St. Patrick’s Day falls on March 17th every year to memorialize the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. Don’t wait till the last minute to make preparations if you want to celebrate with traditional Irish American fare.
We’ve assembled everything you need right here on our Discover Blog and Online Meat Market. You might wonder why St. Paddy’s Day has become such a well loved holiday in the U.S.? For a little perspective, we consulted the census bureau to learn that over 31 million Americans trace their heritage back to Ireland. The population of Ireland is 4.5 million, so there are six to seven times more Irish Americans than Irish in Ireland. That’s a significant number. Although records aren’t complete, it’s estimated that 4.5 million Irish immigrants searching for a new start made their way to the U.S between 1820 and 1930. The numbers explain part of the popularity, but the flavors of old world Irish American cuisine is the most likely reason. Many who have no Irish heritage will also celebrate with St. Patrick’s Day Food Favorites: Corned Beef, Beef or Lamb Stew, Short Ribs, Meat Pies, Cabbage, and Potatoes.
Traditional Recipes
- Homemade Corned Beef Brisket (Brine Your Own) – by Katie Wells | Wellness Mama
- Homemade Corned Beef – by Brianna Ascher
- Corned Beef Hash – By Sean Coonce | Pastured Kitchen
- Easy Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage – by Carrie Forrest | Clean Eating Kitchen
- Pressure Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage – by Russ Crandall | The Domestic Man
- Classic Pastrami with Spicy Sauerkraut Slaw – by Carley Smith | The Fairy Gutmother
- Beef Brisket Tacos – by Jessi Heggan | Jessi’s Kitchen
- Nacho Average Brisket – GiGi Ashworth | GiGi Eats Celebrities
- Grilled Beef Brisket – by Danny & Julia Sterling | Cumberland Heritage Co.
Have you ever tried making your own Corned Beef? If you’ve marinated meat, and slow-cooked a roast, then you have the skills necessary to make corned beef. Plus, when you make it yourself, you know exactly what ingredients are in it. The good news is that it’s not complicated. There are some great recipes out there, but we have some of our favorites on our Discover Blog to make it easy to find.
One thing you’ll notice if you do this yourself. The typical “pink” coloring of corned beef is not natural. That bright pink color is from producers adding the preservative sodium nitrite. If you must have the pink color in your corned beef, we’d recommend using a natural ingredient like beet juice or red cabbage to give it that appearance. Either way, you’re in charge in the kitchen so make it your own.
There is also a common misconception that corned beef must have something to do with corn. “Corned” actually refers to the size and shape of the salt chunks that were used to cure the beef back in the early days. Those salt chunks are referred to as “corns”.
Choose Your Cuts
OK, so you’ve decided to make your own brine. You might be wondering what makes the best cuts of beef for Corned Beef? We’ve got answers to those questions and many more on our Discover Blog.
- Choose the Best Cut of Corned Beef — Flat vs Point
- How to Smoke Grass-fed Brisket
- What is Brisket? Cuts, Parts, & More Explained
Pre-Brined All-Natural Corned Beef
Not everyone will want to brine their own corned beef brisket. It does take time to make the brine and at least a couple days to marinate properly, so in that case we have just the ticket. Over several years, we’ve perfected our all-natural recipe for making Corned Beef. It’s delicious if we do say so ourselves – but lots of other people say so too. So, if you’re short on time this St. Patrick’s Day but still want to enjoy the old world flavors of authentic Irish-American cuisine, give our all-natural traditional recipe Grass-fed Corned Beef a try. Our recipe is simply delicious and it contains NO nitrates or Nitrites. Ingredients: Beef, Water, Sea Salt, Garlic Powder, Nutmeg, Coriander, Citric Acid, Natural Spices (clove, cinnamon, allspice). We never have enough of these tasty briskets to meet demand, so don’t delay.
