24 St. Patrick's Day Recipes, From Corned Beef and Cabbage to Irish Soda Bread (2024)

FAQs

What are three traditional dishes of St Patrick's Day? ›

Corned beef and cabbage is not the national dish of Ireland. You would not eat this dish on St. Patrick's Day in Dublin. It is usually only eaten around the religious holiday in the US.

Catholics are obligated to not consume meat on Fridays during Lent, per the Catholic Bishops of the United States order. However, in certain coincidental circ*mstances -- such as St. Patrick's Day falling on a Friday in Lent -- the Diocesan Bishop has the authority to grant allowance from the Catholic obligation.

It's also a symbol of celebration, baked in droves in the lead up to Saint Patrick's Day. However, the humble soda bread began as an affordable necessity and was the solution to many food problems facing Ireland at the time.

In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is a national holiday that celebrates the country's patron saint with parades, festivals and live music. The pubs are open and will be serving their standard fare — shepherd's pie (filled with lamb) and cottage pie (with beef), stews and seafood chowders.

Believed to have been a staple of Irish cuisine since around the year 1800, heart-warming homemade stew remains a firm favourite to this day. To many across the country, Irish stew is the national dish of Ireland. The methods and flavour of an Irish stew vary from person to person and have evolved over the years.

Unfortunately, as demand grew for Irish corned beef, the price spiked high enough that, once again, the very people who made it could not afford to eat it. They settled for pork and a new crop, the Irish potato.

So it was the Irish-American consumption of corned beef that initiated its association with Ireland and the holiday of St. Patrick's Day. And as for pairing cabbage with corned beef, it was simply one of the cheapest vegetables available to Irish immigrants, so it was a side dish that stuck.

Patrick's Day is on a Friday in Lent, but Corned Beef and Cabbage is Still Okay.

Are Catholics allowed to eat corned beef? ›

The holiday often falls within the period of Lent, a time when Catholics might be fasting or abstaining from meat. However, many dioceses will grant a dispensation allowing Catholics to eat meat on St. Patrick's Day, thus permitting the traditional corned beef and cabbage meal.

Some dioceses grant dispensations. St. Patrick's Day this year coincides with Lenten Friday, when Catholics traditionally abstain from meat. But after several dioceses across the United States granted dispensations, some Catholics will be able to indulge.

And finally, don't immediately cut into the Fast Irish Soda bread when you pull it out of the oven. Although this bread is best served warm, cutting into it too quickly will turn the bread gummy.

Irish Soda Bread is a dense bread, similar to a scone, but can easily become dry if overmixed. Quickly add the wet ingredients to a well you've made in the dry ingredients, and mix with your hands or a dough hook until it just comes together.

Although soda bread is ideal for serving at room temperature, it is better to serve it warm. The thick and cakey texture of the bread and warm temperature brings out its hearty flavors. If you can't have it fresh from the over at least have it toasted.

The traditions of St. Patrick's Day in America are well known. We wear green, attend parades, and eat corned beef and cabbage.

What has become a tradition of eating corned beef and cabbage to celebrate St. Patrick's Day likely grew out of the fact that those foods were less expensive for immigrants who came to America. They substituted beef for pork and cabbage for potatoes.

During the time of the Irish immigration to the U.S., the first generation of Irish Americans were in search of the comforting tastes of their homeland. On St. Paddy's Day, that meant boiled bacon.

Dressing in green on St. Patrick's can trace its roots to leprechaun legends, as well as a sign of Irish defiance. Each year on St. Patrick's Day, tens of thousands of Americans add green to their outfits, even if they can't trace their ancestry back to the Emerald Isle.