This corned beef recipe is slow cooked in Guinness beer until fall-apart tender, served over whipped mashed potatoes with Guinness gravy and caramelized cabbage on the side.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe with Guinness Gravy
This is sort of a long recipe, my friends, but you know what? It is seriously worth it. I'm posting this one early this year, long enough before St. Patrick's Day so that you can have an option outside of the traditional corned beef and cabbage recipe you might have every year.
Don't get me wrong!
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with traditional corned beef and cabbage, but every now and then, we like something different.
Know what I mean?
We're using all the same ingredients, with a few more tossed in - you know, chili peppers! Habanero! Jalapeno! The good stuff - along with Guinness Beer. Cooking the corned beef low and slow in Guinness beer infuses the beef with immense flavor and tenderness, and it will also form your freakishly delicious gravy for your topping.
OH. MY. GOODNESS. DANG. Guinness Gravy.
Bust out your Dutch Oven for this recipe. If you don't have one, any oven safe pot will do, as long as it is large enough to hold the ingredients.
You can also make this in your slow cooker or crock pot, but it takes 8-10 hours for that method, whereas this was ready in 4 hours, and it was finger shredding tender.
It pulls right apart with your fingers, so be careful cutting it. Melts in your mouth.
Let's get cooking!
How to Make Corned Beef with Guinness Gravy - the Recipe Method
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Rinse the corned beef thoroughly. It will be pretty darned salty. You can discard the seasoning packet it comes with. Not needed for this recipe. No way! Pat it dry and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil a Dutch Oven or a wide-large pot to medium heat.
- Add peppers, celery and onion. Cook about 6 minutes to soften, stirring here and there.
- Add garlic and cook another minute.
- Whisk together the Guinness with the mustard and honey.
- Add corned beef to the Dutch Oven along with the beer mixture. Bring to a quick boil then reduce heat to simmer about 5 minutes. Cover and transfer to the oven.
- Cook for 4 hours, flipping the corned beef once about half way through.
- Remove from heat. Stick a fork in the corned beef and test for tenderness. You should be able to pop the fork right in there. If it isn’t tender enough for you, bake it another 30 minutes or so. It should be SUPER TENDER at this point.
- Remove the beef and rest a few minutes while you make your gravy.
- For the gravy, strain out the liquids into a separate bowl. You should have about 1 cup. Discard the solids.
- Heat the empty Dutch Oven back to medium heat on the stove and add butter. Melt.
- Swirl in the flour and stir to form a roux. Cook a couple minutes to brown nicely. Add the strained juices from the corned beef and reduce heat to a simmer. Stir often to thicken the gravy. It is SO GOOD!
- Slice the corned beef against the grain and serve over mashed potatoes, then top with your spicy Guinness gravy, and Caramelized Cabbage on the side. Here is a Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe to consider. Or just use your favorite recipe.
Caramelized Cabbage Recipe Cooking Directions
- Heat a large pan to medium heat. A good stainless steel pan here is ideal.
- Add oil and heat. Add cabbage, onion and jalapeno peppers. Cook about 8 minutes to brown it all up, stirring frequently. You will form a lot of brown bits at the bottom of the pan. This is a good thing.
- Hit it with your white wine and let it reduce. Scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan and stir. You may need to do this frequently.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 40 minutes, scraping up bits from the bottom and stirring often. You can also add the sugar about 20 minutes through and stir to speed along the caramelization.
- When everything is nice and brown, add balsamic vinegar and stir. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and set into a serving dish. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the top and serve with extra lemon wedges.
Boom! Done! Your fall-apart tender corned beef is ready to serve. Set slices onto a bed of your favorite mashed potatoes, then top with the Guinness gravy. Serve the caramelized cabbage on the side. You will LOVE this recipe.
Heat Factor
The key to the overall spice level is the addition of two habanero peppers. You won't get any blazing heat here, as there are so many other ingredients and they're strained out at the end, but if you think the habanero heat will be too much for you, consider other milder peppers, like serrano or jalapeno peppers.
Patty's Perspective
It's so cool to enjoy such a unique take on corned beef. It was very juicy and tender. It was a perfect pairing with mashed potatoes for this Midwestern meat and potatoes girl. And I have two words for you. "Guinness Gravy!"
