You can’t say corned beef and cabbage to most people without them thinking of St. Patrick’s Day. I equate it to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and our celebration. Corned beef, used in a Reuben grill sandwich, is available all year round in this sandwich or as a deli meat. However, corned beef and cabbage are not as available as the meal might be. You are likely to find it in some Irish pubs or strict Irish restaurants.
Corned Beef is a cut of meat from beef that resides on the brisket of the animal. If you go to the food section on the menu bar at the top of the home page, and look under beef, you will see where the brisket and plate are. Corned Beef is made from the plate and deckle cuts. The plate is the flatter portion that is most desirable for this dish
Corned Beef and Cabbage, An Irish Dish
The question: Is Corned Beef and Cabbage an Irish dish? This is an interesting question because we eat Corned beef and Cabbage annually in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, so it must be an Irish dish. Right? The answer to this question is both yes and no.
To seek the answer to this, you would have to go back to a day when refrigeration was in the form of a cellar under your home. It may be an area with ice in it that would only exist for brief periods until after winter expired, once the ice melted, so ended this refrigeration. Generally speaking, this refrigeration was better suited for root vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, and beets. In Ireland, potatoes became a popular and readily available food source.
So here is the yes and no of this discussion. With the lack of refrigeration, curing meat was a solution that we talk about further down in the best Corned beef and Cabbage recipe. Fish and meat would be brined, and if they were not used quickly, they would be dried for later use.
Well, this became a big business of the time. Ireland was an exporter of brined beef, also known as corned beef today. They would ship it to Britain and the surrounding areas that would have a demand for it. Prices were high and weren’t as easily affordable to the general Irish population.
The Irish were, generally speaking, farmers and fishermen. They, like much of the world, weren’t a wealthy nation. The Irish population typically used potatoes as a staple crop for daily food. The Irish would much more likely have consumed a smoked pork shoulder when St. Patrick’s Day became recognized as a celebration in the early 1900s. This meal would be cooked like corned beef; however, it didn’t have the hefty price tag that the meat had.
Corned beef and cabbage, an Irish dish, yes, it was; however, it wasn’t readily consumed by the Irish because of the costs. The Irish were the producers and exporters of the dish.
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day With Corned Beef and Cabbage
While the shamrock is a symbol of Ireland, it is also a symbol of life and new beginnings as it sprouts in the springtime. It also represents St. Patrick’s Day, and this is when we think of Corned Beef and Cabbage, among other things. St. Patrick was originally a slave captured by Irish pirates from his home in Britain.
Patrick remained there for 6 years as a slave. He escaped and returned to his homeland where he became a cleric in the Catholic church. He then returned to Ireland to share his Christian faith with the country.
He did this; he went throughout the nation evangelizing and planting churches. He performed so well in this area that he became recognized for it. Churches worldwide recognized his accomplishments. Although this day is recognized in Ireland today it was more recognized in the United states until the early 1900’s as a welcoming of the Irish immigrants.
Now it is recognized in a national celebration in the country of Ireland. Many Americans make the pilgrimage to Ireland for this day. Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Corned beef and Cabbage in Ireland is popular.
The Best Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
While the shamrock is a symbol of Ireland, it is also a symbol of life and new beginnings as it sprouts in the springtime. It also represents St. Patrick’s Day, and this is when we think of Corned Beef and Cabbage, among other things. St. Patrick was originally a slave captured by Irish pirates from his home in Britain.
Patrick remained there for 6 years as a slave. He escaped and returned to his homeland, where he became a cleric in the Catholic Church. He then returned to Ireland to share his Christian faith with the country.
He did this; he traveled throughout the nation, evangelizing and planting churches. He performed so well in this area that he became recognized for it. Churches worldwide recognized his accomplishments. Although this day is recognized in Ireland today, it was more widely celebrated in the United States until the early 1900s as a celebration of Irish immigrants.
Now it is recognized in a national celebration in the country of Ireland. Many Americans make the pilgrimage to Ireland for this day. Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Corned beef and Cabbage in Ireland is popular.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 5 lb Corned Beef Brisket 1 each (Plate)
- 1 lb Carrot peeled cut in 1 inch chunks
- 1 Head of Cabbage cut into 6 or 8 wedges depending on size
- 2 lbs. Red Bliss Potatoes cut in ½
- 2 Onion large, cut in ¼’s
- 1 T Pickling Spice often times this comes with the brisket
Instructions
- In Large stock pot, place corned beef brisket, cover with water, add pickling spice
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, simmer for 2 – 3 hours with the lid on
- Once meat is tender, (Internal temperature of 195), remove the meat, add vegetables
- Cook until tender Remove vegetables, place on a platter for service
- Take some of this newly made stock (1 quart) and thicken with a roux (4 oz.)
- Serve Sliced brisket with vegetables and sauce or with whole grain mustard
