corned beef

If you're looking to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a big traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage feast, there's just one problem. As it turns out, corned beef and cabbage is not actually a traditional Irish dish. The meal features salt-cured beef, which gets its name from the large "kernels" of salt that covers it during its curing process. But beef was rare and incredibly expensive in Ireland, hardly something that farmers would readily have access to. It was more likely that these boiled dinners would feature some kind of bacon cooked with cabbage.

When the Irish immigrated to the United States, beef was more available and certainly more affordable, and corned beef in particular became an important part of the culture, as it took the place of bacon in the boiled meal. So don't feel disheartened if you had planned to enjoy a boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage on Sunday, because not only is it a part of the Irish-American St. Patrick's Day tradition, but it's also wholesome and full of slow-cooked flavor.

If you want something a little more creative, enjoy your corned beef on pizza or in a grilled cheese.

If you're hoping to cook up some traditional Irish eats for St. Patrick's Day, corned beef should definitely be on the menu. Its association with Irish-American culture makes corned beef a holiday must, but feel free to get creative with your dish. From a morning classic to a salty, cheesy sandwich, here are five delicious ways to serve corned beef on March 17.

• With eggs. Start your St. Patrick's Day with a tasty take on the traditional beef. Corned beef hash and scrambled eggs are sure to get your holiday off on the right foot. Try the canned version or create your own with this simple corned beef hash recipe.
• On a sandwich. Stick to a classic Reuben sandwich recipe or keep things simple by adding slices of corned beef to marbled rye. A few condiment ideas: horseradish, mustard, or a layer of your favorite cheese.
• With potatoes and cabbage. Get in the Irish spirit by serving smoked corned beef with boiled potatoes and cabbage. Need some extra flavor? Add salt, pepper, onions, and fresh chopped dill to kick the savory taste up a notch.
• Over pasta. Get creative with corned beef by serving slices over pasta. Pick a recipe with an extracreamy sauce and let the meat supply a salty accent flavor.
• On a grilled cheese. With Dijon mustard and creamy fontina cheese, you're bound to fall for this corned beef grilled cheese recipe. Add just a handful of sliced sweet onion and toast some buttered rye bread for a dish you'll love year-round.

Do you have a favorite way to serve corned beef? Share your tips in the comments below!

After I made corned beef this past week, I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about it, other than the fact that it's absolutely delicious. What, exactly, makes it different from that other deli favorite, pastrami? Corned beef and pastrami are both beef cuts that have been cured and cooked. But that's where the similarity ends. Although brisket is commonly used for both, corned beef can also be made from lean round, while pastrami can also come from navel (plate) and round. Corned beef is first soaked in a salt water brine with pickling spices, then boiled.

The process for pastrami varies widely, but in general, the meat is first cured with a spice rub or soaked in brine. From that point, it's encrusted in peppercorns, then smoked. The beef may be hot-smoked all the way through; if not, it is then steamed or simmered. Were you aware of the difference between the two? Which do you ask for on a reuben?

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Source: Flickr User Marshall Astor

Ever since I was little and my mom would make "breakfast for dinner," I've been a fan of enjoying classic breakfast items at night.

Today, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, why not make the hearty brunch favorite known as corned beef hash? It's traditional meat and potatoes at its best, and when topped with a perfectly poached egg, it makes a fine meal.

Serve with a cold beer and mixed greens for a festive and satisfying dinner. Get the speedy recipe after the jump.

I said it before, and I'll say it again. One can never have too much corned beef — especially if that corned beef is almost laughably easy to make in the slow cooker, and you can use the leftovers for craveworthy corned beef and fontina grilled cheeses. Yet as good as the corned beef is alone and in a toasted sandwich, I think I've found its best application yet: as the costar of corned-beef-and-cabbage pizza.

I began by making a basic pizza dough from scratch, then I loaded it with crisp slivers of potato, savory corned beef, sweet cabbage, and three types of cheese, for a sensory trip that was exotic, yet familiar at the same time. Trust me, this pizza wound up being my bona fide pot o' gold at the end of the corned beef rainbow! For the easy recipe, read more.

After posting a obscenely easy recipe for corned beef that can be made in the slow cooker, a number of friends and co-workers started asking me about how much the recipe made. "Is it going to be too much meat?" they asked me.

As I reassured them then, I will do the same for you now. Dear readers, one can never have too much corned beef! It tastes great in a number of applications, and one of them is alongside dijon mustard, oozing fontina cheese, and buttered, toasted rye bread in the grilled cheese sandwich of a lifetime. For a festive yet fast recipe, read on.

It wasn't until St. Patrick's Day was on the horizon that I started using pickling spice. Before that, I was barely aware of its existence.

When you purchase pickling spice at the store, what you're actually buying is a blend of spices, such as cassia bar, mustard seeds, coriander, allspice, peppercorns, juniper berries, dill seeds, fennel seeds, celery seeds, bay leaves, ginger, mace, and hot red pepper.

The mixture, which may vary by spice supplier, is used for pickled, canned vegetables such as cabbage, onions, and bread-and-butter pickles; fish, like salmon and herring; and meat dishes, such as Irish corned beef and German sauerbraten.
Pickling spices are generally left whole, so as not to cloud the brine, and they're usually tied in a cheesecloth or sachet for easy removal after cooking. What do you use pickling spices for? Have you ever blended your own?

Party and I have been really obsessed with crockpots lately. I thought we'd prepared just about every kind of meat dish there is (beef chili, Cuban chicken, short ribs, you name it) — until I came across a corned beef and cabbage recipe. It was so hands-off, I was convinced it would be too good to be true.

The result wasn't too good to be true, but it was admittedly way too easy. If you can chop vegetables and place them with meat in a bowl, then you can make a St. Patrick's Day spread of meltingly tender corned beef, braised cabbage, and root vegetables. Consider it your veritable pot o' gold — just remember not to peek! For the recipe, read more.