How Long To Cook 6lb Of Corned Beef?

I cooked my corned beef for 2 1/2 hours in a large stock pot on the stove top.  (We live in Florida, and it is too hot to have the oven on for that long.)  Ours was about 6 pounds, and it boiled for a couple of hours.  It was done completely and fork tender.
I did take the corned beef out of the pot and place it in the roasting pan to go into the oven until my vegetables were done.  (It stayed in the oven on 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.)

Wow!! That’s a pretty big chunk of meat you have there,

Guest!!  I hope you have a big enough

pot to cook it in.  Assuming that is the

case…here is my answer.

I worked for many years in many different restaurants and commercial kitchens.  Early in my career
when I didn’t know any better, I would ask how long something should cook.  The answer would invariably be "Until it is done" usually accompanied by an impatient and withering look from the chef or fellow cook whom I had asked.  I soon stopped asking the question.  I also stopped asking for measuring cups and - for this I got the most annoyed look in my cooking career - asking for measuring spoons.  And I asked the question about the spoons just that one time.

Seriously, though...I think the better here question is "How do I know when a piece of corned beef done?"  There are two main ways of telling when just about any kind of meat is done.  If you pierce it with a fork, and the juices run clear...it is done.  I don't like to do that.  If it is not close enough to being done when you pierce the meat, too much of the juice runs out and you are left with a very dry piece of meat and a Mother-in-Law who will never let you forget it.  :-)

A little safer way to check for done-ness is to stick a toothpick into the meat.  If the toothpick comes out clean, it's done.  But the toothpick method doesn’t work with a corned beef.  The usual method of cooking a corned beef is to put it in a big pot, add some vegetables and enough water to cover everything, bring it all to a strong simmer, and let it cook until it is done.

The “fork tender” method is how you tell when your simmered corned beef is done.  Take your carving fork and poke it into the meat.  If you meet any resistance, keep simmering.  When the fork goes through the meat easily, it’s done.  Take it out of the pot, set it on a plate, and let it rest for about 10 minutes before you carve it.  This allows the meat juices to settle back into the meat.  If you neglect this step – that is, if you start carving as soon as you take the meat out of the pot – all the juices in the meat will run out, and you will have that Mother-In-Law problem I mentioned earlier.

I hope this answers your question.

Good luck with your next corned beef….and with your Mother-In-Law.

Bernie520
Seattle, WA