So, here it is the day after St. Patrick’s Day and you have a big old hunk of left over corned beef staring at you every time you open your refrigerator. You already know that Reuben sandwiches are in your near future, but what to do with the rest is still nagging at you from the edges of your organized mind. Well, I have the perfect solution to your quandary. Make hash!
Now, you need to know that I love corned beef. So when I go to the bother of braising corned beef, I don’t stop with just one brisket. I usually braise 2 at a time. And yes I do mean braise. The term “braise” means (at least to me) taking a less-tender cut of meat (often beef) and slowly (low heat over a long period of time) cooking it partially covered with a liquid until tender. (Think pot-roast.) And especially with corned beef, the result of braising rather than boiling is significant. Boiling seems to draw all the flavor out of the meat, while braising seems to impart the flavor of the herbs and spices, while at the same time allowing the meat to obtain a very pleasant firm but tender texture. (Boiling alone seems to make for a loose texture that I personally find less desirable.)
But back to this scramble.
The only time Mr. C. and I eat breakfast out is when we are traveling. And why – well – breakfast is easy to fix, and I have control over everything from the amount of salt and fat used, to the quality of the eggs. But breakfasts can become a bit tedious. So every once in a while I like to replace our usual over-easy eggs with an egg dish that surprises our taste buds. And that’s just what happened this morning when I served up some of this scramble. My taste buds were on full alert because this dish was so yummy. Even Mr. C., who, if never presented with another potato, except in the form of French fries, had to agree that this scramble was mighty fine. (He even had seconds!)
So if you too would like to serve a new and different taste treat for breakfast some morning, give this recipe a try.
If you would like to check out additional corned beef recipes, including a recipe for a killer Rueben Sandwich, search under “corned beef” on this site.
Lastly, don’t even think of using canned corn beef in this recipe. You would be visited by three spirits, all of whom would look just like me! And each one would be even more unpleasant than the ones that visited Ebenezer Scrooge!
(On a friendlier note – check out the picture at the end of this post. Max, on the left, and Miles next to my computer, helping me write yesterday’s post. So nice to have office help.)
- 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 unpeeled russet potatoes, cut small dice
- 2 T. unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 c. diced baked corned beef (see recipe below)
- 8 lg. eggs
- ½ c. milk
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp. seasoned salt
- 1 T. chopped fresh parsley leaves, opt.
Whisk the olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper together in a medium sized bowl. Pat the diced potato pieces dry and add to the bowl; stir until potato pieces all covered with a thin coating or oil. Place potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. (Use convection if available.) Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and red pepper and fry, stirring often, until onion becomes translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the corned beef and fry, stirring frequently, until slightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the reserved potatoes.
While the hash is frying, whisk the eggs, milk, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoned salt together and pour over the hash.
Reduce heat and stir gently lifting the mixture off the bottom of the pan and flipping until the egg mixture is set. Serve immediately garnished with parsley.
Note: Before you add the egg mixture, the hash can be frozen. It freezes beautifully.
CORNED BEEF
- 2 lg. bay leaves, torn into tiny pieces
- 1 tsp. black pepper corns
- 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp. coriander seeds
- ½ tsp. mustard seeds
Combine bay leaves, pepper corns, red pepper flakes, coriander, and mustard seeds along with the little packet of spices that comes with the corned beef. Set aside.
Place brisket in a large covered Dutch oven. Pour 2 cups of water into the pan along with 1/3rd of the spice mix. (The spices should be in the water.) Cover Dutch oven with lid and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, use your sucky upy (my term for a turkey baster) to drain/suck the water from around the corned beef.* Add 2 cups fresh water, another third of the spice mix and cover. Bake another hour. After second hour, drain and replace water and add the last of spices. And you guessed it, bake for another hour, or until the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 175 degrees and is fork tender. Remove from oven, place on a platter, and let rest at least 45 minutes before cutting into small cubes. Note: This way of cooking corned beef results in a very flavorful tightly grained but tender meat. Perfect for hash. Great for sandwiches too.
*An alternate method for changing the water is to remove the corned beef from the pan and simply pour off the water.
