My family loves corned beef, and this time I decided to spice things up and add some red wine. Creating a slow-cooked corned beef in red wine recipe. And we all know red wine goes perfectly with beef.

Corned beef, or as it’s known in Australia, Silverside, is fantastic to cook in a slow cooker. Just putting it on and walking away makes things so much easier come dinner time.

I love being able to experiment with different ingredients. This one turned out to be a winner for my family. And I am sure it will be for yours too.

How to prepare your corned beef for cooking?

Like all meat, your corned beef needs to be at room temperature to cook more evenly. Not cold straight out of the fridge.

Once it’s ready to go, remove it from its package and give it a good rinse under cold water. Doing this will remove any of the excess brine solution that is all over the meat.

Place the corned beef on some paper towel and pat dry.

Lightly season with kosha salt or sea salt and pepper; go very light on the salt, corned beef already contains salt, and you do not want it to be salty when you eat it.

How to cook corned beef in a slow cooker correctly?

Cook on a low setting; cooking your corned beef on a high can cause the meat to become tough.
Always place the meat fat side up.
Submerge your corned beef in water to get the best cooking results.
It is always good to make sure you cover your pot with a lid if you cook this on the stove. With a slow cooker, the lid is required, no matter what you are cooking.
Your corned beef’s internal temperature should be 145 °F or 62.8 °C if you use a meat thermometer to check. Ensure you only go as far as the middle of the meat to check and the thickest part. Or test it with a fork; if it goes into the beef smoothly, it is ready.
Your meat should be pink on the inside when it is cut open.
Once cooked, and removed from the slow cooker or pot. Cover with tin foil and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Doing this allows the internal temperature to go up a little and the meat’s juices to settle.

What is the best wine to use?

As I mentioned, earlier red wine goes well with beef. But it is knowing which type of red wine to use.

A dry red wine is excellent for cooking a beef stew or roast beef. So I felt that would be a perfect choice for the corned beef also.

There are three recommended types to use, Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Cabernet Sauvignon. And to help you know more about these wines and a few other options, I found this handy article “What’s the Best Red Wine for Cooking” which goes into a little more detail.

I choose Cabernet Sauvignon to use for my recipe. Specify the Jacobs Creek brand that is available here in Australia. But you can use your desired brand that is available to you at your local liquor store.

Why did I choose that brand? I found it would be more beneficial as it is more of the mid-shelf range of wines. I did not want to go too cheap, but I did not want to go too expensive, either.
The idea was to be able to make this as budget-friendly as possible too. However, you can decide your price range for the Cabernet Sauvignon that is best suited to you.

I found that Cabernet Sauvignon is my wine of choice for this recipe with all the research I have done. Along with any other beef or lamb based recipes.
It is a full-bodied wine, and when your meat is cooking in it, it will also help to tenderize the meat while it cooks.
Another benefit to using this wine was the ability to make a sauce out of it to compliment the meat’s flavor.

How to make our slow cooked corned beef in red wine with a honey mustard sauce?

For the Slow Cooked Corned Beef, you need:

2.2-pound Corned Beef or 1 kg Silverside
1 Large Red or Brown Onion
6 Garlic Cloves
500ml Cabernet Sauvignon or another red wine of your choice
1 cup Beef Stock or Beef Broth
2 cups of water
2 Bay Leaves
½ tsp Dried Oregano
½ tsp Dried Rosemary

Prepare your corned beef, just like mentioned above.

I use red onion in my recipe, the red has just a bit more flavor than brown, but you can use a brown onion.
Cut your onion in half and then cut each half into chucked pieces.

With your garlic cloves, you want to squash each clove; this allows the cloves to break open so that the flavor can go through the stock as it cooks. Squashing your garlic also makes removing the peel much easier.

To squash your garlic cloves, place a large knife over the top.

Using the ball of your palm, press down as hard as you possibly can on the knife.

Your garlic clove can sometimes stick to the other side of the knife, but this is ok, simply remove it carefully.

Remove the peel and cut off the ends.

Put both the onion and garlic on the bottom of the slow cooker.

Then place the corned beef on top.

Pour 500ml of the red wine over the meat, then add 1 cup of beef broth or liquid beef stock.

I use 2 cups of water, but you can add more if you feel you need to.
My liquid does not fully cover the meat; this is due to it floating. But it did not affect how it turned out.

You can however, add more water to top up the liquid in your slow cooker so the meat is covered.

Add the 2 bay leaves, ½ tsp dried oregano, and ½ tsp dried rosemary to your slow cooker.

Then place the lid over the top.

Turn your slow cooker on low and let it cook for six hours if you are using a 2.2 pound or 1 kg corned beef. Larger ones may need a little longer, so cook time can vary.

I use a Phillips all in one cooker to slow cook mine. If you happen to use one of these, make sure you set the valve to vent, not seal.

Once it is cooked, place the meat onto a meat tray or chopping board, cover it with tin foil and allow the meat to rest for around 10 minutes before carving it.

For the honey mustard sauce, you will need:

1 cup Cooking Liquid
25 g Unsalted Butter
½ tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp Sour Cream
1 tbsp Cornstarch or Corn Flour
1 to 3 tbsp Water
1 tbsp Honey.

While the meat is resting, you can begin to make the sauce.
Firstly combine your cornstarch with your water; about a tablespoon or two is enough water to make a paste. But I add three tablespoons so that a little more water is added to the sauce. Then put this aside till needed.
If you want the sauce thicker, add less water to the cornstarch.

Take 1 cup of the cooking liquid out from the slow cooker and place that in a saucepan, add the butter and dijon mustard, and whisk it all together till well combined over medium heat.

Now it is time to add the sour cream, but you need to temper this first; otherwise, the sour cream will curdle in the saucepan.
To temper, add small amounts of the hot liquid to the sour cream and mix thoroughly. Continue to add small portions of the fluid until the sour cream is just warm to the touch.
Then you can add this to the rest of the sauce and mix through.

Add the cornstarch and the tablespoon of honey. Stir this through and continue to stir until the sauce starts to thicken.
You can add more honey if you want and add to taste.

What other foods go well with slow-cooked corned beef in red wine?

Mashed potatoes
Steamed Green beans or Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Carrots
Roasted Vegetables
Roasted potatoes or Hasselback potatoes
Salads, such as a garden salad and, or potato salad
Coleslaw
And if you happen to have a weber q our Potato Bake recipe will also make for an excellent side dish to the slow-cooked corned beef in red wine.

Sauces that go well with Corned Beef?

Of course, a white sauce goes excellent with slow-cooked corned beef in red wine, but there are a few other options as well.

Honey Gravy
Cheese Sauce
Mushroom and Onion Gravy
Honey Mustard Sauce, which is included in this recipe.