Maylee at Beyond Gumbo 
I will never pass up a corned beef sandwich when we eat out at a deli. Although I rarely cook corned beef at home; it is one of my all-time favorite sandwiches to order when we dine out. I just love corned beef! This March, I’m in the mood, and decided to cook it in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. For a slight twist on a traditional corned beef, cabbage and potato dinner, I made “Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup.” Plus, I added few other ingredients — potatoes, carrots, onions along with homemade broth –making this soup a “meal-in-one.” It was a good way to satisfy all my “Irish” cravings. Although corned beef & cabbage is an American-Irish tradition rather than one found in Ireland, it is the spirit which counts. This is a delicious soup for St. Patrick’s Day when we honor the contributions of Irish heritage to our country.
What is Corned Beef?
Corned beef comes from the brisket cut of beef. It is seasoned and cured or pickled in mixture of water, kosher salt, brown sugar, pickling spices and pink curing salt (which is a combination of salt and sodium nitrite — which imparts the pink color). Then, after the meat is cured, it must be cooked. Since the brisket is a rather tough piece of meat, a corned beef needs to be cooked by moist heat methods, slowly, to tenderize it. And what is “corned”? The term, “corrned”, refers to the corn-sized salt crystals used when the brisket is “brined.”
Although I associate corned beef and cabbage with the Irish, I discovered that this is not a traditional Irish dish. In olden days, the common Irishman could not afford expensive cuts of beef — such as a brisket. Wealthy Englishmen, however, used Irish pastures to graze their cattle. The Irish folk became proficient in salting and curing the beef and shipping it back to England and around the world. When the Irish immigrated to America, they often settled in and around Jewish communities in large cities. Skilled Jewish butchers cured the beef with Kosher salt. And here, corned beef was inexpensive. It reminded the Irish immigrants of their homeland dish of pork bacon and cabbage. Corned beef became a substitute for Irish bacon and eventually we came to associate it as an Irish dish.
Winter Cabbage
Unlike corned beef brisket, cabbage is widely used in the cooking of Ireland. Cabbage grows well in the cool, temperate climate of that country. It was an inexpensive root vegetable crop and provided sustance to the Irish, especially during famine years in the 1800s. To prepare this Irish dish, it was boiled and then served with Irish bacon and butter.
Huge, ripe heads of cabbage begin to appear in Louisiana grocery stores around New Years Day. Cabbage is a cool weather crop and is so inexpensive at this time of the year. I definately get my fill of cabbage dishes during these winter months. Even in March, cabbage is still plentiful.
In addition to cabbage, my soup contains carrots and potatoes for vegetables — traditional Irish foods — along with an onion.
Recipe & Tip for making the soup
I have one primary tip to making this soup successfully. I cooked my own corn beef rather than using deli purchased corned beef. Deli corn beef just doesn’t work when cooked in a soup. It has too much added water, etc and shrinks up in the soup. It becomes tough. Trust my bad luck. Home cooked corned beef is delicious and works well in the soup.
Cooking a corned beef brisket at home is easy. I purchase brisket which is already “cured” or brined. Just add the brisket to a large pot of water, along with the included seasoning packet, and let the brisket simmer until it is tender. The brisket does shrink up while cooking. I started with a 3-lb piece of meat and ended up with 1-1/2 lb cooked corned beef.
To prepare the soup, get the corned beef cooked and sliced. Chop and slice all the vegetables. I used homemade, frozen turkey broth in the soup. Canned low-salt chicken broth can be substituted.
Saute the onion and carrots in oil in a very large pot ot Dutch oven until the onion is translucent and tender. Over low heat, gradually add the cabbage. Stir and cook until the cabbage begins to wilt. Add the potatoes, corned beef, chicken (or turkey) broth and additional water.
Partially cover, and cook on simmering for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes and cabbage are tender. If needed, season with additional salt and add pepper.
I love this satisfying “meal-in-one” soup. It is simple to prepare and contains some of my favorite foods — corned beef, cabbage and potatoes. Plus, carrots — an Irish food ingredient — adds to the color, taste and nutritional value of the soup. Enjoy my recipe! And, read to the end to learn about the Irish in Louisiana.
Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup
Ingredients:
- 3 lb raw corned beef brisket with seasoning packet to yield 1.5 lb cooked corn beef
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 large onion, chopped (2 cups chopped)
- 3 carrots, sliced (1 cup sliced)
- 1 lb small Yukon potatoes or similar all-purpose potatoes (3 cups quartered)
- 1-3/4 lb fresh cabbage (6 cups, sliced and chopped)
- 2 cups homemade chicken broth plus water to equal 6 cups (or substitute one 15-oz can sodium reduced Swanson chicken broth plus water to equat 6 cups)
- salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, if desired
Method and Steps:
- Cook the corned beef: Drain the corned beef and rinse off. Add corned beef to a large pot and cover with water. Add seasoning packet. Bring to boil, then lower to simmer, cover pot and cook for approx 2-1/2 hours to 3 hours (or 50 minutes to 1 hour per pound). Remove corned beef from pot and let set on counter for at least 30 minutes. Trim off fat and slice corned beef into thin slices. (Cooked and trimmed yield is approx 1.5 lb.) Use use about 1 lb for soup and reserve remaining corned beef for another dish. Corned beef may be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated.
- Prepare the soup, Prepare the vegetables: peel and chop the onion, peel and slice the carrots. Cut unpeeled potatoes into quarters, and slice and chop the cabbage into bite size pieces of 1 – 2″ strips.
- To finish the soup, add oil to large soup pot and heat over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sliced carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sliced cabbage, small amounts at a time. Toss to coat with oil and cook until the cabbage begins to wilt. Continue to add cabbage to pot until all is combined.
- Add quartered potatoes, chicken broth plus water and sliced corned beef. Bring to boil. Stir. Partially cover with lid. Lower temperature and cook for 30 minutes until potatoes and cabbage are tender.
- Taste soup and correct seasoning adding additional salt. If desired, add black pepper.
Irish in Louisiana
While not know for its Irish contingency, Louisiana does have a surprising Irish ancestry. Many Irishmen immigrated to in New Orleans between the 1820s and 1840s, especially during the Irish Potato Famine of 1845. By 1850, one in five residents of New Orleans was from Ireland, making New Orleans the city with the largest Irish population in the South. These Irish were often laborers and working class citizens. They helped build build the Pontchartrain Railroad and the New Basin Canal in New Orleans. They worked in the port of New Orleans. In addition to poor economic conditions, the Irish were attracted to New Orleans because it was predominantly Catholic and had anti-English sentiment. Many indigent Irish immigrants secured inexpensive passage to this country on cargo ships. The ships used the passengers as ballast on empty cotton ships returning to New Orleans after the ships delivered their cotton loads to English mills at Liverpool. The immigrants were told that New Orleans was close to their relatives in Boston. What a lie! The Uptown area of New Orleans, commonly known as the Irish Channel, became known as the Irish community in the city. St. Patricks Church was established in 1833 to serve Irish Catholics. They wanted services in English, not French.
The Brooklyn-type accent found in New Orleans can be attributed to Irish and other European immigrants who settled there. Examples are, “New Awlins,” and a “crawfish berl” for crawfish boil. Another Irish contribution is the predominant New Orleans bank, Hibernia Bank & Trust Company. It was formed in 1870 by three Irish-American businessmen. Hibrernia means Ireland in classical Latin. (In 2005 it was acquired by Capital One.)
The Irish have gradually assmiliated into the city along with other ethnic groups, such as Germans. Those with Irish ancestry now account for about about 7% of the population of Louisiana. However, you can still count on Irish celebrations the week of on St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans.
Baton Rouge has several notable citizens of Irish descent including Hillar Moore, the district attorney, Pat Shingleton, longtime weatherman and founder of the local St. Patrick’s Day parade, and Todd Graves (maternal side), owner of the Raising Cane Chicken Fingers restaurant chain.
A St. Patrick’s Day parade rolls every year in Baton Rouge (except during Covid). The “Wearin’ of the Green” parade occured on Saturday, March 16, this year. Just when we thought we were finish catching Mardi Gras beads, here come green beads thrown from riders on all these Irish-decorated floats drinking green beer. The party never stops!
References:
https://girlscangrill.com/recipe/rubs-sauces/corned-beef-brine/
Irish in New Orleans
Smart idea, Maylee! I could eat a few bowls of this. I loved the history about Irish population in New Orleans. I had no idea! There must also be a good sized Irish population around Savannah, Georgia because they have a huge St. Pat’s parade!
Yes, I am realizing, too, that the Irish are a siginificant in many large cities on the East coast — not just Boston. I bet that Savannah did alot of cotton trading with Great Britain, too, years ago. Interesrting trivia.