Can Dogs Eat Corned Beef and Cabbage? A St. Patrick's Day Guide

If you are asking can dogs eat corned beef and cabbage, the short answer is to keep the corned beef on your plate and treat the cabbage as a maybe. A small plain piece of cabbage is fine, as long as it never sat in the pot with the meat.

We make freeze-dried treats in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and every March someone at our table asks about the St. Patrick's Day dinner. So this page goes through that plate one piece at a time, then covers how much, the first time you offer anything, and what we would hand over instead.

Can dogs eat corned beef and cabbage? The plate, piece by piece

The classic St. Patrick's Day plate is sliced corned beef with boiled cabbage, potatoes and carrots, sometimes with a slice of soda bread on the side. Nearly all of it comes out of one pot. That pot is the whole question, and it is why most of the plate gets a skip. Here is how it sorts out:

• Corned beef: keep it on your plate.
• Cabbage cooked in the pot: skip it.
• Cabbage boiled separately with nothing on it: a small plain piece is fine.
• Potatoes and carrots from the pot: skip them. Plain ones cooked on their own are a small plain piece, cut small.
• Soda bread with raisins, Irish stew and beer: keep them on your plate.

Why the corned beef stays on your plate

Corned beef is brisket soaked in a salt brine with a spice packet. The "corn" in the name is an old word for the coarse grains of salt used in that brine. After the soak, the meat simmers for hours, usually with onion and garlic in the water.

The ASPCA says: "Excessive salt intake can produce increased thirst and urination, and sometimes abnormal electrolytes in the blood depending on the amount ingested." Brisket that sat in brine for days is salty all the way through.

The onion and garlic are the second reason. The ASPCA also says: "Onion, garlic and chives are members of the Allium species of vegetables." Both soften in the simmering water, and their flavor goes into the meat and the liquid. That is why we say keep it on your plate, even for one small bite from the carving board.

The cabbage

Cabbage by itself is an ordinary vegetable, and it is the one part of the plate worth a maybe. The American Kennel Club says: "If you want to occasionally give cabbage to your dog, dice it up into small pieces in order to prevent dogs from choking on the fibrous vegetable." Wash it first. Then cut out the core and the tough stem, and cook it in plain water with nothing in the pot.

The cabbage on a St. Patrick's Day plate is a different thing. It was simmered in the same salty liquid as the meat, often alongside onion and garlic. The American Kennel Club says: "Dogs should only eat cabbage that hasn't been seasoned." Pot cabbage is seasoned, so skip it. Butter on top is one more reason, and that one is easy: no butter.

If you want to share some, pull a leaf or two off the head before the rest goes into the pot. Boil them on their own in plain water, drain them, let them cool and dice them small. That is the only version worth a mention.

Potatoes and carrots

Potatoes and carrots go into the pot for the last stretch of cooking and take on the same salty water. Skip those. A plain one is easy to make: boil a chunk of potato or carrot in a separate pot with nothing in the water, let it cool and cut it small. A small plain piece is fine. Mashed potato with butter, gravy or sour cream is not plain, so keep it on your plate.

The rest of the table

Irish soda bread often has raisins in it. The ASPCA says: "Tartaric acid is speculated to be the toxic component in grapes and raisins." Check the loaf, and keep the raisin kind on your plate.

Irish stew is lamb or beef simmered with potato, carrot and onion. The onion is in there, so keep it on your plate. Beer and green beer stay in your glass, and a bowl of water is the only drink that goes on the floor.

Ham is the other big holiday meat, and it has its own page: our ham guide goes through it.

How much, and the first time

The plain version is a taste and never a serving. For a small dog, a teaspoon or so of diced, plain cooked cabbage is plenty. For a big dog, a tablespoon or so. One small piece of plain potato or carrot is enough for any size. Offer it once, on an ordinary day and not in the middle of the party, and wait a day before offering anything else that is new.

If your dog is on a special diet, or you are not sure about the first bite, ask your veterinarian. Stay in the room while it is eaten. Put the leftover brisket in the refrigerator in a container with a lid before you sit down, and take the trash out with it, since a brisket on the counter is an invitation.

What to hand over instead

If you want your dog to have something while the plates go around, we make a few things for it. Our Freeze-Dried Beef Heart is freeze-dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and the only ingredient is beef heart. It comes in 1.5 ounce, 3 ounce and 6 ounce bags. The texture is firm and it snaps into small pieces, milder than liver. Reseal the bag after opening and store it cool and dry.

Our Freeze-Dried Beef Liver is a single ingredient treat too. It is lightweight and non-greasy, which makes it easy to pack for car trips.

The Pot of Gold Dog Treat Coins are the St. Patrick's Day version, in two types that are not the same. The chicken coins are boneless chicken breast sliced into rounds and air-dried, one ingredient. The gold coins are plain Greek yogurt tinted with a pinch of turmeric and freeze-dried, so they contain dairy and are not single ingredient. Both break clean for a training pocket, and you pick the type on the product page. Our St. Patrick's Day treat guide covers the rest of the shelf.

Corned beef questions

Can dogs eat cabbage?

A small plain piece is fine: washed, cored, diced and boiled in plain water with nothing on it. Cabbage that came out of the pot with the corned beef is seasoned, so skip it.

Can dogs eat corned beef?

Keep it on your plate. The brine and the onion and garlic in the simmering water are the reasons, and both go all the way through the meat. If a dog gets into the pan, take the rest away and put the leftovers where the dog cannot reach them.

Can dogs have the potatoes and carrots from the pot?

Skip those, since they cooked in the same salty water as the meat. A chunk of potato or carrot boiled on its own with nothing in the water is a small plain piece, and that one is fine.

Can dogs eat Irish soda bread?

Plain soda bread is flour, baking soda, buttermilk and salt, and a small plain piece is fine. Look for raisins first, and if the loaf has them, keep it on your plate.

Can dogs drink beer or green beer?

No. Keep it in your glass. Green beer is ordinary beer with food coloring in it, and the dog gets water.

Can dogs have the cooking water or broth?

Skip it. It is the brine, the spice packet and the simmered onion and garlic all in one liquid, so it is the saltiest and most seasoned thing on the stove.