Just Cook It: Foods of St. Patrick’s Day
I’ve heard it said that on every March 17, we’re all Irish. I find that to be ironic considering that St. Patrick himself wasn’t Irish.
St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century to a wealthy Roman-British family.
When St. Patrick was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. According to St. Patrick, he was told by God in a dream to flee captivity and head to the coast where he would board a boat and head back to Britain.
Upon returning to Britain, St. Patrick studied to become a priest. As a bishop he said he was called back to Ireland to Christianize the Irish.
I feel that it is very important for you to understand the historical context of St. Patrick’s Day before we begin talking about some of the traditional food and celebration that take place every year.
Ever wonder where shamrocks fit into St., Patrick’s Day? It was said that St. Patrick used the shamrock to teach the people the principle of the Holy Trinity. He told them that the three leaves each symbolized one part of the trinity and they are all held together by the stem as one.
St. Patrick died on March 17, 461, hence we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 every year. Another interesting fact is that the color blue was initially the color associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Can you imagine drinking blue beer instead of green beer? On the other hand, it would probably make the tradition of dying rivers green a bit easier if blue was still indeed the celebrated color.
There are 34.7 million U.S. residents with Irish ancestry. This number is more than seven times the population of Ireland itself. The magnitude of that number should be enough to explain why St. Patrick’s Day is such a popular holiday.
The first food that comes to mind when I think of St. Patrick’s Day is corned beef and cabbage. Over 26 billion pounds of beef and over 2 billion pounds of cabbage are produced in the United States each year.
Corned beef is a salt cured beef. The term “corned” comes from the treatment of the meat with “corns” of salt. The word “corn” derives from Old English, and is used to describe any small hard particles or grains.
With all of the corned beef and cabbage we enjoy every March 17 here in the United States it’s hard to believe that corned beef isn’t actually considered an Irish national dish at all. Corned beef and cabbage is the Irish-American version of the authentic Irish dish of bacon and cabbage. Now, don’t get the wrong idea – corned beef and cabbage IS Irish, it’s just not very popular across the pond.
I don’t personally know anyone who lives in Ireland, but from my research I’ve discovered that the people who actually live there don’t hold our corned beef and cabbage in such high esteem. They tend to see it as a once year bar food that we enjoy while drinking cheap beer out of plastic cups.
The actual corned beef and cabbage (or more traditional bacon and cabbage) from Ireland is a really delicious food of love. They really develop the flavors with aromatics such as onion and other root vegetables. They cook their corned beef with these vegetables low and slow so it gets really tender and flavorful.
I personally like to make my corned beef and cabbage in a crock pot. I add a variety of aromatics and root vegetables to the crock pot with a nice piece of corned beef. I then cover the vegetables and beef with stock and allow it to cook for four to six hours (depending on the size of the beef). I add my cabbage with about an hour left of cooking time. This ensures that the cabbage cooks, but doesn’t overcook.
Two foods that always come to mind when I think of corned beef (other than corned beef and cabbage of course) are the Reuben sandwich and corned beef hash. I personally love a big scoop of corned beef hash that has been caramelized on the outside to give it a nice crust and then topped with a soft runny poached egg. It’s one of the pure pleasures in life.
One other traditional St. Patrick’s Day food that I look forward to every year is Irish soda bread. Irish soda bread is a type of quick bread in which baking soda is used as the leavening agent instead of the more common yeast.
Traditional soda bread ingredients are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. The buttermilk is an important ingredient because it contains lactic acid. The lactic acid reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. Other optional ingredients can be added to the soda bread such as butter, eggs, raisins, or nuts.
In Ireland the flour is typically made from soft wheat so Irish soda bread is best made with a cake or pastry flour which contains lower levels of gluten. In some Irish recipes the buttermilk is replaced with a live yogurt or even a stout. Bakers also recommend mixing the dough for Irish soda bread as little as possible, meaning that this is one type of bread dough that doesn’t require kneading.
Might I also mention that on St. Patrick’s Day the season of Lent is put on hold so to speak. If St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday, the no meat rule and any alcohol consumption restrictions that are observed during Lent are postponed in observance of this special holiday.
I love St. Patrick’s Day and in my opinion, it’s hard to beat a big plate of corned beef and cabbage with a side of Irish soda bread and a pint (or 12) of Guinness. Have a very happy and safe St. Patrick’s Day and — Just Cook It!
Mario Porreca of Belle Vernon is a food personality, author, and the host of Just Cook It Radio heard locally on WMBS 590 AM. His website is www.JustCookIt.net. Twitter: @MarioPorreca