Lucky guy! Greg finds a 4-leaf clover! 🙂
Did you ever wonder why we in the US eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day? If you do a little research, you’ll find that it has a rather interesting history.
But first, who is St. Patrick and why is there a special day to celebrate his life?
Patrick, originally named Maewyn Succat, was kidnapped from his home in Scotland (or some say Wales) and sold as a slave where he tended sheep in Ireland. He was a devout Christian and received a vision that he should preach to the Irish people, which he did for over 40 years around 400 A.D. He is credited with converting Ireland to Christianity and is the patron saint of Ireland (even though he was Scottish!).
St. Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday which was typically celebrated by doing nothing more than wearing a fresh shamrock and going to mass. It wasn’t until the Irish immigrants came to the US that the holiday took on a different life, where it became associated with green beer, parades, corned beef and cabbage.
Ironically, the Irish (in Ireland) don’t eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day or any day. Beef was always an expensive item that was only served to royalty. It was food for kings! The common folk ate pork–primarily bacon.
When the Irish came to the US, bacon was very expensive but brisket was not. The Jewish community was already curing brisket to make corned beef, so their immigrant neighbors quickly adopted it. Cabbage was inexpensive and one of the few fresh vegetables the poor could afford, and thus, corned beef and cabbage was born! Since St. Patrick’s Day was associated with the Irish, corned beef and cabbage became the meal of choice in the US for that holiday.
It’s only been in recent years that restaurants in Ireland have added corned beef and cabbage to menus, strictly for the benefit of tourists. What do the natives eat? Colcannon! And that’s one of our favorite dishes, which we serve on St. Patrick’s Day and any day we’re proud to be Irish!
Check out our classic recipe for Cabbage and Potatoes (Colcannon)
…and our updated variation, Sweet Potato and Kale Casserole.
If you don’t like corned beef, make our Texas-Style Oven Baked Brisket.
But please, don’t drink the green beer!
References:
http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/16/what-the-real-irish-eat-on-st-patricks-day/
http://www.saintpatricksdayparade.com/life_of_saint_patrick.htm
http://www.europeancuisines.com/Why-We-Have-No-Corned-Beef-Recipes
