Corned Beef Hash
An old fashioned diner favorite that grew in popularity in the 1950s, but the dish is much, much older.
Apparently, there are some serious corned beef hash snobs out there who insist that only diced corned beef brisket be used in what is really a very simple recipe. For the rest of us that never seem to have enough corned beef left over after St. Patrick's Day, or who prefer to put their corned beef leftovers on, say, the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for The Reuben Sandwich, a canned version of corned beef works just as well, provided you use the right brand, and provided that you use canned corned beef, not canned corned beef hash. While the latter is ultimately more convenient because one needs only to slice and fry it in a skillet, the former will give you an ingredient to make a much homier version with a lot more flavor and texture.
Hash - which is to say meat that has been chopped with root vegetables - has been around a long time, with printed recipes archived from the 15th Century. The word "hash" comes from the French word “hasher” (pronounced ah-SHAY), which means "to chop". The US term “hash house” grew out of popularity for the dish in the mid-1800s, meaning an inexpensive restaurant that serves good, basic food. Corned Beef Hash came from New England as a by-product of traditional boiled corned beef suppers and a way to use the leftovers.
Corned Beef Hash is, in fact, chopped corned beef with diced onions and potatoes, and as breakfast fare, it is traditionally served with poached or fried eggs. As usual, there are a lot of different versions on the Internet, including some that contain green peas and corn; some are prepared as a casserole and topped with cheese; others contain vegetables like carrots, green and red bell peppers. I don't suppose there is any wrong way to make Corned Beef Hash, but the traditional version is much simpler and I think in this case, "less is more."
Libby’s Corned Beef
According to the website Mashed from an article posted in early 2022, Canned Corned Beef Brands Ranked From Worst to Best, the best rated canned corned beef is Libby's. Libby's was one of the earliest and is the oldest contiguous producer of canned corned beef, around since 1869 where it was founded near the Chicago stockyards. Today, the brand is owned by Conagra and the beef comes from South America. Conagra is a U.S. publicly traded food production and packaging company of enormous proportions, owning other classic American brands such as Orville Redenbacher, Duncan Hines, Hunt's, Birdseye, Vlasic, Pam and many more.
To their credit, they haven't changed the original recipe for Libby's Corned Beef nor the iconic shape of the trapezoidal can that still comes with an attached key to open it. The can's unusual shape was the invention of Charles Libby in 1875, who patented the design, which made for more efficient wholesale packaging than conventional round cans, and also helped the product's release from the can when opened so it would stay whole. I'll confess a huge sense of nostalgia when I opened my can of Libby's Corned Beef, because growing up mid-20th Century, many food products were opened with an attached key that way, including cans of peanuts, coffee and sardines. My Number One Fan used to eat Libby's Corned Beef as a little girl, simply sliced and fried for dinner along with a couple of veggies.
Libby’s Corned beef itself is actually minced, and extremely well-suited to a skillet preparation with onions and potatoes. I classify this as a hearty breakfast dish, but there is certainly no reason why you couldn't have this for dinner.
Eggs Benedict Casserole with Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 12-oz can corned beef (like, Libby's)
- 2 medium Russet potatoes, baked whole and chilled
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 4-5 tbsp olive oil
- 1/8 seasoned salt (like, Lawry's)
- 7-8 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- 8 large eggs
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
- Bake the two Russet potatoes the day before you plan to make Corned Beef Hash and chill them overnight in the refrigerator.
- Leaving the peel intact, cut the potatoes lengthwise in half, then do so again so you have four quarters. Slice the potato wedges perpendicularly so you have more or less even, one-inch slices.
- Open the corned beef and remove from the can whole. Using a very sharp knife, cut the small loaf into even-sized cubes.
- Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and sauté the onions until they are just beginning to caramelize, 5 -7 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and sauté until they are beginning to crisp up a little, about 15 minutes.
- Add the corned beef cubes, mix all the ingredients together well, then pat everything down to an even layer. Lower the heat to medium. Sprinkle half the paprika and dried parsley on top, and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. As it cooks, the cubes of corned beef will start crumbling and that's exactly what you want.
- Allow the contents to sizzle away, undisturbed for about 10 minutes. Then using a spatula, turn everything over. Pat down to an even layer again, and add the remaining seasonings including more salt and pepper. Cook for another 8 - 10 minutes. The corned beef, potatoes and onions should now be getting caramelized and crispy.
- Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a couple of soup bowls.
- While the corned beef hash is completing its final cooking phase, melt the butter over medium high heat in a separate skillet that has a lid.
- Carefully allow the eggs to slip from the soup bowls without breaking the yolks into the sizzling butter. When the bottom of the eggs have become opaque, pour the Worcestershire Sauce all around the edge of the skillet and put on the lid.
- Allow the eggs to baste in the steam caused by the Worcestershire Sauce for about a minute or until the tops of the yolks have turned from yellow to white.
- Dish out a quarter of the Corned Beef Hash onto a plate and top with two of the eggs. Serve immediately.
