Yes, today is the day, March 17! It's the day for the wearin' of the green!

Saint Patrick's Day is a joyful holiday to many people for many reasons.  For me, raised in a largely Irish neighborhood in Chicago, it is a religious and cultural celebration, and also a portent of spring, the beginning of the end of the long Midwestern winter. I remember Saint Patrick's Day mornings, hearing the clamor of parades in the distance, walking down streets of the "old neighborhood," and catching snowflakes on my tongue.  As cold weather lingered, I passed by Casey's Irish Tavern, the aromas of beer and corned beef carried down the alley by the wind. As I nearly lost my footing on the ice, old "Pat Casey" came out with buckets of dye and made the snow turn green.  In my boyhood, that seemed to be the Saint Patrick's Day miracle, the winter turned to spring, and I hoped to catch a green snowflake on my tongue.  It is the day the world turns green, and everyone in it is Irish. The "corned beef and cabbage" dinner that we associate so much with Saint Patrick's Day is not really Irish in origin, but American. Beef would have been a rarity in Ireland in the old days, especially on a working man's table; I suppose a more truly "Irish" main course would be fish. In the United States, our Saint Patrick's Day feast is actually a New England Boiled Dinner, centered around all-American beef and characteristic of Boston. The large Irish population of Boston adopted it as their own, and it has become known as the Irish-American holiday meal ever since. This is a dinner that men love to cook. Like the American barbecue, it invites men who otherwise never cook to roll up their sleeves and take charge. I have an elderly friend (who isn't even Irish) who cooks that one day of the year, insisting on preparing the Saint Patrick's Day feast for the local church. When I watch his groceries arrive, a truckload of corned beef, potatoes, turnips, carrots, onions, and cabbages, I wonder where all that food goes! But he always manages to cook it all, borrowing pots and pans and finally whole kitchens in the neighborhood, enlisting us all to help out. I have wondered how he survives the work and the chaos at his age. But as the kitchen arguments turn to camaraderie, I realize that the ritual keeps him young. He taught me that the Saint Patrick's day meal is not to be missed, and that the preparation is in fact more important than the eating.

A Note on Corned Beef:

Many excellent brands are available on the market or, if you are truly adventurous, you can brine your own. But if you are like most of us, you will buy your corned beef fresh or frozen from your butcher. Nowadays it is fashionable to choose "lean" or "low fat" varieties, but be forewarned that excessively lean beef when cooked for long periods of time can become tough and hard. ChefBilly advises that the corned beef have a thin layer of fat on top. A white "marbling" of fat through the beef is an indication of high quality, prime grade, and ensures a tender, moist result. You will want at least one whole, "corned beef brisket," which usually weighs 4-5 pounds. Figure at least a half a pound of meat per person, because the corned beef will shrink to about half its size when cooked.

The traditional way to cook Corned Beef and Cabbage is all in one pot, which can result in a pot of mush.  In the following recipe, arrived at through years of experimentation, ChefBilly cooks the meat and vegetables in separate stages, ensuring that each will be boiled to perfect doneness without overcooking. The meat requires long simmering, so you must begin about 5 hours before you wish to serve. But one of the joys of Saint Patrick's Day is having the wonderful aroma of corned beef wafting through the house all day.

 

Corned Beef and Cabbage

For 10 people:

2 corned beef briskets, or about 10 pounds total, uncooked

2 bay leaves

½ pound salt pork, available from your butcher (optional, but adds nice flavor)

5 medium parsnips

5 medium turnips

10 large carrots

10 medium, yellow onions

10 medium, red "boiling" potatoes

2 medium green cabbages, or 1 very large one

 

1) Thaw corned beef if frozen. Unwrap and place with juices fat-side up in a very large kettle. If your corned beef came with spices, peppercorns, etc., be sure to add them to the pot. Cover with cold water to about 1 inch above the meat. Add bay leaves. Cover the kettle, leaving lid slightly ajar for steam to escape. Place over medium flame and bring gradually to a boil. This may take about an hour.

2) Begin timing when meat begins to simmer. Then continue to cook over very low heat; liquid should be barely simmering. You may remove surface "scum" that forms with a slotted spoon, but be sure not to remove your spices in so doing. The corned beef should take between 3 and 4 hours to reach full tenderness. Add optional salt pork after the first 2 hours. When a large fork can pierce easily to the center of the meat, it is done. Remove corned beef and salt pork to a platter and keep covered.

You may prepare the meal ahead up to this stage and chill the corned beef. About an hour before serving, proceed as follows:

3) Return pot to simmer and add peeled, whole onions. Simmer for about 15 minutes and then add parsnips and turnips which have been peeled and cut into large chunks. Simmer for 15 minutes longer, then add peeled carrots and simmer until the vegetables are done, about 15 minutes longer.

4) While the above vegetables are cooking, place peeled potatoes in a separate pot and ladle boiling corned beef broth from the main pot about 2/3 to the top of the potatoes. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

5) While cooking the potatoes, cut cabbage into large wedges and place in a deep skillet. Ladle boiling corned beef broth from the main pot about half way up to the top of the cabbage. Cover tightly and let the cabbage steam until fork tender, about 30 minutes.

6) Carve the corned beef into long, ¼-inch thick slices. It carves most easily if it has come to room temperature or, better yet, if it has been chilled. If hot, it tends to fall apart. Cut against the grain of the meat to prevent it from separating into threads. For example, if you see the striations in the meat going vertically, cut horizontally. For best results, set yourself up with a proper wooden cutting board and carving knife as if you were carving roast beef.

7) Overlap the slices of corned beef in another deep skillet. Add a little of the boiling corned beef broth from the main pot, just enough to make steam. Cover the skillet and steam the corned beef just until it is warm. Do not overcook at this point. Reheat the optional salt pork by returning it to the main pot.

8) By now you will have 4, count them, 4 pots and skillets on your stove, and if you have timed and juggled them right, everything should be ready at once. It is best to serve immediately at this point. If you cannot, drain the vegetables and keep them covered, DO NOT let them sit around indefinitely in the cooking liquid or they will become soggy. Also, do not mix the cabbage-cooking broth with your other broth, as it imparts a strong taste.

TO SERVE: arrange corned beef on a platter surrounded by some of the vegetables; serve potatoes and cabbage on separate platters. Or serve from the stove, making sure each plate gets corned beef, cabbage, potato, and a little of each of the other vegetables. Cut salt pork into small cubes and serve on top of the cabbage.

THIS IS EXCELLENT with strong horseradish and good rye bread. Beer is the traditional beverage, and plenty of it. For a festive touch, serve a light-colored variety and add a few drops of green food coloring to turn the beer green. Nonalcoholic choices would be apple cider, cream soda, or Green River, a sweet soft drink with a delightfully green color.

LEFTOVERS will give you the best corned beef sandwiches in the world! You may save the corned beef cooking broth for a day or two to cook or reheat vegetables. But do not try to make soup out of it, as it is too salty.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 

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