Corned beef hash

[VaderSS]

To me, this is quintessential golden era breakfast food. Much more interesting than ham, bacon, or sausage.

The first time I had it was at a lakeside camp the morning after a serious party. You know, the kind with lots of alcohol, food, and heartache. I had seen it in old movies, and here was a can, sitting in the cabinet.

I always get it when I see it on a menu, but that's fairly rare.

About once every couple of months though, I get a real craving for it and buy a can.

There seems to be a trick to getting it crusty though, like they do in the diners, and I have never been able to achieve it. Any tips would be welcome.

 

[Sefton]

I used to like the canned until I went to a diner that made it fresh. I've already eaten this morning,but now for some reason I hungry again...

 

[Dinerman]

well- the good stuff is homemade.
I think to get it to a crust, you have to get it just to the edge of burning it without actually burning it.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I,too,like it!...even out of the can! My fav is a soft egg on top the corned beef hash(mentioned by another member in the egg thread) with wheat toast.
Of course,homemade CBH is best. I don't think the canned kind will get crusty.
HB

 

[Mr. Lucky]

My great-grandmother, being of good Irish/German/Penn Dutch stock used to take left over corned beef, of which was a usual meal, and HAND grind it, mix it with hand cubed potatos and fry it up in a cast iron frying pan. That, served with fried eggs and toast and homemade red currant jelly, was, well, for lack of a better word, SCRUMPTUOUS!

To this day I've never had hash quite that good. Close at some places, but never quite that good.

 

[The_Edge]

Mmmm, corned beef hash, SPAM® and eggs over medium. One of my favorite meals. Don't eat it much these days but in college that was the stuff!

 

[Fletch]

Eggs easy, so as to gop up the hash. And hash.

I had housemade hash at some breakfast place recently. Biiig chunx o' CB, nice onion-y texture, yummers.

 

[VaderSS]

I've had some CBH at a Katz Deli that had onion, large chunks of potato, and corned beef in it, but it was not that CBH I've grown to love, so it was not apealing to me.

My problem with getting a crust on the canned stuff is that it sticks to the skillet, no matter how much, or what kind of oil I use. I tried to go slower, and it did better this morning, but still not that crunchy crust I was looking for.

I'm sure that the diners I've gone to use canned hash. Maybe it's the well seasoned griddles that allow them to get away with it.

I might just try making my own, with fresh potatoes cut the same size as the canned stuff, and corned beef from a can.

I do enjoy canned corned beef sandwiches, with pepperjack or gouda melted onto the corned beef.

 

[Harp]

Hashmarks

Try a bit of tomato sauce in the pan.

 

[Polka Dot]

Try a bit of tomato sauce in the pan.

Seconded. Is the tomato sauce a Chicago thing?

 

[Phil]

I think so. I love having a little tomato sauce in the pan. But when I visited a relative over in Celeveland, I made some and they looked at me like I was mixing milk and orange juice. But I LOVE corned beef and hash. My two favorite ways are either a nice pile of corned beef hash, hashed browns, 3 eggs over easy, and toast or pancakes, or in a skillwt with the chunked potatoes, cheese, and 3 eggs over easy, with toast or pancakes. Actually, every other Wednesday my school has a late arrival and me and my friends go out to breakfast. The two best places around here that I like are Mac's Diner and Mr. K's. Great stuff.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Hey..I'm no cook,here....but could it be that the most crusty CBH would be baked in the oven like a cassarole dish??
HD

 

[Dinerman]

baked, then cooked on a griddle?
could work.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

You can always use this.

http://www.kitchen-classics.com/cremebru.htm

 

[Harp]

Chicago

Seconded. Is the tomato sauce a Chicago thing?

Yes, a bit of Southside cuisine.

Another approach to CBH is to throw it into a mixing bowl,
add one egg, tomato sauce; onion shavings, and a packet of
crushed Ritz crackers, form a loaf, pour a little more tomato
sauce over the top, wrap in alum foil, and pop in oven.
Bake at 325* for forty-five minutes. A few peeled Idaho spuds
along the side. Some chilled Portugese vino.

 

[Polka Dot]

Yes, a bit of Southside cuisine.

No wonder my father loves it.

 

[zeus36]

Here's my favorite in a can:

 

[VaderSS]

Here's my favorite in a can:

Where do you get it?

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Where do you get it?

Almost any supermarket I've been in carries it. Their roast beef in gravy's hand for some pretty good fast & easy burritos as well. Shreds nicely quick and easy.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I meant to mention - cooking corned beef's one of the easiest things to make. Put the brisket in a pan with the spices from the enclosed packet (I dump the "goo" it's packaged in although some think that should go into the pan as well - up to you!), just enough water to cover, toss in some onions, carrot & celery if you want and leave it on a slow simmer for a couple hours. Drain, toss the veggies and let the brisket cool, then slice it up (for sandwiches) or dice it up for hash.