Corned Beef Hash
June 24th, 2008
Corned Beef Hash is one of those old-time favorites of my husbands. Strangely, this is one that my own mother never made and it took me a few years to understand why DH raved about it. I imagine lots of folks picture corned beef hash as one of those greasy-spoon-diner breakfasts that is never made or served anywhere else. I’ve no idea how many people are keen on trying this out for themselves, but it’s not that tricky and is really delicious, so let’s give it a shot…
First off, you need some corned beef. Now, this is pretty easy to obtain from the deli counter of any grocery and you can just ask the worker behind the counter to cut off a chunk for you instead of slicing it real thin-like. Personally, I quit buying corned beef at the deli because of the extremely high prices. I buy a do-it-yourself hunk of corned beef at everyone’s favorite warehouse — Sam’s Club. It comes in a moderate size (about 3 pounds, untrimmed) that my family easily polishes off in one meal. I usually buy two. If you decide to buy it this way, click here to read my method of cooking it. Corned beef that you do yourself will be more tender and will fall apart the way you want it to for hash. Deli beef will have to be cut into bite-sized chunks.
As I mentioned, I like to cook two packages of corned beef. One gets consumed right away, usually in Reuben sandwiches or just plain with sauerkraut. The second I hide away from the seemingly always hungry people in my house for a day or two and then surprise them by pulling it back out and making cold meat sandwiches or corned beef hash.
Corned Beef Hash
serves 6
1-2 c. shredded or chunked corned beef
3-6 redskin potatoes, diced
1 sweet onion, preferably a Mayan sweet or Vidalia
1/4 c. olive oil
3 T. flour
1 c. skim milk, chicken broth, or a combination of the two
salt and pepper
First off, dice the potatoes, rinse in cold water, and drain. Pat dry with paper towels. If you’re not crazy about putting that much work into it, buy some Ore Ida hash browns, they will be just as good.
Next, chop the onion and get it sizzling with the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the potatoes and leave them alone for a few minutes while one side browns. (I used to fuss over hash browns and always ruined them by stirring too much. Leaving them to sizzle on their own is much better.)
Meanwhile, mix the flour and milk or broth in a shaker container or whip them together with a wire whisk. When the potatoes have begun to brown, slide a spatula underneath them and flip. They don’t need to remain in one large piece, but stirring them up too much causes your corned beef hash to turn to a pile of gooey, mushy potatoes. Once flipped, add the corned beef and wait for the other side of the potatoes to brown.
The last step is to pour the milk/flour mixture over all and let the heat thicken it to a white gravy. Add salt and pepper as desired. If you’re really trying to please someone, serve with eggs.
ENJOY!
Entry Filed under: Beef, Breakfast, Leftovers, Old-Fashioned Foods, Recipes, Supper