St. Patty's Day

[PatrickWilliams]

Hi, Bros!

Like a bad penny, I turn up again. Yes, I've been away for a week or two (not that any of y'all noticed). Now onto the subject at hand:

First: Corned beef is not Irish food. The Irish do not really eat that. Therefore, just having corned beef on the menu does not make your menu sufficiently Irish for an American St. Paddy's Day celebration. If you want Irish food, serve pork or lamb. If you want a traditional American St. Paddy's Day feast, then it's gotta be boiled Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes. And, indeed, that's what most of your customers are going to be looking for. Why disappoint them?

Second: as a Patrick, allow me to say that it's St. Paddy's Day, not Saint Patty's Day. There may be a St. Patty out there, but March 17th is not her day.

Third: Haggis is a lovely, lovely thing when done correctly and a horrible, horrible thing when not. You can find haggis makers online; order some from them and try it out to be sure that you're not going to be serving the horrible kind. Making your own haggis is time intensive and almost never successful unless you've got an experienced haggis maker on board. Trust me, you don't want to be serving Horrible Haggis.

Fourth: Be extremely careful with Mesquite. Many people (myself included) find that Mesquite has a metallic aftertaste that is ... well ... unpleasant. If you've just gotta have Mesquite smoked meats on your menu, make sure that there are alternatives. Live Oak is a nice alternative and one that I heartily endorse. As is Hickory.

Warning: any further talk of St. Patty's Day will invoke a swift visit from the EIEIO.

 

[Bob Franks]

(snip) If you want a traditional American St. Paddy's Day feast, then it's gotta be boiled Corned Beef and Cabbage with Potatoes.(snip)[/I]

Yeah, potatoes are from South America.
Whatever did the Irish eat before potatoes were brought to the island??

 

[Duncan1574]

Yeah, potatoes are from South America.
Whatever did the Irish eat before potatoes were brought to the island??

Hops, barley, wheat, combined as a group of monks discovered and allow it to ferment that and a side of rocks......

 

[PatrickWilliams]

Yeah, potatoes are from South America.
Whatever did the Irish eat before potatoes were brought to the island??

They ate dirt, Bob. They ate dirt.

 

[mdonahue66]

Hi, Bros!



Warning: any further talk of St. Patty's Day will invoke a swift visit from the EIEIO.

Whoaaaa. We don't need the EIEIO called in here We will certainly yield to a Patrick on the correct spelling of Paddy!

Thanks for the good info Brother!

 

[BG_TRBL]

St. Patty, just to make fun of the whole thing I like to instigate sometimes.

 

[jason]

St. Patty, just to make fun of the whole thing I like to instigate sometimes.

Well we could get real technical and if they want an Irish St. Patrick's Day, then send them all to Church. From talking to People from Ireland, it is a whole different experience over there, at leas until recently. No parades, no getting wasted. Those are American things.

 

[BG_TRBL]

Well we could get real technical and if they want an Irish St. Patrick's Day, then send them all to Church. From talking to People from Ireland, it is a whole different experience over there, at leas until recently. No parades, no getting wasted. Those are American things.

That's right, now all of ya go eat your boiled cornbeef and cabbage with potatoes and then head straight to church in your Sunday best. Do not stop at the corner tavern for refreshments, then go home and straight to bed. There will be none of that "silly" American stuff!!!

 

[johnj1582]

Jason is most accurate... just don't go playing patty-fingers in the holy water!

As far as a Haggis goes... most Americans kinda just lump the Irish and Scottish together, so it's probably fairly acceptable. BUT, in 4 days time, some of those men may have already eaten a Haggis... Burns Nights are held at a LOT of SR temples, considering Rabbie Burns was a Mason. I know the Dallas SR will be having one, but unfortunately it's only open to SR masons... I had really hoped to go and meet some of the guys, since I'm petitioning for the degrees to be conferred in March... but I will just wait for next year.

