Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage, what better way is there to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Living in Boston St. Paddy’s Day is a pretty big deal. Boston has one of the largest Irish populations in the US. Second only to Pittsburgh PA. (Huh, I thought New York City would be first?) So if you grew up in Boston, even if you’re not Irish, you have eaten a lot of Corned Beef and Cabbage. (BTW… me, not Irish, half Polish, half French). But you don’t have to be from Boston… or even be Irish to enjoy this classic.

Is Corned Beef and Cabbage Actually Irish?

Well, it depends on how you look at it. Like many of the recipes we associate with a particular culture or ethnicity, the actual St Patrick’s Day recipe we know is a result of immigration. The original recipe does in fact trace back to Irish Stew brought here by immigrants. However, pork is the preferred meat for the traditional stew. Upon arrival in the United States, Irish immigrants found that pork was financially out of reach. So beef became the stand in and Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage was born. So you could say that Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage is as Irish as Spaghetti and Meat Balls.

What Makes this Corned Beef Great

I’m going to be honest with you, for a long time I was never a fan of this dish. Every year someone would drag out their corned beef recipe and throw it on the table. Sometimes accompanied by green beer but that’s a whole other thing. Usually, the beef is hammered and dry. (How does boiled meat get dry anyway?). And the vegetables and potatoes are either massively over or undercooked, sometimes both. So I was not a big fan. My wife loves it. If you know about her, she is from the midwest so beef and potatoes in any form make her happy. Me, not so much on the hammered beef and mushy veg.

But then I ate a corned beef recipe at our good friend Linda’s house… and that all changed. This corned beef recipe creates tender and moist corned beef. And vegetables each cooked to perfection. I needed to know how this happened, so I asked her for the recipe. She sent me a PDF of a Boston Globe recipe, appropriately food-stained from a lot of use.

Reprint of Sally Vargas Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe

The originator is Sally Pasley Vargas. The recipe that changed my opinion on Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage comes from her, and can be found on her current website Simply Recipes.

These are some of the reasons I think it is great.

The Corned Beef Brisket is Cooked on it’s Own

The beef is not actually boiled as in most traditional recipes. First it is brought to a simmer on the stove top, and then it simmers slowly in the oven, long and low. And like a good braise, it develops flavor without getting dry. After the slow simmer the beef is baked for a short time in a hot oven to get a desirable crispy top.

A Great Stock to Cook the Vegetables

After the beef is cooked an amazing stock remains for use as the vegetable cooking liquid. The fat from the beef and the herbs and spices impart deep, rich flavor. Better than plain old water used in traditional recipes, the stock is then used to cook the cabbage and root vegetables.

Each Vegetable Is Cooked For an Appropriate Time

Instead of dumping it all in a pot at once and hoping for the best, the vegetables are added to the pot according to their required cooking time. Root vegetables like parsnips, turnip and potatoes are added first. Then cabbage and carrots. Each cooking for the right amount of time allows for total control over the texture. No hard or mushy bits (unless you are into that sort of thing).

Great Method for Entertaining

I mentioned that I first had this Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe at our friend Linda’s house. She is an entertaining maven, so no surprise she picked a recipe that is crowd-friendly (of course during COVID we skipped the crowd stuff for a bit). The heavy lifting of making the corned beef and developing the stock happens the day before. Then you simply reheat the beef with a little stock, boil the vegetables, and onto the table, minimum muss and fuss.

Oh, and there is a Sauce

This Irish Corned Corned Beef and Cabbage is accompanied by a wonderful horseradish and parsley sauce. Easy to make in about 5 minutes. Nice and creamy with a horseradish bite and brightness from added lemon. Also easy to make the day before. Once you know to make this sauce you’ll be thinking of ways to use it all year round and in all kinds of meals. I recommend trying it with Roast Prime Rib or Grilled Salmon.

Horserarish and Parsley Saucve in Mackenzie Childs bowl

So get out there and put your Irish on. If you have comments or questions we would love to hear from you. Please rate and comment below. If you want to email us (or even if you don’t) please subscribe by using the form below. Thank You!