Corned beef
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Beef Cut: | Brisket |
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| Steak Type: | Corned beef |
Corned beef is a cut of beef (usually brisket, but sometimes round) cured or pickled in a seasoned brine. The "corn" in "corned beef" refers to the "corns" or grains of coarse salt used to cure it. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the usage of "corn," meaning "small hard particle, a grain, as of sand or salt," to 888, and the term "corned beef" to 1621.[1] The term "corned beef" can denote different styles of brine-cured beef, depending on the region. Some, like American-style corned beef, are highly seasoned and often considered delicatessen fare. In Britain, corned beef is almost always found in trapezoid cans and imported from South America.
[edit] In the United States and Canada
In the United States, corned beef is often purchased precooked, as in delicatessens. Perhaps the most famous sandwich made with it is the Reuben sandwich, consisting of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on rye bread which is then grilled on a flat griddle or in a cast iron pan. It is served hot.
In certain regions, such as in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Corned Beef Special is a popular offering.[citation needed] It is served cold. It is made by first steaming the corned beef and topping it with cole slaw, and then placing both between rye bread that is coated with Russian dressing. The Corned Beef Special was first developed by Charles Weber at R&W Deli in Philadelphia in 1957.[citation needed] In most parts of the country today, Thousand Island Dressing will be used or a Russian Dressing which recipe more closely resembles it in that the dressing contains sweet pickle relish.
In the United States, corned beef is also associated with Saint Patrick's Day, when many Irish Americans eat a traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage. According to the History Channel,[2] while cabbage has become a traditional food item for Irish-Americans, corned beef was originally a substitute for Irish bacon in the late 1800s. Irish immigrants living in New York City's Lower East Side sought an equivalent in taste and texture to their traditional Irish bacon, and learned about this cheaper alternative to bacon from their Jewish neighbors.
A similar dish is the boiled dinner, consisting of corned beef, cabbage, and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes, which is popular in New England and parts of Atlantic Canada.
The Saint Patrick's Day tradition caused controversy among American Catholic dioceses in 2000 and 2006, when the holiday fell on a Friday during Lent. Lenten custom dictates that no meat be consumed on Fridays during Lent, but some bishops granted dispensations to their dioceses for eating corned beef on St Patrick's Day.[3]
Corned beef hash is commonly served as a breakfast food with eggs and hash browns.
Smoking corned beef, usually with the addition of extra spices such as black pepper, produces a cold cut known as pastrami, or, in Canada, smoked meat.
