Growing up, my dad loved to cook for our family. A decorated Korean War veteran, he and my mom were very involved in the Liberty, NY Veterans of Foreign Wars, cooking for all sorts of events. He often used those catering skills at home, as well.

Among my dad’s most secret recipes was one for corned beef/brisket. As kids, we were sworn to secrecy about how, exactly, Dad’s corned beef was made.

So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that, only four short years ago, my dad’s secret recipe wasn’t actually his at all!

It turns out that Ma Rinehart, a longtime family friend, was the originator.

And while we’re tackling corned-beef myths, we might as well debunk the idea that corned beef and cabbage is the way they celebrate St. Patrick’s day in Ireland.

“Truth be told, corned beef and cabbage is about as Irish as a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake,” writes Debbie Lord with Cox Media Group National Content Desk. “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,” (www.bit.ly/kimstpatty08).

Now, would you like to know how good this corned beef tastes?

I have a series of food allergies, particularly to gluten. I’m always saying that I’m the cake artist who can’t eat cake!

But I also have difficulty digesting red meat, a condition that developed after I was bitten by a tick a few years ago.

Nevertheless, whenever I make this corned beef recipe, I’m always tempted to chow down on a plateful, no matter what distress I might be facing later. That’s how good this is—so good that it shouldn’t be kept secret anymore.

Make some for yourself. I bet you’ll agree!

Kim M. Simons is an award-winning artist, cake artist and food artist. She and her team—The Bah Hum Bakers—were the champions of Food Network’s “Holiday Wars” in 2019. Visit Kim at www.cakesbykimsimons.com.

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