MORGAN PARK — County Fair Foods once again expects to sell 20,000 pounds of corned beef in the lead up to St. Patrick's Day.
The grocery store at 10800 S. Western Ave. has been selling bulk-style corned beef — direct from the manufacturer — since 1985, said Tom Baffes, who owns the Morgan Park store along with his father, Bill.
"You can smell the aroma as soon as you walk in the store," Baffes said Monday.
In other stores, uncooked corned beef is sold in about 4-pound bags, which can be packaged as much as six weeks ahead of landing in refrigerated cases, said Mike Benson, who has been working as a butcher at County Fair for 24 years.
Mike Benson hands 13½ pounds of corned beef to Pat Burns, 87, of North Beverly. Burns plans to cook the meat over the weekend as part of a traditional meal for St. Patrick's Day. [DNAinfo/Howard Ludwig]
The uncooked corned beef sold at County Fair arrives daily from the first weekend of March through St. Patrick's Day. The meat comes in fresh from the brining process in 100-pound barrels from Bea's Best Corned Beef in Back of the Yards, Benson said.
"We have customers that come from (suburban) Mokena, Orland Park and Tinley Park" to buy the beef that is made by injecting water, a salt solution and a blend of spices that includes peppercorn, crushed red pepper, garlic and bay leaves into the meat, Benson said.
County Fair sells a mild and spicy variety of corned beef for $6.98 per pound. The spicy variety is significantly more popular, and the Friday and Saturday before the South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade is the peak season for corned beef sales, Baffes said.
In fact, St. Patrick's Day celebrations result in overall store sales that mirror those on Thanksgiving and Christmas, Baffes said.
"St. Patrick's Day is a nice holiday, but you wouldn't necessarily put it on par with those other holidays — except in this neighborhood," he said.
Pat Burns, 87, of North Beverly bought a 13½-pound corned beef Monday morning. She plans to cook the meat for five hours ahead of a family party this weekend. Burns said the quality of County Fair's corned beef is superior to all others she's tried.
"I'm very choosy," she said.
Mike Benson (l.) and Tom Baffes stand beside barrels delivered Friday containing corned beef. Each barrel contains 100 pounds of the meat by Bea's Best Corned Beef in Back of the Yards. [DNAinfo/Howard Ludwig]
Baffes said bulk-style corned beef sales have held steady between 20,000-22,000 pounds annually for the past three years. And Benson said he sees the same customers year after year.
Benson actually hails from Adare in County Limerick, Ireland. With a bit of brogue, he explained that most of his family actually eats pork on St. Patrick's Day — specifically a cut of meat called Irish boiling bacon.
"Corned beef is not really an Irish thing," he said.
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