Why do people eat corned beef on Saint Patrick's Day?

Answer 1

There is no good reason to place Corned Beef on a Saint Patrick's Holiday menu. Few of the immigrants from Ireland had tasted this less then gourmet dish in their native land. Meat was not a part of the Irish peasant's diet, and the Irish aristocrcy would have been revolted by such fare. Some immigrant ships served it to their third class passengers as a special treat for a Sunday Dinner at sea. Most ships did not, and only a rare few could purchase meat in the Americas until they had the security of employment. In the US, beef was cheap. and brisket is among the cheapest cuts available and was often cured for export to impoverished and famine stricken countries. === === One explanation I heard was that the Irish in America substituted corned beef for the traditional bacon as it was easier to obtain.