This year St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, 2020. According to History.com, “St. Patrick’s Day observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking, and a whole lot of green,”.
While most people’s favorite part of the holiday is wearing green, my favorite part is the tradition of eating corned beef. Growing up with a mother from Cleveland, home of some of the best corned beef in America, we always made sure to eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s day. However, corned beef was not always eaten by the Irish on this holiday.
In Ireland, beef was considered a luxury and was not always readily available. The traditional dish was Irish bacon and cabbage. Nevertheless, when the Irish came to America, it was quite the opposite. Corned beef was easy to find and cheap, which led to the switching of the meat in the dish.
But back to why I love corned beef so much. Even though I am a born and raised Georgian, Cleveland is my second home. This is truly the root of my love for corned beef. Whenever my mom and I visit her home, our first stop is always Slyman’s. Slyman’s is a Cleveland original known for its amazing, and huge, corned beef sandwiches. In my opinion, they are probably the best sandwiches in the United States.
Other than corned beef being part of my live for Cleveland, it is also a versatile meat. Corned beef can be served as the original Irish dish with cabbage and potatoes or as a sandwich. Corned beed sandwiches can be served as a Reuben sandwich on rye bread with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and thousand island or Russian dressing. Otherwise, corned beef sandwiches can be topped based on what you prefer. My favorite way to eat a corned beef sandwich is on rye bread with Swiss cheese and spicy brown mustard.
So the next time you are at the grocery store, pick up some corned beef and find a recipe. It may be the easiest to find right now with the lack of food in stores. If you don’t want to make it yourself, Jason’s Deli has some of the best corned beef in the south. Overall, it never hurts to try something new!
THE WARRIOR WORD 