Baked Corned Beef

• 1 3–4 lb. corned beef brisket
• 2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. whole grain mustard

If you want to do this in your air-fryer, you'll probably need to cut your corned beef in half and cook it a couple of pounds at a time unless you have a cooker that's a lot bigger than mine.

Remove the corned beef from its package and hold on to the wee packet of seasoning. Run the beef under the cold tap for a minute to rinse off the surface salt, then soak it in a large bowl of cold water for an hour or so, changing the water every 15 minutes. This'll leech out some of the absorbed salt from the corning process. If you skip this, it's going to be pretty salty.

Drain the water and give the beef a final rinse under the cold tap, then pat it dry and put it on a plate, fatty side up.

Stir together the mustard, brown sugar, and contents of the seasoning package in a bowl then apply the mixture to the fatty top-side of the beef. Rub it in a little.

EITHER:

Pre-heat your oven to 275°F.

Put the beef into a large oven-proof pot for which you have a lid, put the lid on the pot, and bake the beef in the oven for one hour per pound. Then remove the lid, drain off any water that the beef has given off, and bake, lidless, for another half hour.

OR:

Pre-heat your air-fryer to 325°F. When it's hot, put an air-fryer liner on the crisper tray, put your lump of corned beef on top of that, and put the basket in the machine.

Air-fry the beef for 40–50 minutes, depending on how large it is. 1.5 lbs. should be done in 40 minutes, closer to 2 lbs. will take more like 50 minutes.

Use an instant-read thermometer to check the beef has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.

THEN:

Remove the beef to a cutting board, cover it with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Serve it with whatever you please.