I've been pretty quiet the last few days. Not a real lot going on. Thought I'd hop on here real quick and wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day.
Every time I think of St. Patrick, I get this image in my head.
I spent the day preparing a traditional Irish American meal of corned beef and cabbage. I say Irish American because every time I do a St. Patrick's post some Irishman direct from Ireland says, "What the EFFF is that? We don't eat that?"
Well, somehow this has become a traditional St. Patrick's day meal, here in America. Corned Beef and cabbage, with green beer. Sorry, didn't have any food coloring. It's served in every Irish restaurant and bar in the city along with some more traditional Irish fare.
This year I made cabbage, carrots, and turnips as sides. It was delicious!
In the age of AI, I thought now was as good a time as any to get to the bottom of this American tradition. Here's what ChatGPT told me.
Corned beef and cabbage feels super “Irish,” but the story is actually more Irish-American than purely Irish 🇮🇪➡️🇺🇸
🇮🇪 What people ate in Ireland
In Ireland—especially before the 20th century—people typically ate bacon (salted pork) with cabbage, not beef. Cows were valuable for dairy and labor, so eating beef regularly wasn’t common.
🇺🇸 The immigrant shift in America
When large numbers of Irish immigrants arrived in the U.S. during and after the Great Famine, many settled in cities like New York City.
There, they lived alongside Jewish immigrant communities, particularly from Eastern Europe. These neighbors commonly ate corned beef, a salt-cured brisket sold in kosher butcher shops.
💡 Why corned beef?
For Irish immigrants:
Corned beef was cheaper and more available than the pork they were used to.
It was similar enough to their traditional salted meats.
Cabbage remained a familiar, affordable vegetable.
So they combined the two—creating the now-iconic dish.
🎉 How it became tied to St. Patrick’s Day
As Irish Americans celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in the U.S., the meal became:
A symbol of heritage and identity
A practical, celebratory dish for gatherings
Popularized through parades and community events
Over time, it stuck—and became the go-to St. Patrick’s Day meal in America, even though people in Ireland were more likely to eat bacon and cabbage.
Well, there you have it. I'm really starting to love AI. Seems like a legit explanation to me.
I would have preferred a nice dark stout with my dinner, but only had a lager. So, I'll probably spend the rest of the evening relaxing and knocking back a couple lagers. It's been a few weeks since I had a drink and that first one went down so smooth.
If you're celebrating today, Happy St. Patrick's Day to you! Hopefully spring is right around the corner now! 🍀 Sláinte 🍀
