In every Irish establishment, and many others, around St. Patrick’s Day, corned beef and cabbage will make its way onto the menu, marking a ‘tip of the cap’ to the Irish around St. Patrick’s Day. Another annual occurrence is Irish people giving out that this is not in fact an Irish dish at all, but is this true?
Beef was not readily available in Ireland and was considered a luxury. That’s why the traditional Irish meal centered around ham, the bacon.
But when these Irish got off the boats in America it was quite the opposite, corned beef was the meat that they could easily and more cheaply get their hands on and so this became the meal of choice for generations of Irish Americans to come.
In New England a tradition formed of having a boiled dinner. For this dish the corned beef, cabbage, and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes were boiled.
Many maintain that the dish is simply not Irish at all. The close proximity of the Irish and Jewish communities at the time is said to be largely responsible for the popularity of corned beef among the Irish immigrants. According to thekitchenproject.com, when the Irish arrived in America, they couldn’t find a bacon joint like they had in Ireland so they gravitated toward the Jewish corned beef which was very similar in texture.
Francis Lam on Salon.com reports that, years ago, the bars of early 20th century New York would offer a free dinner of corned beef and cabbage to the Irish workers who would crowd in after working all day on the building sites.
The Irish builders would still have to buy a few drinks in order to get their supposedly free dinner but the main reason that the corned beef and cabbage dinner is thought to be of Irish origin is not because they were enticed by a traditional meal so much as a cheap meal.
Whichever you’ll be treating yourself to this St. Patrick’s Day, whether it’s the corned beef and cabbage recipe or the bacon and cabbage recipe you’ll be looking for, enjoy!
22 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Scrivner | Mar 11, 2013, 04:16 PM EDT
Since we're dissing Irish foods that are not really Irish, let's include the potatoe. The Spanish conquistadors found the natives in northern South America raising these tubers and called them papas. They brought them back and they soon became the staple of northern Europeans from Ireland to Russia. Food is the best dilplomat, noodles from China to Italy resulted in these two countries never warring with each other, likewise with the potato, you haven't heard of Ireland and Bolivia taking up arms against each other. Who else can give an example of a food creating peace between a country of origin and its adopted nation?
mccrawf | Mar 11, 2013, 09:23 AM EDT
I have live in both Ireland and US an the diet in Ireland is only different in that they eat potatoes with everything -even other starches. Weddings you get offered at least 3 different kinds of potatoes. Please dont get me started-the Irish diet is NOT any healthier than the US. Kids eating chocolate and crisps non stop and butter on every sandwich.
puffin | Mar 11, 2013, 05:31 AM EDT
WARNING If you eat like an American you will end up looking like one ugh
STEVENSTAR | Mar 10, 2013, 09:38 PM EDT
BECAUSE THEY'RE AMERICAN NOT IRISH... AMERICANS HAVE TOTALLY DIFFERENT DIETS TO THE ONES WE EAT OVER HERE... CORNED BEEF ??? YUK !!!
pilib04 | Mar 09, 2013, 08:57 PM EST
Jewish or Deli Corned Beef isn't anything remotely close to Irish Boil Dinner (as my parents called it 90 years ago). Slow cooked is by far the best, but if using "flat cut" you can get away with boiling the corned beef which is really more traditional. There has been recipes published here already so I will not repeat.
oonafitz | Mar 09, 2013, 08:45 PM EST
So the link above takes you to a corned beef and cabbage--with horseradish sauce!!!!very Irish--not bacon and cabbage.
Seanmor | Mar 09, 2013, 07:36 PM EST
Having lived in the Western Catskills for several years, my wife have enjoyed VERY GOOD corned beef and cabbage dinners in mid-March in places such as the American Legion posts in Oneonta and Delhi, also at the Episcopal church in Sidney. These dinners are always well attended, mostly by people who have little or NO irish connections.
