To celebrate St. Patrick\u2019s Day this year, why not cook a Corned Beef dinner?\u00a0 Cooking corned beef is as easy as boiling water, and that\u2019s no blarney!\u00a0 I love St. Patrick\u2019s Day and Corned Beef is one of my very favorite meals of the whole year.\u00a0 Growing up, my family ate corned beef every St. Patrick\u2019s Day to celebrate our family\u2019s small amount of Irish heritage, and we have continued that tradition each and every year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In the United States, corned beef is synonymous with the celebration of St. Patrick\u2019s Day.\u00a0 However, corned beef is not considered a true Irish national dish.\u00a0 Its connection with St. Patrick\u2019s Day originated with the influx of Irish immigrants into the United States during the 18th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 Corned beef and cabbage became popular in the U.S. after Irish immigrants replaced the bacon in their traditional dish of bacon and cabbage with corned beef due to the high cost of pork.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Corned beef is a type of salt-cured beef.\u00a0 Corning was a form of curing where the meat was dry-cured using coarse \u201ccorns\u201d of salt.\u00a0 Pellets of salt, some the size of kernels of corn, were rubbed into the beef to keep it from spoiling and to preserve it.\u00a0 This traditional curing method was used before refrigeration.\u00a0 Brining, using salt water, has now replaced the dry salt cure method.\u00a0 Peppercorns, bay leaves, and other regional spices give corned beef its distinctive flavor.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Uncooked corned beef with a \u201csell-by\u201d date or \u201cno date\u201d can be stored unopened in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.\u00a0\u00a0 If the corned beef has a \u201cuse-by\u201d date, store the product in the refrigerator unopened until that date.\u00a0 If you plan to freeze uncooked corned beef, drain the brine from the meat and wrap well before freezing.\u00a0 If it is not drained, the high salt brine encourages rancidity and texture changes in the meat.\u00a0 For the best quality, freeze uncooked corned beef for one month.\u00a0 Prolonged freezing can alter the flavor and texture, but the meat will still be safe to eat.\u00a0 After cooking, corned beef may be refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 2-3 months for best quality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Corned beef is made from less tender cuts of beef such as the brisket, rump, or round, so it requires long, moist cooking methods.\u00a0 It can be cooked on the stovetop, in the oven, in a slow cooker, or in the microwave.\u00a0 Corned beef may still be pink in color even when it is done due to the nitrites used in the curing process.\u00a0 \u201cFork tender\u201d is a good indication of doneness, but always use a food thermometer to make sure you have reached a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees.\u00a0 When the meat is removed from the heat source, always allow it to stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing, as it will be easier to slice. It is even easier to cut uniform slices when the corned beef is cold. For the most uniform slices, slice diagonally across the grain of the meat.\u00a0 Corned beef is great to cook ahead of time and then reheat and serve later.\u00a0 Before reheating, be sure to skim the congealed fat off of the corned beef, which will make it lower in fat and calories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n After cooking a whole corned beef, cut it into several pieces or slice it for quicker cooling.\u00a0 Place the beef in small, shallow containers and cool it in the refrigerator promptly.\u00a0 Reheat leftover corned beef to 165 degrees.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Corned beef can also be purchased in cans and ready-to-eat in delis.\u00a0 It is the key ingredient in Reuben sandwiches.\u00a0 Smoking corned beef with a spice mixture produces smoked beef products such as pastrami.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n May the Luck of the Irish be with you this St. Patrick\u2019s Day!<\/p>\r\n Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Nutrition and Food Safety Educator<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To celebrate St. Patrick\u2019s Day this year, why not cook a Corned Beef dinner?\u00a0 Cooking corned beef is as easy as boiling water and that\u2019s no blarney!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2725,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[421,957],"tags":[217,113,49,218],"class_list":["post-721","newsletters","type-newsletters","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","category-newsletter","tag-corned-beef","tag-food-safety-2","tag-foods","tag-st-patricks-day"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletters\/721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/newsletters"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletters\/721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16642,"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletters\/721\/revisions\/16642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwyoextension.org\/uwnutrition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Salt-Cured Beef<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Storage<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Cooking for Success<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Cool Down Quickly<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Create Something New with Leftovers<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n