As far as cooking a haggis goes, you can boil or bake it... I recommend baking it for about 45 minutes to an hour at a lower oven setting, or if you choose to boil it, maybe add a little beer into the boil. It can be the best food on earth... or it can be pretty bad. I would agree that their opinions on Liver pate are pretty good indicators of how they will enjoy a haggis... but it is also kinda like a more distinctly flavored corned beef hash... and on more than one occasion, I've had Haggis and eggs for breakfast. So if anyone asks, tell them it's a cross between the two.

I recommend that you get a single haggis or maybe two... Heck, you might even try out the Caledonian Kitchen's Canned Haggis...

Award Winning Scottish Haggis Made in America by Caledonian Kitchen

For something you can heat up in the microwave, it's a pretty good alternative. That way, if the guys don't like it, you can save it for yourself or donate it to a homeless shelter.

 

[mdonahue66]

OK. Day off on Sunday. The temp's supposed to climb up to 7 above, and there's only a 30% chance of snow! Football all afternoon and evening. Looks like this is the perfect time to put on the ol' BBQ shorts and try to smoke a corned beef. Jason, I only have mesquite left around the house and it's tough to find good smoking wood in MN in the winter. Is mesquite going to be to strong and overpower the curing of the corned beef?

Right Now Next 36 Hours
Today Tonight Tomorrow

Fair Scattered Flurries Snow Shower Few Snow Showers
-11°F

-11 with a wind chill of -27. I may be the biggest wuss in the bunch, but methinks I'll postpone this smoker trial. I don't want any crap from you Wisconsin brothers. I watch the Packer games, I know you are all made of tougher metal than me!

 

[Duncan1574]

Jason is most accurate... just don't go playing patty-fingers in the holy water!

As far as a Haggis goes... most Americans kinda just lump the Irish and Scottish together, so it's probably fairly acceptable. BUT, in 4 days time, some of those men may have already eaten a Haggis... Burns Nights are held at a LOT of SR temples, considering Rabbie Burns was a Mason. I know the Dallas SR will be having one, but unfortunately it's only open to SR masons... I had really hoped to go and meet some of the guys, since I'm petitioning for the degrees to be conferred in March... but I will just wait for next year.

As far as cooking a haggis goes, you can boil or bake it... I recommend baking it for about 45 minutes to an hour at a lower oven setting, or if you choose to boil it, maybe add a little beer into the boil. It can be the best food on earth... or it can be pretty bad. I would agree that their opinions on Liver pate are pretty good indicators of how they will enjoy a haggis... but it is also kinda like a more distinctly flavored corned beef hash... and on more than one occasion, I've had Haggis and eggs for breakfast. So if anyone asks, tell them it's a cross between the two.

I recommend that you get a single haggis or maybe two... Heck, you might even try out the Caledonian Kitchen's Canned Haggis...

Award Winning Scottish Haggis Made in America by Caledonian Kitchen

For something you can heat up in the microwave, it's a pretty good alternative. That way, if the guys don't like it, you can save it for yourself or donate it to a homeless shelter.

We've done Haggis pizza. It was my friend's home made Haggis on cheese pizza, yum!

He boils his in a turkey deep fryer.

 

[mdonahue66]

Right Now Next 36 Hours
Today Tonight Tomorrow

Fair Scattered Flurries Snow Shower Few Snow Showers
-11°F

-11 with a wind chill of -27. I may be the biggest wuss in the bunch, but methinks I'll postpone this smoker trial. I don't want any crap from you Wisconsin brothers. I watch the Packer games, I know you are all made of tougher metal than me!

Up to -8 already. A couple more Bailey's in my coffee and maybe I'll tough it up....

 

[johnj1582]

We've done Haggis pizza. It was my friend's home made Haggis on cheese pizza, yum!

He boils his in a turkey deep fryer.

now there's an idea... i may have to try that! I've tried "Haggis Hotpockets" before, where you put the Haggis in some of that Phyllo dough, but this sounds awesome!