Round is, I think, a tough cut, though perhaps not as tough as brisket. It's also lean. If that's right, you need to break down the connective tissues, and keep it juicy, I wouldn't just dry roast it. Low and slow works best for tough cuts. I do a slow cooker braise in broth for corned brisket, following directionsl One of the great things about corned beef is the “pickling liquid”. Given all that, I think slow cooking of low, rather than boiling (or sous vide, which would work great if it were an option), until mostly done, then finishing in the oven might work really well. Do baste it before the oven. I've done similar with other cuts and kinds to great success.

Dry roasted corned beef it just too salty for me. I once had the bright idea to make split pea soup with the leftover liquid from simmering a corned beef in water to make a New England Boiled Dinner.....and it was so salty as to be inedible. Found that a cup of the flavored salty liquid was enough to flavor a pot of peas.

My point being that all that salt boils out of the meat.....if I eat a normal serving of roasted corned beer, I can't make a fist and feet feel puffy. It can't be good for anyone. Salt cured meat or fish is intended to be boiled or soaked before cooking.

My mom used to cook her corned beef in the oven and it was really salty. Can’t remember if she added any liquid, but it wasn’t enough if she did. The best results for me have always been a low and slow simmer in a flavorful broth whether it’s a round, flat or point cut. Boiling can often toughen the meat.

ETA - I remembered this from one of my Silver Palate cookbooks. Never tried it but it does finish off in the oven. I got the cooking method I posted for low/slow simmering in my corned beef thread from the Silver Palate girls.

https://www.food.com/recipe/ruby-glazed-corned-beef-310196

Okay, I think I should take your advice and cook it in water, probably in the crock pot and then I might finish it off in the oven. I'm not crazy about glazed (sweet) meat, but I'll look for some other options.

Thanks everyone!

Some kind of sauce will help keep it from drying out in the oven, but you could just brush it with oil, or vinaigrette, or a low salt mustard. It doesn't have to be sweet.

I've been slow roasting corned beef for a number of years now. Thank you, Ann Thibeaults Table ;) If the cut looks a little more lean, I add some low or no salt broth to the alum foil packet when I seal it up, put it in the oven. With additional garlic. Or some juice, can be orange juice or whatever I have on hand that's fresh. I've never had one turn out dry and we prefer it to boiled. I'll typically saute some cabbage to go with it as DH likes it that way.

I'm going to slow oven roast a Costco Wagyu corned beef that method this afternoon. Results to be determined......

Done! I simmered mine for about 4 hours. I combined all I read and used what I had and what made sense. I had my dinner and it was very good, but I do have a large hunk of cooked meat to freeze for future meals. This piece was thicker - about 2”; its now about 9” long. I’ve already cut-off 3 pieces for my dinner.

Well, I posted earlier (but it seems to have disappeared) about deciding to cook it in the oven after finding directions on the butcher's label saying to bake it in a covered pot at 300° for 2-3 hours for a 3-4 lb roast. Mine was 2.25 lbs, so I put it in a cast iron Dutch oven with a tiny bit of water in the bottom to prevent scorching. It was superb! Really lean, sliced like a beef roast, but fork tender. Not at all salty (I think the butcher might make their own and it was nowhere near as salty as the supermarket briskets). It had pickling spices already in the brine, so I didn't even rinse it. I cooked it about 2.5 hours. Morz8's post also encouraged me to shy away from cooking it in water. Probably the best I've ever had.

Thank you everyone for your input!

Covered pot at 300F is a lot moister than what I thought you meant. Fantastic news about how wel it turned out!

Thanks, yes, it worked great. At the beginning of the pandemic I bought a Staub cast iron Dutch oven to use for baking bread, but I've never used it. It seemed perfect for the task and worked very well. The roast just fit the diameter of the pan and it's so nice and heavy, no steam seemed to escape. And I just read that the Staub can go in the dishwasher! Win/win!

I simmer mine in ginger ale and then sometimes finish it off in the oven.

I'm glad yours turned out and was a hit, Oly. We liked ours too. When I got it into the kitchen and unpackaged (it had been in the garage refrigerator) I found it was a corned Wagyu round roast, not a brisket. A little over 4 pounds.

I put it triple wrapped in foil in a 275F oven for about 6 hours, after rubbing some crushed garlic into it, sprinkling very lightly with the seasoning packet that came with it, added just a bit of fresh tomato juice so it didn't become dry. I needn't have worried, it was swimming in juices when I took it out of the oven.

Delicious. We really enjoyed our dinner. I sauteed the cabbage since that's DH fav way to have it prepared. I'm not sure yet if I'll heat the leftovers for tonight, or make sandwiches - I think it would make excellent sandwiches. I have some vegetable soup in the freezer that would go with those - we're playing catch up in the yard today and taking advantage of the beautiful (and appreciated) weather so something fast will work out nicely.