It’s really no secret, at this point, that food gets me pretty excited. I love cooking, I love eating, and now I am REALLY enjoying the photography aspect as well. I still have lots to learn, but it’s exciting to see some progress from where I started. (If you want to see an example of my early photography skills, or lack of skills, see this Crepes post.)
So back to my love of food…
One food that I grew up eating, and I still love, is Corned Beef Hash. We always had the canned version, which I still like. But I prefer to not eat from a can, and I am a firm believer that FRESH is better than CANNED, for everything. So, a few years ago, I took a stab at homemade corned beef hash.
It really is SO simple. Once you get the brisket cooked, turning it into hash is a breeze. To cook the brisket I do it exactly the same as when preparing it for St. Patrick’s Day. So you could use left overs from then, of make a new brisket. 
To make hash, I don’t use the cabbage and carrots. You could add those in if you want, but it’s not necessary. I stick with the meat and potatoes, and I still cook the potatoes in the crock pot. If you have left over corned beef from St. Patty’s Day feel free to cook that up into some hash. At my house we never have enough left over, though.
After the brisket is cooked, I slice it against the grain, just like the Corned Beef post says.
Then I give all the meat a rough chop. I like a variety of sized chunks of meat. And I chop the potatoes as well. Throw the meat and potatoes into a hot pan, or skillet. You want the hash to get a little crispy. Let it cook for a minute or so, then stir and let it cook again. I even pat the hash down a little to get a good crisp on the edges. 
To me, hash is a breakfast food. (I even put ketchup on it! Just like my scrambled eggs.) 
So I usually serve hash with some toast and a fried egg on the side. But who says you can’t eat that for dinner?! 
But I think the real treat is doing it this way… (see photo below) There is an egg nestled right in the middle of the hash. I made a little wreath of aged white cheddar cheese to circle the egg, and then put the pan under the broiler for a minute. 
The broiler cooks the top of the egg, and melts the cheese. 
Mmm, that runny yolk is just calling for me to rub some toast in it. Seriously, so good, and easy.
Ingredients
- 1 corned beef brisket, 3-5 lbs (with seasoning packet)
- 4-5 potatoes
- water- enough to cover brisket
- black pepper (I like fresh ground pepper)
- 6+ eggs (optional)
- 6 oz aged white cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Remove brisket and seasoning packet from packaging. Place brisket, fat side up, in a large crock pot. Sprinkle seasonings from packet over the meat. Fill the crock pot with water, enough to cover the meat. Set crock pot to medium, and let cook for about 4 hours before adding potatoes. Cook for approximately 6-8 hours, until meat is tender.
- After 4 hours of cooking time, wash and cut the potatoes into large bite sized pieces. Put them in the crock pot with the brisket.
- When meat is tender, carefully remove the brisket from the crock pot and place it on a cutting board. Remove the layer of fat from the top, and slice the meat about 1 cm thick, cutting against the grain of the meat. Remove the potatoes from the crock pot and set aside.
- Give the meat a rough chop. You want the pieces fairly fine, but a few bigger chunks are ok, too. Chop the potatoes, about the same as the meat, maybe a little bigger.
- Heat a large pan or skillet over medium/ high heat. Put the chopped meat and potatoes into hot pan. Let them heat for a minute or two before stirring them. Add a generous amount of fresh cracked pepper, to your taste. Lightly press the hash down into the pan. Let heat again, trying to get the edges slightly crispy, before stirring and repeating. Hash is done when it has reached your desired level of crispy, and heats through. Should take less than 10 minutes.
- To add the egg, make a well in the middle of the pan, or several if making more than one serving. Crack the egg into the well. Lightly salt and pepper the egg. Heat on stove for 1 minute. Sprinkle the grated cheese around the edges of the egg. Place the pan under the broiler. Be sure it is safe to use under the broiler. Make sure the handle isn’t directly under the heat. Carefully watch the eggs, and remove from broiler when they are cooked enough for you. Should take about 1 minute, or less for a runny yolk.
- Serve warm.
Click here to see where I link up.
I love corned beef hash for any time of the day. I love that you used the crockpot for the corned beef – now I just have to get a crock pot!
I will eat Corned Beef hash for any meal as well, but it’s always served with the fried egg and toast. 🙂 I love breakfast for dinner!
My husband was so upset that I bought such a small corned beef brisket, for St Paddy’s day. He was hopping to get some hash too, LOL. This looks so delicious! Thanks so much for hosting as Simple Supper Tuesday.