Tag: St. Patrick’s Day

Reversal of Fortune

Posted in Beef, Breakfast All Day, Eggs, Entree, Uncategorized, Vegetables2 Comments

On St. Paddy’s Day I am reminded of the joys and pleasures that come from a simple pot of corned beef.  For me, one of the best benefits is the corned beef hash that follows the big blow out.

If you happened to read the previous post then you know it all changed this year.  Because of that, I suddenly had a glorious portion of corned beef already cooked and ready to go before St. Paddy’s Day— If I so wished.

It was indeed an awesome awareness when I awoke this St. Paddy’s Day realizing  I could have my favorite corned beef hash for breakfast!

hash plate,Pepper
Easy Corned Beef Hash

In the past it would have taken another day before I pulled out the food processor or meat grinder to process the leavings of the previously cooked corned beef, cabbage, and boiled vegetables into a lux hash.

On this morning, I keep the hash at its essence:  mere sweet onion and corned beef, and into the pan it goes.  I break up a bit of the moist corned beef, but for the most part that’s not necessary.  It forms its own hash.

hash, tabasco

Joy upon joy, on this St. Paddy’s morning as Irish music lifts the air, breakfast breaks forth with sweet, succulent hash—miraculously transformed from a simple corned beef.

Easy Corned Beef Hash topped with Egg

Ingredients

Per 2 servings

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • ½ small sweet onion
  • 2-½ cups corned beef, chop and shred lightly
  • 2 eggs
  • Tabasco Sauce
  • Salt and pepper

  Directions

Set a skillet (with a lid) over a medium setting, add the butter and heat until bubbly. Add the onion and sauté to softened, 2 – 3 minutes.

Add the corned beef and gently combine with onion; sauté to heat the corned beef and the onion browns around edges. 3 – 5 minutes.

In the pan, form the hash into 2 serving portions, make a slight well in their centers and crack an egg into each.  Drizzle @ 1 tablespoon water around edges to create steam, and cover with lid. Cook 3 to 5 minutes until the eggs are set and cooked to personal preference.

Pass tabasco sauce, and salt and pepper.    Serves 2

An Unconventional St Paddy’s Day

Posted in Beef, Entree, Soup, Uncategorized, Vegetables1 Comment

I was raised outside of Boston, Mass. where St. Paddy’s Day is reason to celebrate like nobody’s business and a big corned beef and cabbage dinner is expected, without discussion.

Corned beef still pulses through my veins, but I have to admit, I’ve started picking at the traditional boiled dinner.  I love the corned beef—but I’m ok with smaller doses, and those vegetables are looking pretty boring.  More accurately, it’s the spicy cooking broth I’m after—that’s where all the flavor and nutrients go.

Then it hit me.  This year, instead of hunks of meat, cabbage, potatoes, onions and carrots, why not scale down to a stylized soup?  OMG, what a sacrilegious thought… Is it wrong to shirk tradition?  Well, how about a small adjustment?   No problem, I was game.

I started by ensuring the corned beef and the soup stock it yielded were not left to chance:  I precooked the corned beef with onion, garlic and my private selection of special spices: cloves are key, as are coriander and mustard seed, dried chile pepper, peppercorns and bay leaf.

Boiled Beef

Once the beef was tender, it was cooled and chilled. The stock was strained and sampled:  was it too salty, did it have enough flavor?  It needed nothing but chilling time to remove any excess fat.

The next day I was on a roll and again, bucked tradition:  into the soup pot went spunky kale rather than worn out cabbage. I piled in plenty of sweet root vegetables like carrots and turnip, along with good ole potato, onion, and more garlic plus a bit of tomato and green pepper for good luck. The luscious soup stock was added along with a handful of barley, another bay leaf, and a sprinkling of thyme.

The soup needs to simmer for about an hour—or 22 minutes in pressure cooker. Once the barley is cooked, the tender corned beef pieces are added to the soup and it can wait for 20-30 minutes.

corned beef soup
St Paddy’s Soup

There is so much going on with this soup, it needs nothing more.  No horseradish, no lively snips or squiggles required.  Seriously.

St Paddy’s Soup: Corned Beef, Kale, Root Vegetables and Barley

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs (or more!) uncooked corned beef (I used lean round)
  • 1 onion, divided
  • 1 clove garlic, slivers
  • Pickling spice:  ½ tsp coriander seed, ½ tsp mustard seed, 8 cloves, 12 peppercorns, 1 hot dried chile pepper seed and mince, 2 bay leaves (divided)
  • 6 cups water

Soup Additions

  • 2 carrots, peel, cut into small chunks
  • 3 red or 1 baking potato, part peeled, chop into bite-sized chunks
  • 1 turnip, peel, cut into small chunks
  • ½ poblano or similar pepper, seed & chop
  • 1 Roma tomato, seed & chop
  • 1 small head kale, trim center veins, chop
  • 1/3 cup barley
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ tsp thyme

 Directions

Cook the corned beef ahead:  trim and rinse the beef and place in soup pot or liner of multi-cooker along with ½ onion and garlic. Add the spices and 1 bay leaf.  Cover with water and simmer according to package instruction. If using multi cooker, bring to Hi Pressure and cook for 70 minutes.  Wait 10 minutes and slowly release pressure.

Remove corned beef from pot and allow to cool; cover and chill if not using soon.  Strain the broth, let cool; if time permits chill and skim off congealed fat.

When ready to prepare soup, cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and place in soup pot.  Taste the corned beef stock, if very salty dilute with water, the potato will absorb some of the salt. Measure in 6 cups stock.  Add the barley, thyme and fresh bay leaf.   Bring to a boil and cook for 40 minutes.  If using multi-cooker, set timer for 22 minutes. When complete, disconnect, let stand 10 minutes, then slowly release pressure.

Add 1-1/2 cups of corned beef cut into bite-sized chunks and gently heat.  Adjust seasoning and serve.  Serves: 8.

Post Paddy’s Day

Posted in Beef, Breakfast All Day, Eggs, Entree, VegetablesLeave a comment

St Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year—it’s right up there with another food day, Thanksgiving. Mid-March, my east coast roots tend to surface and the need for corned beef rages!

Of course, it wouldn’t be worth getting out of bed if I wasn’t secure in the knowledge that corned beef and cabbage were planned for later in the day.

Over the years, I’ve gotten in the habit of making more than necessary so there will be leftovers. One of the spoils of the day is the assurance that corned beef hash is also right around the corner.

Hash hardly requires a recipe. I used to grind the corned beef and vegetables in a meat grinder; later the grinder was replaced with the food processor.

Now, I simply mince up the cooked beef, chop up some of the boiled potatoes, carrots, onions—and perhaps toss in a bit of cabbage. Then, I give it a good mash to bind it all together, and drop it into a skillet, either in one mass or in separate patties, and cook until hot and crispy.

Add an egg or two and it’s a beautiful thing.

Post St. Paddy’s Day Corned Beef Hash

Ingredients
2 cups cooked corned beef, minced
2 cups mixture of leftover chopped potatoes, carrots and onions
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

  1. Place the corned beef and vegetables in a mixing bowl and gently mash to form cohesive mass. There should still be plenty of texture.
  2. Heat 10-12” skillet over medium heat and form the hash into patties. Place in the pan and heat until crisp on bottom, about 5-7 minute. Turn and repeat on second side. Serve with eggs of choice. Yield: 4-6 servings.