Corned beef is a piece of meat, generally brisket, that is brined in seasoned salt and sliced for sandwiches or as a main meal. Even by itself, the cured beef has a significant quantity of calories, total fat, and salt. Because corned beef isn't the healthiest cut of meat, you should only eat it once in a while (like on St. Patrick's Day) rather than making it a regular part of your dinner menu. Sodium nitrate is used as a preservative in most corned beef. While it appears that little doses are safe to consume, the judgment is yet out on the long-term effects of greater amounts.
Find out if corned beef is healthy and how to incorporate it into a well-balanced diet.
What Is Corned Beef and How Is It Made?
Surprisingly, "corning" has nothing to do with corn and is actually a type of curing. Meat was dry-cured in huge, coarse pellets, or "corns," of salt to preserve it before refrigeration, according to the USDA.
Corned beef received its name from this. Instead of dry-curing using salt pellets, we now utilize brine of saltwater to create corned beef. Sugar, peppercorns, and bay leaves are commonly included in corned beef brine.
Calories and Nutrition in Corned Beef
Beef, water, salt, sugar, and sodium nitrate make up cooked corned beef. A 3-ounce serving comprises the following ingredients:
- Calories: 213
- Total fat: 12.7 g
- Saturated fat: 5.3 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 73 mg
- Sodium: 764 mg
- Total carbs: 0 g
- Dietary fiber: 0 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Selenium: 66% Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin B12: 58% DV
- Zinc: 28% DV
- Choline: 14% DV
Remember that these figures are for a 3-ounce portion. Larger amounts may result in you consuming far more calories, fat, and salt than you intended.
Calories and Nutrition of Corned Beef with Cabbage
For St. Patrick's Day, many Americans eat corned beef and cabbage, yet this celebratory meal is not on the Irish holiday menu. According to the University of Florida Health Communications, corned beef and cabbage emerged as an Irish-American ritual in the early 1900s. According to the USDA, a serving of corned beef and cabbage has the following nutrients:
- Calories: 222
- Total fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
- Sodium: 730 mg
- Total carbs: 22 g
- Dietary fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 5 g
- Protein: 12 g
Cabbage is a low-calorie side dish, however there are certain healthier cooking methods and recipes than others. According to Harvard Health Publishing, boiling vegetables causes the water-soluble vitamins to leak out into the water, but microwaving or steaming vegetables helps to maintain these nutrients. Because butter adds saturated fat to corned beef and cabbage, replace it with a heart-healthy fat like olive oil.
Tips
If you're serving cabbage with corned beef, keep the salt to a minimum. Instead, use low-sodium ingredients like black pepper, garlic, and bay leaves to season your cabbage.
Corned Beef's Health Benefits
It's a Good Source of Selenium
According to the National Institutes of Health, three ounces of corned beef provide 66 percent of your daily intake of selenium, a mineral that is crucial for thyroid health, reproduction, DNA creation, and immunological function by protecting the body from free radical damage and infection (NIH).
It contains a lot of vitamin B12
According to the National Institutes of Health, a 3-ounce portion of corned beef contains 58 percent of your daily intake of vitamin B12, which helps keep your blood and nerve cells healthy, makes DNA, and prevents megaloblastic anemia (a blood disorder that causes weariness and weakness).
It's Zinc-Fortified
According to the National Institutes of Health, a 3-ounce portion of corned beef contains 28 percent of your daily intake of zinc, a mineral that boosts immunity and aids in the formation of cells and proteins.
It's also necessary to ensure that your senses of taste and smell are functioning correctly.
It's Choline-Rich
According to the National Institutes of Health, choline is a precursor of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that promotes memory, emotion, muscular control, and other brain and nervous system processes. Corned beef provides 14 percent of your daily value (DV) in a 3-ounce serving.
Health Risks
Sodium in Corned Beef
Corned beef's salt concentration is one of its primary drawbacks, which is especially crucial if you have high blood pressure. According to a March 2015 paper published in Circulation Research, consuming more than 5,000 mg per day is connected to an elevated risk of heart attack in persons who already have high blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends that those with high blood pressure consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of salt per day, preferably no more than 1,500 milligrams. While an odd corned beef dinner is unlikely to be a problem — especially if you eat largely natural foods - salt is something to keep in mind. You may be consuming more salt than you know if you consume a lot of processed foods and cured meats.
Corned Beef Sodium Nitrate
Corned beef nowadays is preserved using sodium nitrate, a chemical preservative that also gives it a rosy tint. While the verdict on sodium nitrate's health consequences is yet out, some study suggests the preservative may have some detrimental health implications. According to a June 2017 research published in the European Food Safety Authority, eating too much sodium nitrate increases the chance of developing hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid gland, by interfering with the thyroid's ability to absorb iodine, an important element. According to the Mayo Clinic, sodium nitrate has also been related to blood vessel damage, which can cause atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and renal difficulties. Sodium nitrate can also mess with your body's sugar metabolism, which has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes.
Storage and Preparation Advice
If you're buying corned beef, keep these food-safety storage recommendations in mind, according to the USDA:
- Refrigerate uncooked corned beef with its fluids for 5 to 7 days (at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less).
- If you're freezing corned beef, drain the brine and wrap it tightly; it'll keep for a month in the freezer.
- Cooked corned beef can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 2 to 3 months.
Follow these guidelines for cooking corned beef:
- Corned beef is a tough cut that has to be cooked slowly and thoroughly, such as in a slow cooker or in the oven with an oven bag.
- According to the USDA, all raw corned beef should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
- Allow your corned beef brisket to rest for 20 minutes after removing it from the grill to make slicing it simpler.
- Corned beef should be sliced diagonally across the grain of the meat.
- Within 2 hours of cooking, refrigerate leftover corned beef.
Here are some ideas for how to prepare corned beef:
- Combine it with sauerkraut and mustard in sandwiches.
- Chop it up and combine it with vegetables in an omelet.
- Slice it and serve it with a salad.
- Combine it with spinach and tomato in a whole-grain wrap.
Is Corned Beef Good for You?
It's fine to have corned beef on occasion or as a festive dinner, but bear in mind that it's rich in salt and saturated fat — two elements that are unhealthy for your heart — before making it a regular part of your menu. Of course, if you use more ingredients in your corned beef dish, the nutrition data will alter.
Corned beef, for example, contains no carbs, but corned beef hash, which includes potatoes, has much more carbs than corned beef and cabbage, which is a low-carb food.
Bottom line: If you eat corned beef every day or make it with less-nutritious components, it might be harmful to your health.