FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 21, 2019 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 65
THE DUNPHYS: A Proud Tradition of Corned Beef
If you are a fan of corned beef, whether it be an
overflowing sandwich from your favorite corner
deli or a brisket dinner with all the trimmings at
a charming Irish pub and you live in the greater New
York area, chances are at some point, you’ve tasted
Dunphy & Cork Corned Beef.
Introduced to the food service industry almost
two decades ago by Restaurant Depot, the Dunphy
& Cork label swiftly became the fastest growing
corned beef brand in the metro area, much like the
woman for whom the label itself was named after:
Mary (Momma) Dunphy.
Mary Dunphy (nee Hannigan) was born in Fethard,
Co. Tipperary, in 1905. She immigrated to New York
City as a young woman and in 1926 met
and married her beloved Patrick,
with whom she would soon
start a family.
And what a family indeed!
The Dunphys would
eventually have 15 children
together and settled down
in a large, rambling house
on a tree-lined street just
off Queens Boulevard, in
Woodside.
They not only raised their own
children but opened their house and
their hearts to others as well. In the late 1950s, two
of their grandchildren, their namesakes, Patrick and
Mary, would come to live with them.
Young Pat remembers his father (also named
Patrick) bringing him to his grandparents’ house
when he was four years old, and his sister was six.
“My parents were divorced and my father was
stationed in Puerto Rico at the time. Everyone agreed
it was best for the two children to stay in New York
and attend school,” said Pat.
Pat remembers two things best about his late
grandfather: one was a trip to Gaelic Park in the
Bronx for a Gaelic football match, and the other was
how much he loved his wife.
Pat fondly remembers Momma Dunphy in her
kitchen where she seemed to endlessly dwell.
Momma was always cooking something, and there
was always a delicious aroma of someone’s favorite
food in the air.
Pat’s was her Irish soda bread. “That soda bread
was the best I ever had, even to this day,” said Pat,
who now resides in Florida.
In the early sixties, after Grandpa Patrick passed
and several of the oldest children had already left the
nest, Momma Dunphy would agree to help a family
friend, a single father, and babysit his four year old
named Victoria McMahon. Little Vicky loved being in
that house, surrounded by so many people.
Vicky fondly recalls, “I remember my first day
when we were just visiting to check it out. They were
the biggest people I had ever seen. The Dunphys
seemed gigantic!”
Momma Dunphy ran a household
full of noise, laughter and of
course, delicious food.
“She cooked large batches
of everything but could make
anyone feel special by
sharing a simple bologna
sandwich with them,” Vicky
remembers.
What started out as a
summertime, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
deal between Vicky’s dad and
Momma turned into a shared life
for her and the Dunphys. She would eventually live
full time in that house in Woodside, not moving
out until she had finished high school.
Some years later when Vicky married, it was out
of Momma Dunphy’s house that she emerged as
a new bride, surrounded by her extended family.
To this day, Vicky (and her two daughters) call
the Dunphys family and share all holidays and
occasions together.
Almost all gatherings end up with someone
sharing a story about growing up in that big house,
with the laundry line cutting across the backyard
which Momma hung clothes on no matter what
season it was outside. With so many children, there
was so much laundry!
While raising
her large brood,
Momma Dunphy
was constantly
ordering from the
local meat store.
In those days,
there were few
supermarkets and
down on Queens
Boulevard you
would find at
least one Dunphy
child visiting the butcher daily. It was usually one
of the older kids, clutching an exact, written
description of what Momma Dunphy wanted her
child to return with.
Call it urban legend, but the story goes that upon
retiring, Butcher Lily of Woodside made his way to
the Dunphy home and knocked on the door to meet
the woman whom he felt single-handedly kept him
in business for years.
One of her late daughters, Kathleen, once said,
“We all knew that wasn’t really true, as we were
not a well- off family, but you could tell that he was
impressed by the quality that my mother demanded.
Quality meat was important to Momma, and none
as important than
the corned beef
she served on St.
Patrick’s Day.”
So now, with
the Dunphy & Cork
Corned Beef label
available in 33 states
across the nation,
chances are that this
St. Patrick’s Day, you
may just be lucky enough to experience the love and
warmth that filled the Dunphy kitchen back then and
which lives on to this very day.
Classic Dunphy
Corned Beef & Cabbage
1 Dunphy & Cork Corned Beef Brisket, about I2lbs
w/spice packet
3 lbs carrots, trimmed,scaped and leftwhole.
2-3 dz small whole onions, peeled.
18-24 medium, potatoes, peeled
4 medium heads of cabbage,cut in wedges
3-120Z bottles or cans of Irish stout beer (optional)
Preperation
Place meat in a deep pot or kettle, cover with water.
Add spice packet Bring to a boil while simmering;
water temperature should be @180 ddegrees
(Simmering is bestas opposed to a rapid boil as
it leads to tenderness and a better yield.) Skim off
foam & add beer if desired.
Approx 5 hours should be enough cook time
AS LONG AS meat temperature is 160 degrees
outof the water. If noreturn to the pot until
that temp is achieved.
Add vegetables, simmer for about 50 min. longer
or until vegetables and meat are tender.
Serve brisket surrounded by vegetables.
Serves 15-18 people
Momma Dunphy,
circa 1920s. Patrick Dunphy,
circa 1920s.
Momma Dunphy and
Vicky McMahon on
her wedding day.
The Dunphys
of Woodside,
circa 1950.
Momma Dunphy and her
grandson Patrick.
2019 * plus tax and season pass.
/WWW.QNS.COM