Corned Beef with Blackberry Dijon Glaze

CORNED BEEF with BLACKBERRY DIJON GLAZE

3/2/2020

Prepare yourself for a fabulous Irish dinner! I don't know about you, but my family doesn't usually care for a "typical" corned beef dinner - the meat is too salty and stringy for them. But I have found the best method for cooking some of the saltiness out of the corned beef, and it cooks up so tender!

Fresh Corned Beef, topped with a delicious fresh Blackberry Dijon Glaze, caramelizes into the most beautiful glaze ever! Before you know it, you'll be enjoying the best corned beef dinner you have ever had in your life! Little ones and big ones were literally scooping this glaze up with their spoons and pouring over the corned beef, tender vegetables and licking their fingers!

This corned beef was flavorful and so moist! You can prepare in either your oven or in a slow cooker, and it is a process, but doesn't take oodles of time - you'll have this cooking in less than 30 minutes.

The corned beef is actually braised twice - the first time to remove the saltiness, and the second time to add a mandatory bottle of Guinness Stout Beer and fresh spices, and before you know it, your house will be filled with the most magnificent scents!

Corned Beef with Blackberry Dijon Glaze

I usually steam or roast my baby red potatoes and carrots on the side - they can be cooked to absolute perfection and not have the typical "saltiness" they would have if you cooked them with the corned beef.

And tomorrow I'll be whipping up some Corned Beef Hash with the leftover meat - the Blackberry Dijon Glaze will add just a touch of sweetness to that dish as well!

Hope that you enjoy this St. Patrick's Day feast as much as my family does!

Corned Beef with Blackberry Dijon Glaze

CORNED BEEF WITH BLACKBERRY DIJON GLAZE

With a sweet and savory glaze, this rich and flavorful Corned Beef with Blackberry Dijon Glaze is so easy to make! My secret? Tender corned beef is simmered in ginger ale before cooking to remove the excess saltiness, and then slowly simmered in Guinness Stout, more ginger ale and tender onions and spices to create the most flavorful corned beef ever. So moist and tender that it just pulls apart with your fork. Perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration or a cold winter night!

Corned Beef with Blackberry Dijon Glaze

INGREDIENTS:
1 (4-5 pound) corned beef
2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and quartered (divided)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
8 whole cloves
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 liter bottle ginger ale
1 bottle Guinness Stout Beer

Roast/Steamed Vegetables:
8-10 carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
2 lbs. baby red potatoes, washed and cut into halves
Butter
Fresh snipped parsley

Blackberry Dijon Glaze:
1/2 cup blackberry preserves
1 cup fresh blackberries
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

HOW I MAKE THIS:

1. TWO OPTIONS: Prepping the Night Before, or the Day Of. If you have a large piece of corned beef (over 4 pounds) or if want to serve your corned beef early in the day, I heartily recommend using The Night Before method! For either method, I discard the spice packet that typically comes with the corned beef and use my own fresh spices.

THE NIGHT BEFORE: Use a sharp knife to carefully trim off the excess fat on the corned beef. Rinse beef under cold water. Place in a large container and cover with ginger ale. Seal tightly and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove the corned beef from the ginger ale and rinse with hot water.
THE DAY OF: In a large heavy Dutch oven, place the trimmed corned beef and pour in enough ginger ale to cover the corned beef. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium/low so that it will continue to simmer; cover and cook for one hour. Remove pan from stove, and remove corned beef to a large strainer; rinse with hot water.

2. In a large Dutch oven or slow cooker, place the sliced onions on the bottom. Sprinkle minced garlic on top of onions. Sprinkle with brown sugar and all spices. Place rinsed corned beef on top. Pour bottle of Guinness Stout over meat and enough ginger ale to cover the meat half way, fat side on top.

FOR OVEN PREPARATION: Cover and bake in a 300 degree preheated oven for 1 hour per pound of corned beef.
FOR SLOW COOKER PREPARATION: cook on high until the liquid begins to simmer, then reduce heat to low and continue cooking for 1 hour per pound of corned beef. With either method, do not touch or uncover during this cooking period.

3. Prepare Blackberry Dijon Glaze: Combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a low simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly and crushing the fresh blackberries into the mixture. Continue cooking and stirring for 7 to 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Move corned beef to oven-safe pan that has been lined with non-stick foil, and cover the corned beef with foil. Reheat oven to 325 degrees.

5. Brush corned beef with glaze, cover with non-stick foil and return to oven for 20-30 minutes, until the glaze begins to caramelize.

6. Steam or roast vegetables while corned beef is glazing in oven.

7. Remove corned beef from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

8. Brush with additional glaze right before serving and garnish with additional fresh blackberries. I usually warm up the extra Blackberry Dijon Glaze and serve it on the side as well. So good!

YIELD: Allow 1/3 to ½ pound of corned beef per serving.

NOTES: Vegetables cooked with the corned beef tend to be a lot saltier than my family prefers. I prepare (steamed for tender flavor, or roasted for a golden exterior) baby red potatoes and carrots on the side so that they are tender, moist and flavorful. Pour melted butter over cooked vegies and sprinkle with snipped parsley. So easy!

Originally posted March 2017; Revised and reposted March 2019.

© SnowflakesandCoffeecakes. All images, attachments & content are copyright protected unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to www.snowflakesandcoffeecakes.com for the recipe.