What do you put in your Irish corned beef?

[Front-Ranger]

Time to put the pot on for St. Patrick's Day! That pitiful little plastic packet of spices doesn't begin to do the job for me...help me decide what to augment it with!

[Jeff Wrangler]

Gee, not being a cook, I didn't know there was anything in corned beef and cabbage except corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. 

And maybe salt. ...

[Front-Ranger]

Haha, surely you've seen those little tan round things on your corned beef and wondered what they are? They are coriander seeds or sometimes mustard seeds.

The term "corned" refers to the grains of salt used to cure the beef. If you've wondered why corned beef is so red compared to other cuts of beef that are brownish, it's because salt peter is mixed into the brine. 

Corned beef is one of those dishes that is actually not eaten in Ireland but rather is served to tourists. The Irish didn't eat beef much because it was so valuable as an export. They ate more pork and seafood.

I'm curious also about how people prepare their cabbage and potatoes. I usually steam the cabbage in a separate pan and serve it with hollandaise sauce. I add the potatoes to the corned beef and serve with olive oil, garlic, and parsley.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I think probably the peasants just boil everything together. ...

[Lynne]

For whatever reason, I've never run across corned beef I like.  Looking at the list of ingredients, I don't see any that I dislike, so I don't know what my deal is.

I like Guinness well enough.

 

[brianr]

Corned beef is one of those dishes that is actually not eaten in Ireland but rather is served to tourists. The Irish didn't eat beef much because it was so valuable as an export. They ate more pork and seafood.

I am glad of that as I have just booked 10 nights in Ireland in June and I never liked corned beef. Also I have an Irish first name and was born on St Patricks day but up till now have not been to Ireland. I always wear green though.

[Front-Ranger]

What are some better Irish dishes to substitute for corned beef then? I'd love to have more options. I was thinking about making a dish called Colcannon, but it required a lot of bacon fat.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I usually steam the cabbage in a separate pan and serve it with hollandaise sauce.

Somehow that doesn't sound very Irish. ...

I've never had hollandaise sauce, that I know of. I understand that's one of those things so full of cholesterol you should just apply it directly to the interior of your arteries, but maybe I have it confused with something else. 

[southendmd]

Although I have Irish blood, I can't stand corned beef and cabbage, what we call "boiled dinner".   Or boiled dinnah.

Corned beef can be good, but only if it's from a New York deli. 

Cabbage is just nasty, even with hollandaise (aside to Jeff:  essentially it's egg yolks and butter, with lemon; cholesterol squared). 

Irish soda bread is like eating old styrofoam. 

When I visited Ireland many years ago, dinner was usually fish (something called "plaice", a kind of flatfish), or mutton, not my favorite either.  I'm sure I lost weight on that trip. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

A Yankee who doesn't like a "boiled dinnah"? 

 

Next you'll be telling us you don't like B&M baked beans and brown bread, in which case we'll have to send Leslie after you.