Corned Beef With Brown Sugar Glaze and Mustard Sauce

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
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.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 10/3/21
A corned beef sandiwich with mustard on rye bread

HHLtDave5 / Getty Images

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 3 hrs 30 mins
Total: 3 hrs 50 mins
Servings: 12 servings

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.

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 all-purpose flour

  • 3 tablespoons dry mustard

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

  • 2 cups milk

  • 2 large eggs, beaten

  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar

  • Dash cayenne pepper, optional

Steps to Make It

Corned Beef

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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

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

  4. Slice meat and serve with mustard sauce.

Mustard Sauce

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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

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

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

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

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

  7. Serve sauce warm with 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.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
659 Calories
41g Fat
12g Carbs
58g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 659
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 41g 52%
Saturated Fat 17g 85%
Cholesterol 245mg 82%
Sodium 312mg 14%
Total Carbohydrate 12g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 58g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 106mg 8%
Iron 5mg 30%
Potassium 568mg 12%
*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.)