These Corned Beef Wontons incorporate all of your favorite traditional St. Patrick’s Day flavors into one perfect bite!
This recipe is sponsored by Ohio Beef Council. The ideas and opinions shared are my own.
March 17th is when I call upon my Ish heritage. *Ish as in Irish-ish since I can’t really quantify any substantial Irish lineage. But isn’t everybody Ish on St. Patrick’s Day?! And what do Ish (and Irish, of course!) folk like to do on St. Patty’s Day? Eat corned beef, of course! There’s no better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than with delicious corned beef. While mostly associated with Ireland, corned beef has become increasingly popular in the United States, especially on St. Patrick’s Day. Oh and maybe wash it down with some beers, too. 😉
One of my favorite things to do when developing a recipe is to take a classic, well-loved and traditional meal (such as Corned Beef and Cabbage or reuben sandwiches) and give them a very non-traditional spin. Such is the case with these Corned Beef Irish Wontons.
Tangy sauerkraut is tucked between 2 wonton wrappers, then topped with diced corned beef and Swiss cheese. Serve with thousand island dressing and shredded fresh cabbage on the side… it makes for such a delightful crunch. I love a good multi-textured bite of food!
These Corned Beef Wontons combine some of the favorite components of a reuben, all wrapped up in one perfect bite. Or 2 if you’re being dainty.
Fun fact: The term “Corned” comes from the large pieces of rock salt that are used for the brine that cures the brisket. Brining helps to preserve the beef and also adds flavor and moisture to the meat. Corned beef is made with brisket flat half, which is a flavorful, lean cut of beef. Since the brisket flat half is so lean, it’s best to cook it fat side up. The fatty layer helps the flavorful beef juices to seep into the full brisket.
The most common ways to cook corned beef is in an oven or slow cooker. No matter which method you use, the key to cooking perfect corned beef is cooking at a low temperature for a longer period of time. I prefer to use the slow cooker on the low setting. Low and slow is always my motto when it comes to leaner cuts of beef.
So are you on board for mixing up the traditional St. Patrick’s Day fare in favor of these Corned Beef Wontons?
Ingredients you will need for Corned Beef Wontons
Full printable recipe card below.
- Corned beef brisket with included spice packet (if you want to ramp up the spices, you can add extra coriander or caraway seeds as well)
- Carrots and potatoes (although they don’t go into the Reuben wontons, they are great to have as a side since they’ve been braised on all of the delicious corned beef juices).
- Beer for braising (and extra to drink, if you’d like ;))
- Bay leaves
- Wonton wrappers
- Sauerkraut
- Swiss cheese, finely shredded
- Thousand island dressing or mustard (optional)
Equipment you will need to make Irish Wontons
Depending on your slow cooker, cook the corned beef for 8 – 9 hours on high, or for 5 – 6 hours on slow. My crockpot always cooks fast. If yours does the same, you can check the corned beef brisket’s temperature with about an hour left of cooking. It should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 145°. You can always refer to this handy guide for determining doneness for any cut of beef. In my experience, crockpots can cook very differently, so the best gauge to determine doneness is always by using a meat thermometer (as is the case for any preparation method).
Corned Beef Wontons
Equipment
- Slow cooker
- Muffin pan
Ingredients
- 2 – 2½ pounds Corned beef brisket with included spice packet
- 2 cups Baby carrots
- 8 small Red potatoes
- 2 bottles Beer
- 3 bay leaves optional
- 1 package Wonton wrappers
- ½ cup Sauerkraut
- ½ cup Swiss cheese finely shredded
- Thousand island dressing
- Shredded fresh cabbage optional
Instructions
- Place the carrots and potatoes in a large crockpot and top with the corned beef brisket, fat side up. Pour beer into the crockpot. Sprinkle corned beef brisket with the included seasoning packet. Add additional seasoning and/or bay leaves if desired.
- Cover and cook for 8 – 9 hours on high, or for 5 – 6 hours on slow until the corned beef reaches an internal temperature of at least 145°F.
- Remove the corned beef brisket, along with the carrots and potatoes, from the slow cooker. Trim off the fatty layer on the top of the brisket and slice against the grain, followed by a rough chop/dice.
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Place 1 wonton wrapper in each muffin cavity and add a heaping teaspoon of sauerkraut into each wrapper.
- Press another wonton wrapper inside of the bottom wrapper and fill each one with the diced corned beef. Add additional spices if desired. Sprinkle each corned beef wonton with shredded Swiss cheese.
- Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until the wonton edges are lightly browned and cheese has melted.
- Serve with fresh shredded cabbage, thousand island or mustard if desired.
Notes
These delicious Irish wontons will fuel you for all of your St. Patrick’s Day festivities! After all, there’s no stronger protein source than beef. One 3 oz cooked serving of beef provides half your Daily Value of protein (25 grams), for under 200 calories. You can feel great about eating beef for that reason, as well the fact that you’re helping to support family businesses. Although many people think that industrial farming has taken the place of family farms and ranches, 97% of beef farms are actually family-owned and operated!
Visit www.OhioBeef.org, and follow the Ohio Beef Council on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for beef nutrition facts, cooking tips, recipes and to meet Ohio’s beef farming families. Use #OhioBeef to share photos of the delicious beef dishes you’re incorporating into St. Patrick’s Day recipes.
Terry says
These look delicious