Looking for St. Patrick's Day meal ideas? We have you covered with these recipes

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Though corned beef and cabbage is not a particularly big-deal Irish dish, it was popular with Irish-American immigrants to the United States, as we've covered here, and is still widely eaten on St. Patrick's Day in America.

The tradition became part of Irish lore after many Irish-American expats settled among Jewish immigrants in some of the poorest neighborhoods of New York. Beef brisket, at the time, was an affordable alternative to pork.

That holds up, according to The Nosher, MyJewishLearning.com's food blog. "When Irish immigrants saw the salty, cured corned beef their Jewish neighbors were enjoying, it reminded them of their own comfort food," writes The Nosher's Shannon Sarna.

What's in the name? According to the meat experts at Asheville's Hickory Nut Gap Meats, that beef was cured with corn-sized salt crystals for preservation. It was popular to serve the resulting salt-cured meat with cabbage, which was an affordable vegetable at the time.

Call your local butcher or deli to find the corned beef you'll need for this recipe. If you live in Western North Carolina, Hickory Nut Gap has your back. Here, the farm and meat supplier has provided their recipe for corned beef and cabbage, asking only that readers take a picture if they make it and share it on social media with the hashtag #hngrecipes.

Corned beef and cabbage recipe

Ingredients

2-2 1/2 pound Hickory Nut Gap corned beef1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper1 teaspoon ground allspice2 bay leaves1/2 pound diced carrots, approximately 4 small1/2 pound diced onions, approximately 2 small1 pound potatoes, peeled and chopped, approximately 3 medium1/4 pound diced celery, approximately 2 stalks1 small head cabbage, chopped, approximately 2 lbs

Instructions

Rinse corned beef well. Place the corned beef, pepper, allspice and bay leaves into a large 8-quart pot along with 3 quarts of water. Cover and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat to low and cook at a low simmer until it begins to get tender, at least 2 1/2 hours and up to 3 1/2 hours, depending on the size of your brisket.

Add the carrots, onions, potatoes and celery. Return to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, add the cabbage and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes and cabbage are tender. Taste veggies for salt and season with a touch of salt if needed. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

What if I want a traditional Irish St. Patrick's Day meal?

Every year, someone has a full-on tantrum over the corned beef. That's according to Siobhan Reidy, who owns The Irish Rover in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Michael Reidy.

"Every year one of your tables wants to yell at you over corned beef and cabbage," Siobhan Reidy said. "But we don't carry it because it's not Irish."

Party time!Here's what you need to celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Her husband should know. He grew up in County Clare, home to the Cliffs of Moher on the rugged Atlantic coast of Ireland. Corned beef and cabbage can be found in Ireland, Reidy said, but her husband certainly didn't grow up eating it. He most definitely did not eat it to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

A typical celebratory meal in Ireland might include thick ham-like slabs of Irish bacon or some other cut of pork, mashed potatoes and vegetables of some sort — perhaps cabbage, and perhaps not — all served with a white sauce.

The Reidys recommend instead the Shanagarry fish cakes, a recipe from the Ballymaloe Cookery School in East County Cork, Ireland, founded by Myrtle Allen and run by her family members. Allen, Siobhan Reidy explained, is the Alice Waters of Ireland.

"Myrtle Allen was credited with the revolution in Irish food," she said.

And for the record, The Washington Post in 1996 asked Allen her opinion of corned beef and cabbage. "I don't know anybody who serves corned beef in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day," she told the paper.

Shanagarry fish cakes

This recipe is adapted from the Irish Rover in Louisville, Kentucky. We added crushed saltines to help the patties stay together, though the original recipe calls for skipping the binder. Do what you prefer. Serve fish cakes with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Makes eight 4-ounce cakes

Ingredients

For the cakes:2 pounds fresh cod filet1/4 pound smoked salmon1/4 pound fresh salmon, skin off2 tablespoons Country Dijon mustard1/2 cup finely crushed saltine crackers Salt and pepper2 tablespoons vegetable oil for pan-frying

For the breading:1 cup seasoned fish fry

Instructions

Pulse each fish separately in a food processor until chopped but not pureed. Drain well, and then combine with mustard and cracker crumbs. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Form patties with mixture and roll in seasoned fish fry. Heat the oil over medium heat. When oil begins to shimmer, place patties in oil. Add more if pan runs dry. Cook until patty turns easily with a metal spatula, about 5 minutes each side. Make sure the patty is cooked through.

Looking for more recipes?Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with these recipes

Mackensy Lunsford is the food and culture storyteller for USA TODAY Network's South region and the editor of Southern Kitchen.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: St. Patrick's Day 2023: Corned beef and cabbage and more Irish recipes