The History of St. Patrick's Day and Corned Beef
By Leslie Yeh, Gourmet Live guest blogger
As St. Patrick's Day approaches, many images come to mind: leprechauns, rainbows, four-leaf clovers, and on the dinner table, a heaping platter of corned beef and cabbage. But how authentic really is this "Irish dish"? Take a look back in history to discover why you won't find corned beef on the menu this St. Patrick's Day - at least not in Ireland.
Corned beef-or salt-cured beef-popularly paired with cooked cabbage, has become a familiar centerpiece of St. Patty's Day feasts in the U.S. But this dish is more Irish-American than Irish. In fact, back in the 17th century when the celebration of patron Saint Patrick of Ireland first became an official holiday, pork and bacon were the only affordable meats among most Irish, and beef was considered a rare delicacy.
In those times, cows were used for their milk, not for their meat. Beef was a luxury only fit for a king, as described in the 12th century Irish poem Aislinge Meic Con Glinne (one of the earliest references to corned beef). Most Irish opted for less expensive cuts, such as bacon, ham and pork. And although corned beef became a flourishing trade in the Atlantic during the 18th century, mostly all of it was cured for exporting rather than consumption among the working classes.
When the Irish immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1800s following the Great Potato Famine, they discovered that beef was much more affordable and accessible, and thus sparked the substitution of beef in traditional Irish meals such as boiled bacon and cabbage. Corned beef became a celebration of wealth among Irish Americans, a food they once thought of as a luxury had become a common staple in their diet.
Nowadays, Americans have adapted our own way of celebrating St. Patty's Day, from dumping green dye into the Chicago River to tossing carrots, cabbages and other Irish stew ingredients into the rowdy streets of New Orleans. And although it's considered "tourist" food in Ireland, corned beef and cabbage still reigns in our St. Patrick's day spread, right beside the shamrocks and pots o' gold.
Photo Credit: Conde Nast Digital Studio
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