Corned Beef and Cababge St. Patty's Day

Brian and Mickey Doherty, owners of B&M Catering Company, come from a large Irish family. Naturally, as St. Patrick’s Day approaches, we wanted to spotlight a traditional boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage.  A tried and true favorite.

Brian tells that as a kid growing upon Boston, a ‘boiled dinner’ might use either smoked shoulder OR corned beef – whichever was on sale that week. There would always be lots of vegetables served along with the meat.

You may be surprised to know that corned beef was not something that was ordinarily served in Ireland. Corned beef, and the connection with Saint Patrick’s Day, actually originates with the Irish American culture. Corned beef and cabbage became popular in the U.S. after Irish immigrants used corned beef instead of pork in their boiled dinners.  Most likely, this was due to the lower cost of corned beef.

Although corned beef is not difficult to make, it can be time consuming.  It has been our experience that a good boiled dinner featuring corned beef and cabbage may take up to 3 hours from start to finish.   Worth it?   We think so.   Our corned beef and cabbage recipe was featured last year in the Friends Food Family blog.  Try it out.

What we really enjoy, though, is this delicious use for the corned beef leftovers – 

Doherty Bros. Reuben Sandwich 

Ingredients:

  • 4  slices Dark Rye Bread – hand-sliced thick
  • 1 Tablespoons butter
  • 4 slices Swiss Cheese
  • 1/2  cup sauerkraut (be sure to drain out the extra liquid)
  • 2 Tablespoons Dressing 
    • equal parts Thousand Island or Russian Dressing and Barbecue Sauce
  • Corned beef – sliced into strips

Assembly:

  • Generously butter one side of 2 of the bread slices.  Place the slices butter-side face down on a piece of wax paper
  • Top each slice of bread with a slice of the Swiss Cheese
  • Separate out half of the corned beef and top each piece of the bread with an equal amount
  • Divide the sauerkraut between the sandwiches
  • Top each stack with a tablespoon of the dressing
  • Add another layer of corned beef and another slice of cheese
  • Top the stack off with the last pieces of bread
  • Butter the top side of the sandwiches

Cooking:

  • Preheat your griddle or pan to medium heat
  • Cook the sandwiches on one side until the bread turns darker and a bit crispy (about 4 minutes)
  • Carefully flip and cook until the second side is cooked and crispy, the cheese melted and the sandwich is warm throughout. (about 4 more minutes)
  • Remove from pan, slice and enjoy.

Recommended Side Dishes:

  • Coleslaw
  • Deli dill pickles
  • Potato salad
  • Baked beans

We hope you will enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day festivities safely with good friends and good food.

May the sound of happy music, and the lilt of Irish laughter, fill your heart with gladness, that stays foerver after.