WCCO Viewers' Choice For Best Corned Beef In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Every year on March 17, everyone's a little Irish -- even if it's painfully obvious we're not.
According to your votes, Stillwater's Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter German restaurant serves the best corned beef and cabbage in Minnesota, an Irish-American dish.
"It's typically a German restaurant specializing in Bavarian dishes," owner Kim Quade said.
Corned beef gets its name from the large "corns" of salt in which it's cured. Gasthaus took a stab at the dish on St. Paddy's Day 18 years ago, when their chef at the time suggested it.
"I thought what the heck, you know, we'll give it a try," Quade said.
Two years later, current chef Jonathan took the recipe and ran with it.
"We just have it once a year. It makes it special for people, something for people to really look forward to," she said. "We've been accepting reservations, you know, at the first of the year."
The secret to this sought-after dish is how it's cooked.
"Found out how to roast the corned beef long enough and [with] the correct seasonings, and then we put it in our old oven, Old Faithful, and she just seems to cook it the best," Quade said.
Out of Old Faithful, the corned beef and cabbage is treated like royalty, traveling only in style.
"Well, it comes out on a cart, so when it goes down the aisles, people are oohing and ahhing all the way, hoping it comes to their table next," she said.
The beef is so tender you don't even need a knife. I guess a German restaurant having the best corned beef and cabbage isn't that much of a stretch.
"Both nationalities really appreciate potatoes and meat," Quade said.
And if we're being honest, St. Paddy's Day is just Oktoberfest in March, without the lederhosen.
Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year. They're still taking reservations now for St. Paddy's Day.