Try Some of My Other Popular Corned Beef Recipes
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.
Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe (with Guinness Gravy)
Ingredients
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 2 habanero peppers chopped (optional, for a spicy version)
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pound corned beef brisket
- 2 bottles Guinness beer enough to almost cover the beef
- 3-4 tablespoons spicy mustard I used our Homemade Habanero-Horseradish Mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 pounds prepared mashed potatoes for serving - use your favorite recipe
FOR THE CARAMELIZED CABBAGE
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ head medium sized cabbage shredded
- 1 white onion chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers chopped into rings
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Water as needed
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- Lemon for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Rinse the corned beef thoroughly. It will be pretty darned salty. You can discard the seasoning packet it comes with. Not needed for this recipe. Pat it dry and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch Oven or a wide-large pot to medium heat.
- Add peppers, celery and onion. Cook 5 minutes to soften.
- Add garlic and cook another minute.
- Whisk together the Guinness with the mustard and honey.
- Add corned beef to the Dutch Oven along with the beer mixture. Bring to a quick boil then reduce heat to simmer 5 minutes. Cover and transfer to the oven.
- Cook for 4 hours, flipping the corned beef once about half way through.
- Remove from heat. Stick a fork in the corned beef and test for tenderness. You should be able to pop the fork right in there. If it isn’t tender enough for you, bake it another 30 minutes or so. It should be SUPER TENDER at this point.
- Remove the beef and rest a few minutes while you make your gravy.
- For the gravy, strain out the liquids into a separate bowl. You should have about 1 cup. Discard the solids.
- Heat the empty Dutch Oven back to medium heat on the stove and add butter. Melt.
- Swirl in the flour and stir to form a roux. Cook a couple minutes to brown nicely. Add the strained juices from the corned beef and reduce heat to a simmer. Stir often to thicken the gravy. It is SO GOOD!
- Slice the corned beef against the grain and serve over prepared mashed potatoes, then top with your spicy Guinness gravy, and Caramelized Cabbage on the side.
Caramelized Cabbage Recipe Cooking Directions
- Heat a large pan to medium heat. A good stainless steel pan here is ideal.
- Add oil and heat. Add cabbage, onion and jalapeno peppers. Cook 8 minutes to brown it all up, stirring frequently. You will form a lot of brown bits at the bottom of the pan. This is a good thing.
- Add white wine and let it reduce. Scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan and stir. You may need to do this frequently.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 40 minutes, scraping up bits from the bottom and stirring often. You can also add the sugar about 20 minutes through and stir to speed along the caramelization.
- When everything is nice and brown, add balsamic vinegar and stir. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and set into a serving dish. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the top and serve with extra lemon wedges.
Nutrition Information
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 3/15/23 to include new information and photos. It was originally published on 3/4/16.
Charles Pascual says
This makes an outstanding dish. We were traveling last week, so weren't around to make this on St. Patrick's Day. I gotta' tell you, this was so easy and turned out so well, that we'll be making corned beef more often than on March 17. The recipe is straight-forward and easy-to-follow. The house fills with glorious aromas as it cooks. The meat is fall-apart tender. The caramelized cabbage is a delicious change of pace to most cabbage side dishes. Now, on to your Corned Beef Hash. Thanks, Mike.
Mike Hultquist says
Great to hear, Charles! Very happy you enjoyed it. Yay! Yes, this recipe has us making it more than once a year as well. Guinness Gravy!
Cindy says
Oh, my!! I made this last night. I "winged" it a little bit to cook it in my Instant Pot, but other than that, followed the recipe.
It was AMAZING!!
We'll definitely be repeating this one!!
Thanks!
Mike Hultquist says
Nice! Glad you enjoyed it, Cindy! Yes, so easy in an Instant Pot. I love it.
Russ Dempsey says
This will now be our go to recioe for corned beef and cabbage. My wife who had never been a fan of this St. Patrick's Day tradition loved the recipe and even went back for seconds!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome, Russ! Glad to hear it! I made it this exact way for friends who never liked it much as well, and they are now converted! I love it.
Kathie says
Mike this was so delicious. I was not a fan of corned beef until this recipe. There was no left overs! I will only make it this way from now on. Thank you!
