Edwards Meats has the best St. Patrick’s Day corned beef

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).

I was born on St. Patrick’s Day, which is both a blessing and a curse.

It’s a blessing because people tend to remember to wish me a good day. In fact, you’d be surprised how many birthday cards you can find for people born on specific holidays.

It’s a curse because it also happens to be one of the biggest party days of the year in this country.

When I was in my 20s, this made it a lot of fun. Green beer in plastic cups. Pints of Guinness (or of Longmont-based Left Hand Brewing’s Nitro stout) and shots of Irish whiskey or Baileys Irish Cream. Shamrocks and green wigs and corned beef nachos. As I got older, though, the debauchery of March 17 got a little old. So, I started celebrating at midnight on March 16, which meant I could avoid the stumbling drunks at the bars and restaurants.

These days, my celebrations are a little quieter, and the only part of St. Paddy’s Day that I now associate with my birthday is the corned beef. But not in nachos. Instead, I get house-made corned beef brisket at my favorite butcher shop in Wheat Ridge, Edwards Meats.

Edwards Meats on March 6, 2024. Edwards is a 62-year-old family-run business at 12280 W. 44th Ave. in Wheat Ridge. (Jonathan Shikes/The Denver Post)Calling Edwards a butcher shop, however, probably isn’t accurate. This 62-year-old family-run business at 12280 W. 44th Ave., is more like the Best Buy of meat, carrying filet mignon, short ribs, Wagyu, veal cutlets, bison ribeyes, ahi tuna, elk steaks, octopus, tri-tip, steelhead trout, catfish filets, rack of lamb, frog legs, marinated chicken, slab bacon, smoked pork chops, alligator meat, rabbit, quail and duck. If they don’t have it, you probably can’t find it in Colorado.

The meat is just the beginning, though. There is also just about everything a chef, griller or smoker could want, including dozens of varieties of spice rubs, marinades, hot sauces, glazes, smoked wood chips, logs and charcoal. There’s also a small produce and grocery section, a vast array of sausage and jerky, and a deli serving sandwiches.

And around St. Patrick’s Day, Edwards goes whole hog on other meaty options, including Irish back bacon, Guinness beer sausage, Belfast bangers and more.

But back to the corned beef, which is brined and flavored with a magically delicious combination of spices like peppercorn, mustard seed, bay leaf and dill. I’ve tried to re-create the combo at home, but the corned beef (and corned bison) at Edwards always tastes much better.

And that’s for the best, since it means I can drop in and pick up something else as well, like a few hot links, or the bacon-wrapped filet mignon.

Happy birthday to me.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).

I was born on St. Patrick’s Day, which is both a blessing and a curse.

It’s a blessing because people tend to remember to wish me a good day. In fact, you’d be surprised how many birthday cards you can find for people born on specific holidays.

It’s a curse because it also happens to be one of the biggest party days of the year in this country.

When I was in my 20s, this made it a lot of fun. Green beer in plastic cups. Pints of Guinness (or of Longmont-based Left Hand Brewing’s Nitro stout) and shots of Irish whiskey or Baileys Irish Cream. Shamrocks and green wigs and corned beef nachos. As I got older, though, the debauchery of March 17 got a little old. So, I started celebrating at midnight on March 16, which meant I could avoid the stumbling drunks at the bars and restaurants.

These days, my celebrations are a little quieter, and the only part of St. Paddy’s Day that I now associate with my birthday is the corned beef. But not in nachos. Instead, I get house-made corned beef brisket at my favorite butcher shop in Wheat Ridge, Edwards Meats.

Edwards Meats on March 6, 2024. Edwards is a 62-year-old family-run business at 12280 W. 44th Ave. in Wheat Ridge. (Jonathan Shikes/The Denver Post)Calling Edwards a butcher shop, however, probably isn’t accurate. This 62-year-old family-run business at 12280 W. 44th Ave., is more like the Best Buy of meat, carrying filet mignon, short ribs, Wagyu, veal cutlets, bison ribeyes, ahi tuna, elk steaks, octopus, tri-tip, steelhead trout, catfish filets, rack of lamb, frog legs, marinated chicken, slab bacon, smoked pork chops, alligator meat, rabbit, quail and duck. If they don’t have it, you probably can’t find it in Colorado.

The meat is just the beginning, though. There is also just about everything a chef, griller or smoker could want, including dozens of varieties of spice rubs, marinades, hot sauces, glazes, smoked wood chips, logs and charcoal. There’s also a small produce and grocery section, a vast array of sausage and jerky, and a deli serving sandwiches.

And around St. Patrick’s Day, Edwards goes whole hog on other meaty options, including Irish back bacon, Guinness beer sausage, Belfast bangers and more.

But back to the corned beef, which is brined and flavored with a magically delicious combination of spices like peppercorn, mustard seed, bay leaf and dill. I’ve tried to re-create the combo at home, but the corned beef (and corned bison) at Edwards always tastes much better.

And that’s for the best, since it means I can drop in and pick up something else as well, like a few hot links, or the bacon-wrapped filet mignon.

Happy birthday to me.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.