Spiced Beef
We loved our spiced beef in Cork, sometimes simmered in Stout, always cured with a special, often secret blend of spices and salt, with formulas and cooking techniques passed down through families or jealously guarded by rival butchers.
You should find Spiced Beef throughout the county, in good delis and restaurants. But one of the best places to first encounter this classic Cork delicacy is at Tom Durcan's Stall in the English Market. A multi-award winner, Tom spices and cures his own beef, brisket and ox-tongues. Every Christmas (when spiced beef and tongue is traditionally on family festive tables), some six tonnes of spiced beef alone are sold over his counter in the English market – so Tom is definitely on to something!
And if you are visiting Durcan’s or any of the many craft butchers in the famous English market, you can try a spiced beef sandwich (or many alternatives) in the market’s Sandwich Stall.
