History of St. Patrick's Day  &  Recipe to make Corned Beef 

The modern day celebration of St. Patrick’s Day: parades, festivals, iconic food (corned beef and cabbage) and drink (green beer and Guinness) to the “ wearing of the green” and shamrocks has almost nothing to do the with Saint Patrick, whom by the way wasn’t even Irish!

Patrick was born into an aristocratic Romano-British family around A.D. 390. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped and sent to tend sheep in the mountainous countryside of Ireland; he was basically ​a slave. While there he became a deeply devout Christian. After six years he escaped, reunited with his family, eventually became an ordained priest and ultimately returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. He died on March 17, 461 at the age of 71. It wasn’t until centuries later that he was honored as the patron Saint of Ireland.

Up until the 1970s St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland was a minor religious holiday. It was acknowledged with a worship service and celebrated with a family meal. “St. Patrick’s Day” was basically invented in America by Irish-Americans as a way to reconnect with their Irish roots. Parades were held to confirm ethnic identity and create bonds of solidarity. Current day tradition calls for everyone to wear a piece of green or be “affectionately” pinched. Pinning a shamrock on one’s green sweater might be the closest association with St. Patrick, as he used the three-leaf plant to explain the Christian holy trinity: the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

On St. Paddy’s Day everyone is Irish and countess merrymakers around the world delight in copious amounts of corned beef and numerous pints of Guinness! Approximately 5.5 million pints are consumed around the world on a daily bases but that number more than doubles on March 17th.

Corned beef is a salt-cured product. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with grained rock salt, also called "corns" of salt as they are roughly the same size. Many recipes and supermarket packages of corned beef include sodium nitrite, which makes the meat retain a red color . This chemical, also known as potassium nitrate (think gun powder!) reacts with the purple color pigments in the meat, thus turning them pink to red. We don't add this chemical for many reasons. If the “pink” color is absolutely a requirement for you add a grated red beet to the marinating brine.

Corning beef is as easy as brining a whole turkey. Planning 5-7 days in advance of your meal will be the most challenging part! Any cut of beef can be "corned", however, the best cuts are the tougher, less-expensive ones such as brisket- think low and slow. It’s a simple but rewarding meal to prepare for family and friends! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Recipe for Home-Corned Beef Brisket and Vegetables

Serves 8 with Leftovers

½ cup kosher salt

7 tablespoons Heart Rock’s Corned Beef Spice Blend (5T for curing, 2T in cheesecloth for cooking)

1 beef brisket (6-8 pounds) called either “first cut” or “flat cut”, trimmed leaving ¼” layer of fat

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

2 12 oz. bottles hard cider (or regular cider if you can’t find)

½ cup Irish whiskey (or low-sodium chicken broth)

4-5 cups of water

6 pounds of prepared vegetables of choice ( carrots, new potatoes, turnips, boiling onions, small green cabbage, parsnips) peeled, and cut into similar size, small new potatoes can be left whole, blemished leaves removed from cabbage, do not core, cut into 6-8 wedges,

1. Mix salt with ¼ cup of Heart Rock’s Corned Beef Spice Blend in a small bowl. Spear the meat with a meat fork, penetrating through the fat about 25 times per side. Rub spice blend evenly on both sides, side into a 2 gallon zipper-lock bag, forcing out the air, OR we use a “food saver” and vacuum the air out. Place on a sheet pan large enough to hold the meat, cover with a slightly smaller or a  slightly larger sized pan, weight with 2 -3 bricks. Refrigerate for 5 to 7 days, (the longer the better) turning every other day. After time in the refrigerator, thoroughly rinse the meat under cold water to remove the salt and spice mixture then pat dry.

2. Place meat in a large Dutch oven or stockpot (6-8 quarts) add water to cover 1 inch, bring the brisket to a boil over medium-high heat, skim off foam that rises to the top. Cook for 7-10 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate, discard the water and wipe out the pot. Return the beef to the pot, add the spice bundle (2 tablespoons in cheesecloth)  honey, brown sugar, cider, whiskey or chicken broth and 4-5 cups of water, (liquid should cover meat by 1 inch) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the liquid simmers. Cover, cook 1 ½ hours then flip the meat, cook for another 1 ½ hours, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part of the brisket slides out with ease. (Can be stored in the fridge for up to three days at this point).

3. Transfer the meat to a large rimmed platter, ladle about 1 cup of the cooking liquid over it to keep it moist. Loosely cover with foil, place in a 225 degree oven,. While the vegetables are being prepared.

4. If using carrots, new potatoes or turnips, add them first to the pot, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer, cook until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the onions, cabbage and parsnips, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer until all the vegetables are tender, another 10 to 15 minutes. 

5. Meanwhile, remove the meat from the oven, cut it in half, along the grain of the meat and then across the grain into ¼ inch slices. Place on the heated platter, add the vegetables, moisten with additional broth and serve.

LEFTOVERS

Corned beef hash with eggs, a classic Ruben sandwich or stuff cabbage rolls

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