St Patrick’s Day, a day when the world over celebrates Ireland and the Irish. Our politicians cleverly use the day as a great excuse to hop on a plane and connect in person with world leaders. In more recent years, it’s used as a platform to promote Irish tourism with Tourism Ireland organising some of the most iconic buildings in the world so go green for the day. And for the Irish at home and abroad, as well as the millions of people globally who love everything Irish, the day is a great excuse for parties and parades.
The day is also synonymous with Ireland’s traditional dish of Bacon & Cabbage. It’s just what we like at James Whelan Butchers, as it is honest, wholesome and hearty. It’s also so easy to prepare.
Our good friends in Bord Bia carried out a survey and found that 64% of Irish adults chose bacon and cabbage as the meal most synonymous with Ireland, with over 50% of those questions saying that they planned to tuck into some Bacon as part of their St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
We carried out our own survey with the JWB team, and wanted to share with you some produce that we love and that we love recommending to customers at this time of year.
Number one most definitely would be our award winning Rack of Heritage Bacon. It’s cured on the bone with a distinctive flavour with a hint of smoky hickory undertones, with the bone bringing a certain sweetness to the meat. It’s ideal for a special St Patrick’s dinner for friends and family, looks delicious to carve at the table. It is so easy to cut and the meat is so soft and succulent.
Served simply with some flowery potatoes and cabbage. It’s a dish that will be remembered. No need for a sauce, but if you fancy pushing the boat out, in the link here we have a simple recipe for a delicious Mustard Sauce which is part of a recipe for Traditional Bacon and Cabbage, that we often share with customers.
Heritage Cure Bacon – Our signature heritage cure Irish bacon is truly delicious. Traditionally cured, it has a distinctive flavour with a hint of smoky hickory undertones.
And to complete our Top Three of bacon ideas for Paddy’s Day, we always recommend a hearty traditional Irish breakfast. With our James Whelan Butchers Box, we make it nice and handy for our customers by putting some of our favourite breakfast produce together in a special box with Dry Cured Rashers, succulent Homemade Pork Sausages and of course our Black and White pudding. Just the perfect start to a perfect St Paddy’s Day.
Our award-winning Heritage Ham is truly delicious. Cured on the bone over natural woods of beech and hickory. This gives a sweet, smoky cure to this wondrous ham.
As the judges said, at the Great Taste Awards; “What a treat, an enormous ham that brings a flurry of excitement when it’s brought to the table.”
Bon Appetit – and from our family to yours – have a really great St Patrick’s Day, wherever you are!
