The arrival of March can lift spirits. We celebrate National Agriculture Week to honor and thank agriculturalists of all sorts for providing food and fiber for our use. The spring equinox arrives on March 20, heralding the approach of longer days and warm weather, and we also have the opportunity to participate in St Patrick’s Day festivities if we so choose.
Considering agriculture remains Montana’s number one industry, and cow/calves head the list as the top agricultural product in Montana, coupled with the fact that St Patrick’s Day hovers just around the corner, the Ag Roundup decided to feature corned beef as part of the March issue.
Beef comes in many cuts of varying tenderness, and delicious taste along with its versatility has made beef the most popular animal protein in the world. While many people think of rib eye when contemplating beef, the less popular cuts also give great taste and won’t dent the purse as badly as a top end steak can do.
Corned beef, a salt-cured cut usually made from the brisket has become a popular choice for dinner on St Patrick’s Day. This beef product gets its name from its curing method. Processors use large grained rock salt, or ‘corns’ of salt, to cure the meat. Humans have used salt for centuries to preserve meat, but the industrial production of curing beef with salt corns began in England during the Industrial Revolution. The British military used corned beef extensively to feed its troops as the meat would keep indefinitely without spoiling. Processors gradually began to use the tougher, less desirable portions of the carcass for the making of corned beef, which made corned beef products less desirable for those who thought of themselves as higher class citizens. Corned beef thus earned a reputation as a lower quality food, fit only for the poor or less fortunate.
Ireland began producing corned beef in large quantities, a fact that helped bring on the potato famine in later years. Wealthy landowners took high quality agricultural land out of grain production and turned it into pasture for cattle. With more and more prime land put into cattle production, small farmers had no choice but to turn to marginal land for growing crops. Potatoes grew well in marginal land, up until the blight came along and caused the potato famine, which led to the influx of Irish citizens to the US.
Although Ireland produced large quantities of corned beef, the Irish themselves ate very little of it. Demand for export remained high, so the cost of this product did as well, making it unaffordable for most Irish citizens. When the Irish immigrated to the US during the potato famine, they found they could afford corned beef in this country and chose corned beef over other types of meat as a protein source.
We think of corned beef as an Irish specialty, but it was the Irish Americans who used corned beef extensively. Corned beef and cabbage has become a traditional St Patrick’s Day meal in the US, but the Irish from Ireland do not consider corned beef as a part of their national cuisine. They will feed it to tourists, however.
Most of us think of corned beef only in terms of corned beef and cabbage, and Reuben sandwiches, but this cut works well in other recipes as well as the following recipes illustrate.
St. Paddy’s Irish Sandwich
3 lb. corned beef brisket with spice packet
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ medium head cabbage cored and sliced thin
Spicy brown mustard
12 slices sourdough bread lightly toasted
Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet. Cover pot and bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound until tender. Remove meat, let rest ten minutes. Slice meat across the grain.
Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, mustard, pepper in small bowl. Place the shredded cabbage in a bowl and pour the dressing over it, toss to coat cabbage.
Spread a layer of mustard on six slices of toast. Place shredded cabbage and corned beef on each slice and top with remaining slices of toast.
Chef John’s Corned Beef Hash
1 ½ lbs. potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 ½ lbs. cooked corned beef, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 Tbs. butter
¼ c roasted tomato salsa
Place potatoes in a large pot, add water, and cook until almost tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and chop potatoes finely.
Cook beef in a skillet over medium heat until fat begins to render. Stir green onions, salt, and pepper into beef. Add garlic and butter, cook and stir until butter is melted and garlic is fragrant, about a minute.
Stir potatoes and salsa into beef mixture. Pat mixture down in the skillet with a spatula and divide hash into four sections. Cook without stirring until a crust forms on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Flip sections and cook until a crust forms on the bottom again, about five minutes more. Repeat cooking and flipping process until hash stays together and has a golden crust.
Many people then fry eggs and eat the hash and eggs together, similar to bacon and eggs.
Reuben Pizza
1 lb. loaf frozen whole wheat bread dough, thawed
½ c Thousand Island dressing
2 c shredded Swiss cheese
8 oz. deli sliced corned beef, cut into strips
1 c sauerkraut rinsed and drained
½ tsp caraway seed
¼ c chopped dill pickles
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large pizza pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll the bread dough out into a large circle, and transfer it to the pizza pan. Build up the edges and generously prick the center of the dough all over so it does not form a dome when baking.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
Spread half the salad dressing over the hot crust. Sprinkle with half the Swiss cheese. Arrange corned beef over the cheese then drizzle the remaining salad dressing over all. Top with sauerkraut and remaining Swiss cheese, sprinkle with caraway seed.
Bake for another 10 minutes until cheese melts and toppings are heated through. Sprinkle with chopped pickles.
Let stand several minutes before serving.
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