Corned Beef Dry Cured and Dry Cured Bacon

Is Corned Beef Irish?

A lot of people, including me, consider corned beef to be an Irish dish, but there are other claims to this culinary heritage.

Corned beef got its name from the salt grains it was packed with in barrels. The grains of salt were the size of salt kernels and that’s when the name was applied by the British.

Naval History

Without going too far into the history between Britain and Ireland, the trade in beef between the two countries began in the mid 1600s. Ireland supplied corned beef to both the British and French navies during the Napoleonic wars. This product, salted and packed in barrels, was ideal for ships that would be away from their home base for months, maybe years, during the conflict.

End of an era

The heyday of the Irish supplying corned beef went into a decline after a French scientist in the early 1800s  invented the canning process for food preservation. Strangely, it took another 43 years for someone to invent the can opener, cans being burst open with hammer and chisel up to that time.

Emigration

During the Irish Famine 1845-1848, a million people died of starvation and another million emigrated, mainly to America on the notorious “coffin ships”. The emigrants were used to bacon rather than beef and Jewish delis sold kosher corned beef which became an Irish favourite, particularly in New York and Boston.

Tradition

Many associate corned beef with St. Patrick’s Day, March 17^th, but that seems to be an American tradition, the Irish eating mainly bacon and ham on the feast day. By the way, many of our American cousins talk about St. Patty’s Day. There is no such thing. It is either Paddy’s Day or St. Patricks day. I have read so many articles about Ireland by people who obviously have never visited here, writing nonsense that they have read in other articles written by people who have never been here either.

History

Irish Corned Beef: A Culinary History (tudublin.ie)

This is a very good scholarly article on corned beef, by people who have done their research. I actually get a mention from the authors. There are many articles available, but in the TikTok era, anyone with a keyboard and access to AI, can put out an article, without worrying about its veracity.

Unfortunately.

Corned beef is mainly a Cork and Dublin dish. Some counties, particularly in the North of Ireland, have never tasted it.

How to do it yourself

I have put together a video on how to dry cure corned beef.

It’s not very difficult. All you need is good quality beef from your local Craft Butcher, curing salt, good food hygiene and a container to salt the beef in.

 Use 50 gms of curing salt for every kg of beef. Cover the beef in the curing salt and massage in well, making sure the beef is completely covered. Put in a vacuum bag, if possible, if not a heavy plastic bag will work. Place in a fridge for a week, turning and massaging every day to ensure the cure is well distributed. After a week, if the colour of the beef when cut is a uniform red, you have been successful. Cook in a pot half filled with water, bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 80 minutes. It was delicious and my family loved it. Give it a try. It’s great to get the feel of producing your own food and ending your reliance on supermarkets.

Golden Crusted Cider Corned Beef Recipe | Beef + Lamb New Zealand (recipes.co.nz)

This cider-braised corned silverside is delicious and filling, perfect for a cold winter day. The corned beef is cooked in a flavourful mixture of cider, vegetables, and spices, and then roasted in the oven until golden brown. The sauce is made with a simple roux and the reserved cooking liquid, and is tinged with mustard and brown sugar. Serve with shredded cabbage and fresh parsley for a complete meal, and use any leftovers for our delicious Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich.

Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich

This is everything you want in a Reuben sandwich – salty meat, melted cheese and tangy pickles, wrapped up in warm, toasty bread. Go on, you know you deserve it! What could be better!?

Method

Assemble and Toast

1 Preheat your toasted sandwich maker or a frypan over a medium heat.

2 Butter both sides of the bread slices and lay them on a bread board.

3 Pile the cheese slices, corned beef and gherkins evenly on one slice and place the other slice of bread on top.

4 Place it in the toasted sandwich maker for 5 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted. If using a frying pan, cook on one side for 3-5 minutes before flipping it over and cooking the other side.

Dry Curing Bacon at home

I have done a video on Dry Curing Bacon as well. The process is very similar to making corned beef.

Now, our American cousins call cured belly pork, bacon. We call it streaky bacon. When I talk about bacon I mean back bacon, (Peameal bacon, Canadian bacon), made from a loin of pork. Now here’s the thing, we’ve been making bacon since before America was even a country, so we’re claiming naming rights. Sorry Yanks, but you’ll have to change the name to streaky bacon.