Learn all about buying corned beef at Costco for your St. Patrick's Day celebration. See how much it costs, the different types you might find, and how to cook it.
Looking for a St. Patrick's Day celebration in our home on March 17th? If so, it's likely you are thinking corned beef. It is the food most of us think of when we think of this day, despite it not being an Irish thing!
Do you know that you can pick it up at Costco? And that's it's one of the best places to shop if you are looking to make your own corned beef completely from scratch.
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💲 How Much Does It Cost?
In 2023, I am finding USDA choice corned beef at Costco for $5.99/lb. Price may vary depending on where you are, but I expect it to be around $5-$6/lb everywhere.
When it comes to corned beef at Costco the selections is going to vary depending on where you are in the country. In Michigan, I have seen the Sy Ginsberg's Corned Beef, which is made in Detroit. Other stores I have seen Paddy O'Neills, which is made in Colorado. In California, I found Shenson Corned Beef that is packed in San Jose.
This year I found Morton's of Omaha Corned Beef in a Texas Costco store going for $5.99/lb.
📅 How Early Can You Buy It?
Shortly after Valentine's Day, you should be able to find corned beef ready to buy at Costco.
📅 RELATED - How Far in Advance to Buy Corned Beef
🐄 Brisket vs. Round
Most of the time you are going to get corned beef made from brisket. I did an an exception to that with the Shenson Corned Beef. It's made from round, not brisket. Maybe it's a California thing?
Most of the time when you are buying corned beef you are choosing between flat and point cut brisket. But in this case, you are getting beef from the round or back end of the cow.
Does it matter? Well, round is leaner than brisket. The meat has a different texture, which makes brisket better for corned beef. Not to say you shouldn't give corned beef round a try, but I wouldn't ever pick it over brisket.
🧪 Our cooking experiment - Corned Beef Brisket vs. Corned Beef Round.
🔥 How to Cook
Whatever corned beef you buy at Costco will come with instructions. You can do low and slow in a slow cooker, cook it in a cast iron Dutch oven on the stove top or inside the oven, or do what we do an make corned beef in the Instant Pot. Our Instant Pot recipe makes corned beef that is sliceable without just falling apart - perfect for a sandwich.
⏲️ Instant Pot Cooking Time - 1 hour 25 minutes at high pressure with a natural release for a brisket around 4 pounds. (see full instructions)
Want to cook your corned beef slower? Sounds like a strange questions but not If you own an immersion circulator or sous vide machine, check out our recipe for 24 Hour Sous Vide Corned Beef. Trust me your patience will be rewarded.
Whatever you do, don't cook the cabbage together with the corned beef. It will be mushy and smell up the whole kitchen - not in a good way. I always cook it separately, sometimes I even combine it with mashed potatoes to make Irish colcannon.
🍽️ Precooked
If you are looking for convenience, you can get an already cooked corned beef at Costco. One store I went to had Bill Bailey's Fully Cooked Corned Beef Round for $6.99/lb. Again with the beef round! Other times I have seen the A La Carte brand going for $5.49/lb.
🔪 Make Your Own
If you are interested in corning your own beef, then Costco is a great place to go. They have a great price on brisket. You can sometimes buy a whole USDA prime brisket for under $6 per pound, which is a great deal. It is a lot of meat, I would cut off what you need for now and freeze the rest unless you are really ambitious with your corned beef making.
If you don't want as much meat, you can get just a flat cut brisket portion for $11.99/lb. Clearly it's cheaper by the pound to buy the whole prime brisket if they have it. Look for whole choice brisket as well.
We don't have a recipe to fully corn the beef, but we do have a method to quickly brine a brisket.
🌽 RELATED - Why It Is Called "Corned Beef"?
🛒 What Else to Buy
I love shopping at Costco around St. Patrick's Day as there are several things I like to get there, especially my son's favorite - the Shamrock Ravioli. Also these are on my must buy list.
- Irish Banger Sausages
- Kerrygold Butter
- Kerrygold Dubliner cheese
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🐟 More Costco Guides
We have lot of guides on our blog to help you shop for meat. Our popular guide will guide you through the price and selection of all types of beef at Costco. We also offer guides for these other meats as well.
Want to cook another hunk of meat from Costco? Pot roast, anyone? Choose a chuck roast at Costco and try one of my favorite pot roast recipes from Alton Brown.
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