that is awesome too! You can add shredded corned beef to tacos, pizza, casseroles, lettuce wraps, or serve over rice or mashed potatoes. You can also add shredded corned beef to a breakfast potato hash. Check out this list of Leftover Corned Beef recipes and give them a try!
Corned beef from scratch
This recipe uses a corned beef brisket that has been brined and is packaged along with the brine and the seasoning solution. If you want to make corned beef from scratch and brine it yourself, then you need to start 1 week in advance. Here's what you do:
Step 1: Get a 2-3 lb beef brisket.
Step 2: Grab your seasonings and crush them in a mortar pestle to release their flavor and aroma:
- 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
- 1 tablespoon whole mustard seeds (brown or yellow)
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
- 5 large dry bay leaves, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ stick cinnamon
You'll use some of the seasonings mixture for the brine, and save the rest for a week from now when it's time to cook the corned beef.
Step 3: Prepare the brine by heating the following ingredients until all the salt and sugar is dissolved. Then make sure to cool the brine down completely!!
- 6-8 cups water
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons of your seasonings mixture from above
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Step 4: Once the brine is cooled down, find a container or large zip-lock bag to hold both the brine and the brisket. You don't need to use ALL the brine, just make sure the brisket is fully covered in the brine. Let the brisket sit in the fridge in the brine solution for 6-7 days.
Step 5: When it's time to cook the brisket, rinse off the brine, season it with the rest of the seasoning mixture, then use the sous vide cooking instructions from the recipe card below.
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Sous Vide Corned Beef
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb corned beef brisket in brine solution with seasoning packet
- additional corned beef seasoning - optional, see notes below for how to make this
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ small cabbage - sliced into quarters and separated into chunks of several layers
- 2-3 large potatoes - peeled or scrubbed, chopped into large chunks
- 3-4 medium carrots - peeled and chopped into 2-3 inch pieces
- 1-2 quarts salted beef broth
Special equipment
- Sous vide bag large enough to fit the brisket
- Large skillet (optional, for browning the corned beef)
- Metal tongs
Instructions
- Preheat the water in your sous vide bath to 180F.
- Rinse the corned beef brisket and pat it dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the seasoning packet (and extra seasoning, if using - see notes) on the fatty part of the brisket (or all over if using extra seasoning) and gently press it in with your fingers.
- Transfer the brisket to your sous vide bag and seal with a vacuum sealer or with the displacement method to remove all air.
- Cook at 180F for 10-12 hours, making sure that the brisket is fully submerged in water the whole time (check on it once in a while). Use a heavy bowl on top to weigh it down if needed. If you want a full corned beef dinner, start cooking the cabbage and potatoes sides for corned beef during the last half hour of cooking.
- Carefully remove the brisket from the sous vide bag. Preheat a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetable oil, then carefully brown the brisket (about 1 minute per side), using metal tongs to flip it. Slice and enjoy!!
- Place the beef broth and chopped veggies in a large pot. If the liquid doesn't cover the veggies, add more broth or some water. Season with a bit more salt to make sure the veggies come out tasty.
- Bring to a boil, then cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the veggies are thoroughly cooked. The cabbage might cook faster than the potatoes or carrots, so you can remove it from the pot earlier. Serve warm with corned beef.
Notes
- 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
- 1 tablespoon whole mustard seeds (brown or yellow)
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.