IRISH-AMERICAN-L Archives

Archiver > IRISH-AMERICAN > 2007-03 > 1173542984


From: <>
Subject: Re: [IRISH-AMER] Corned Beef and cabbage
Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2007 16:09:44 -0000
In-Reply-To: <45F02E27.8090102@pacbell.net>


I'd agree with Bridget !!

The traditional meal was / is Bacon, Cabbage and Spuds in the form of New
Potatoes!!

Lamb would also have been a popular Easter dish... served as above with
butter and wild bog mint on the New Potatoes.

Corned beef would have been an exotic rarity !!

Kind regards,

Stuart
www.irelandandirish,com/forums









However other Irish people feel that Corned Beef and cabbage is about as
Irish as Spaghetti and meatballs. That beef was a real delicacy usually
served only to the kings.

According to Bridgett Haggerty of the website Irish Cultres and Customs
she says that their research shows that most likely a "bacon joint" or a
piece of salted pork boiled with cabbage and potatoes would more likely
have shown up for an Easter Sunday feast in the rural parts of Ireland.

Since the advent of refrigeration, the trend in Ireland is to eat fresh
meats. Today this peasant dish is more popular in the United States than
in Ireland. Irish-Americans and lots of other people eat it on St.
Patrick's Day, Ireland's principal feast day, as a nostalgic reminder of
their Irish heritage.

Corning is a form of curing; it has nothing to do with corn. The name
comes from Anglo-Saxon times before refrigeration. In those days, the
meat was dry-cured in coarse "corns" of salt. Pellets of salt, some the
size of kernels of corn, were rubbed into the beef to keep it from
spoiling and to preserve it.

Today brining -- the use of salt water -- has replaced the dry salt
cure, but the name "corned beef" is still used, rather than "brined" or
"pickled" beef. Commonly used spices that give corned beef its
distinctive flavor are peppercorns and bay leaf. Of course, these spices
may vary regionally.

http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/2Kitch/aCBeefCabge.html

http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/CornedBeef.htm

--
Pat Connors, visiting Port Charlotte FL
http://www.connorsgenealogy.com


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