EphraimKibbey | Mar 09, 2013, 06:34 PM EST
lecorri - Use a Crockpot slow cooker next time and let the corned beef, cabbage and veggies simmer all day while you are at work. When you open the door the whole place will smell wonderful and you will have your dinner just minutes (and a slather of horseradish sauce) from your plate. Don't forget the warm buttered soda bread with raisins. Bacon seems to be a universally loved partner for cabbage. Ever try Hot Slaw? The hot vinegar and bacon dripping dressing is to die for. Then a nice slab of sauerbraten. UM, Um Um! Do not forget the apple strudle. Sorry, I guess I was channeling my Hessen great, great grandfather on my mom's side for a moment. Isn't food WONDERFUL?
Smyrnian | Mar 09, 2013, 06:17 PM EST
Corned beef was something we never heard of in Ireland when we were growing up....even today. I recall hearing that it was an immigrant recipe from the lower east side of Manhattan when the Jews and the Irish crossed paths. From there arose a lot of assumptions about it being an 'Irish' dish, which, of course it us not. In fact it greatly puzzles Irish people.
myhomenj | Mar 09, 2013, 05:52 PM EST
everyone here should understand , when we talk about cabbage and bacon, we are talking about a bacon that just dosen't exist in the usa. Irish bacon is in a class of it's own. JUST GREAT!!!
lecorri | Mar 09, 2013, 05:47 PM EST
I tried boiling a corned beef. Inedible! Give me a good piece of bacon to boil with my cabbage any day!!!
harkinog | Mar 09, 2013, 05:20 PM EST
Your food is all different to what people actually eat in Ireland btw
MegK311 | Mar 09, 2013, 05:11 PM EST
Growing up in N. Ireland we ate bacon and cabbage which I loved. I never heard of corned beef and cabbage until I cmae to line in the US. I prefer cabbage and bacon and I get hungry thinking about it.
mreinhar2001 | Mar 09, 2013, 03:08 PM EST
Interesting. This applies to those who arrived in the Northeastern US, but I wonder how such traditions started among those who came in by walking over the border from Canada into Michigan and Minnesota. This is a clever subject to study.
Pittsburghkid | Mar 09, 2013, 01:17 PM EST
Corned Beef and Cabbage was for celebrating. Bacon was everyday food. The American Irish were celebrating that they were no longer dirt poor.
CitizenWhy | Mar 09, 2013, 11:58 AM EST
In the Bronx we always had ham, root veggies and cabbage. I thought corned beef was a Jewish thing. Except for ham and pork chops and bacon my mother preferred to shop at the Kosher butcher shop.
porkheaven | Mar 09, 2013, 11:35 AM EST
also boiled ham and cabbage is terrible since the hogs today are fed to be extra lean and end up tough and flavorless.
porkheaven | Mar 09, 2013, 11:33 AM EST
I eat corned beef anytime it is offered. It is very enjoyable.
eileenkny | Mar 09, 2013, 10:59 AM EST
You know, there are so many more important things to worry about than bacon or corned beef. My father told me that it's what the Irish could afford when they came here. Isn't it ironic that it's only around St. Patrick's Day that corned beef is reasonably priced?
donal1951 | Mar 09, 2013, 10:10 AM EST
Back in the late 1950s, my mother would go to a Jewish-run butcher shop on a regular basis because they sold excellent meat at a good price. I still remember the quality of the corned beef sold by that small shop in a diverse neighborhood in New Haven, CT, and the many excellent St. Patrick's Day dinners my mother and father prepared collaboratively with the corned beef as the centerpiece. I am inclined because of that to give some weight to the theory that the proximity of Irish and Jewish neighborhoods and the relatively reasonable price of the corned beef played a role in its popularity. To tell the truth, ham and cabbage was our preferred boiled dinner the rest of the year, my father being an immigrant from Ireland and mother being a New Englander.
oflaherty | Mar 09, 2013, 09:45 AM EST
I heartily agree with Celtic Queen USA. If you'd like to read more on this topic, take a look at Corned Beef & Cabbage, the feeding of a myth on the Irish Culture and Customs web site.
CelticQueenUSA | Mar 09, 2013, 09:29 AM EST
Well it's about bloody time this got cleared up!!! I never had corned beef and cabbage in my LIFE! Never want to. The best IRISH meal is HAM AND CABBAGE anytime of the year!!!