Today is Saint Patrick’s Day

Today is Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17, and in Hawaii, we traditionally eat corned beef and cabbage.

I have written about St. Patrick’s Day in March 2007, 2009 and 2010 and I have taken excerpts from my columns to remind my readers about this celebration.

In Ireland, the cow is saved for royalty so for the masses, pork and bacon boiled with cabbage or Irish stew are what is eaten. Corned beef is usually saved for Easter Sunday supper.

Corned beef can be flats or point cuts. The difference between the two are the flat cuts are cut from front to back and the point cut are cut from the top to the bottom.

The point cuts are usually less expensive, are usually thinner than the flats, which are thicker and leaner. Check out the newspaper ads for corned beef briskets. I noticed that prices from last year are about one dollar more, maybe due to the beef shortage. The cheaper point cuts are usually more tender and are great for boiling and the more expensive flats would work out great for baking.

According to Cook’s Illustrated, there are two methods of corning beef — wet and dry cure — and it takes one week to complete the process of corned beef so it is too late today for you to do it. Hopefully you either bought it yesterday or will buy it today, and place it in a pot, either as soon you you get home from work, or have already started boiling the corned beef.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Serves 8-10

Remove 4 to 5 pound corned beef from packaging, pat dry with paper towels and place in large Dutch oven. Add water to the pot until it covers the corned beef by one inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming impurities that rise to the surface. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the meat is very tender and a fork poked into it meets little resistance, around 2 to 3 hours.

Transfer the corned beef to a cutting board, ladling some juices over it to keep it moist. Tent loosely with foil and let rest while cooking the vegetables.

Add to cooking liquid left in the pot:

1-1/2 pounds, 9 small red potatoes, scrubbed

1/-1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into thirds, about 9 carrots

Cover pot, bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cook until potatoes and carrots soften, about 10 minutes.

Add:

1 small head green cabbage, cut into 6 or 8 wedges (The core of the whole head cabbage should be left on to help the cabbage hold together during the long cooking.)

Continue to simmer until all the vegetables are tender, 10 minutes longer.

As the vegetables finish cooking, cut the corned beef against the grain into ¼-inch thick slices and transfer to a serving platter. Transfer the vegetables to a platter with a slotted spoon and drizzle the cooking liquid over the top as need to moisten before serving.

Small Bites:

St. Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland. We celebrate his death on March 17, AD 461. He spent 30 years setting up schools and churches to convert Ireland to Christianity. St. Patrick did not have an easy start. At 16, he was sold to slavery. After 6 years, he escaped and studied at a monastery in Gaul for 12 years.

The shamrock, or three leaf clover, was a symbol that explained the Trinity. Each leaf represented the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. St. Patrick used the shamrock in his sermons and his followers then wore it on March 17 in celebration of him.

In the past, Ireland, St. Patrick Day was a religious holiday. Today, St. Patrick’s Day is a bank holiday. Other countries, including the United States, usually have parades.

St. Patrick’s Day was first brought to the United States in 1737. Today, both Irish and wanna-be Irish go to local bars to drink Irish beer and stout, Harp or Guinness, Irish whiskey, Irish cider, Irish coffee or Baileys Irish Cream, and even green beer.

Corned beef came from the word “corns” of salt, used to dry-cure the beef. Pellets of salt, some as large as kernels of corn, were rubbed into the beef to keep it from spoiling and to preserve it. Today, corned beef is brined instead of dry salt cured.

Foodie Bites:

I bet the Hawaii Community College’s Culinary Cafeteria will serve corned beef and cabbage today. Check it out. The Bamboo Hale is serving foods of New Orleans this week. Call 934-2791 for reservations. Since it is one of our favorite cuisines, and our schedule is open, we will certainly make reservations this week.

Tickets for the Rotary Club of South Hilo’s Hilo Huli are now on sale from members. The 11th annual event benefits the residency program, Hospice of Hilo’s Children Bereavement Program and Big Island Substance Abuse Council. Please buy your tickets and be there at Coconut Island on Sunday May 3. Hilo Huli’s chair, Lisa Kwee, promises beautiful weather for this event.