Mike Hultquist says
Awesome, Kathie! I know, it's so good! I just made it AGAIN last night for friends. Devoured! I wish I had leftovers. LOL.
Meka says
Can you tell me what brand or kind of white wine that you actually used for this recipe please?
Mike Hultquist says
Meka, I sometimes use cooking wine for this, or whatever dry white I have on hand. Works great.
Leo says
Just wondering if this could be made with an unbrined brisket point (which is what I have)?
I've never had a "bad recipe" from you so I hope you can give me the answer I want to hear 🙂
Mike Hultquist says
Hi, Leo. Yep, it would work for that, pretty much any chunk of meat that benefits from low and slow cooking. I actually have a similar recipe here for brisket: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/beef/braised-brisket-with-ancho-gravy/. Let me know how it turns out for you. Enjoy!!
Julie Franke says
We've been making this recipe for St. Patrick's Day since 2017 and it is always a huge hit with our crowd. They say it is the best corned beef they've ever had. And we are planning on making it again this year.
I see you updated the recipe, since the original. Can you share what you changed?
It is an all day affair, but so worth it. And we have lots of great leftovers for sandwiches and our favorite taco recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Julie! I really only changed the photos and reworded a few things. The recipe is exactly the same. Glad you love it!
Mari Slifkin says
Mike,
This recipe is fabulous! We will be making this again.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Mari! Definitely a favorite for us.
Kellie in Tassie says
I am going to try this with rabbit! I am also going to make your mustard - wow!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Wonderful! I hope you enjoy it!!
Kevin says
Absuyely amazing I took the left over juices from the beer and beef and froze it for later. I cooked in the crockpot for 19 hours and it was beautiful. Great authentic tasting recipe
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Kevin. Thanks. Super happy you enjoyed it! Nice on saving the juices. Let me know what you wind up doin with them. Enjoy!
jennifer says
Hey Mike. I came upon this recipe while looking for something different to do with my abundance of chilis. I cannot find the recipe for the Habanero horseradish mustard. Do you have a recipe to share? Thanks.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Jennifer, I think I may have retired that recipe, as it was very old. I should remake it again. You can adapt this recipe here with some fresh horseradish root, or just mix in horseradish: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/sauces/homemade-habanero-mustard/. Also, you can swirl some prepared horseradish into your favorite spicy mustard for a similar effect. I hope this helps.
Deb says
This was fantastic!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Deb! Yes, I really love this one. Made it twice this year! So good.
Glenn hermann says
Mike I have to tell you that was great. I corned a venison hind quarter (Sitka Blacktail) With my wild game recipe and did it in the oven with your recipe. Wow so tender and the flavor . But I have to say that I couldn’t toss all Those veggies and peppers in the pot so I put them in my Vitamix and blended them with the beer. It was excellent.
Thanks for the great recipes and keep them coming. This is my go to site when I’m cooking for a crowd.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Glenn! I love to hear this! This would be awesome with venison. Nice.
Gina G says
This smelled amazing while it was in the oven. I made it for tomorrow’s dinner, and I can’t wait to see how much better it will be after the flavors have married. I wasn’t able to get habaneros at my local markets, so I had to improvise with habanero sauce. I will definitely make this again!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Gina! Super happy you enjoyed it! I LOVE this recipe. So good! The Guinness gravy is insanely delicious.
Gina G says
This was even better the next day!!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice!!!
Linda says
Truly, a fantastic upgrade from the same old tradition!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Linda! I appreciate it!
Kathync says
Made this in the crockpot and it was awesome!!!!!!
Mike fromChili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Matthew and Nancy. Super happy you loved it! Enjoy!
Matthew says
This is the first of any of your recipes that I have made. LOVED it! I was concerned that the habaneros would be too over-powering so I removed the seeds. Big mistake. Ended up with not much heat. The gravy makes this whole dish! Really delicious! Well done, Chili pepper madness!
Nancy Shanley says
I made this last night and the four of us agreed that this is the best corned beef we've ever had. Thank you for sharing.
Tez @ Chile and Salt says
Just found your site & am super stoked! I as well fall in the chile obsessed category & am loving your recipes. Definitely be visiting here often. Great photography by the way! The pic`s are awesome!
Thinking this Corned Beef will be gracing my table this St Patty`s Day!!
REPLY: Glad to meet you! -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness