One of my favorite recipes for corned beef, and for corned venison, comes from George Leonard Herter’s rather outlandish Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices. Herter seems to think that the name corned beef stems from a mistaken link to corn whiskey. Many Americans also tentatively associate the term with corn whiskey, usually without knowing why. By way of explanation, Herter says that corned beef originated in London in 1725. During World War II, he goes on, South American beef was shipped to the U.S. Fighting forces in Europe. The troops gave it the name corned Willie, meaning goat meat cured by soaking it in corn whiskey. But, Herter says, corn whiskey was not and is not used for corning beef. He’s right about the corn whiskey, and maybe about London, but the rest of his derivation is questionable.
