Corned Beef Hash Recipe

Corned Beef Hash is a classic American breakfast and that is what we are cooking up today. This delicious recipe is easy and tastes great. Crispy potatoes, corned beef, onions, and just a bit of time. Oh, and I like to use bacon grease, but I do give some alternatives that will also be wonderful! Give my Corned Beef Hash recipe a try today.

Corned Beef Hash Summary

Do you have some leftover corned beef from St. Patrick’s day or maybe you tried my Sous Vide Corned Beef recipe? Corned beef hash is a great way to use up the leftovers or if you just want a spectacular breakfast. 

I have a few tricks to make really good corned beef hash. Before I put my potatoes in the skillet for frying, I boil them just a bit in water and vinegar. This helps for crispiness. Then, I fry my corned beef for a few minutes to get the flavor in our pan, but then remove it. 

Then comes some bacon grease and our potatoes. We cook that for a good 20 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy. What next? More bacon grease and our onions. 

As a final step, I add back in my cooked corned beef and cook everything for a bit. Add some salt, pepper, paprika, and a dash of cayenne pepper if you like heat. Finally garnish with parsley and serve. This takes about 45 minutes to make and worth every minute. 

Some of my other breakfast recipes like the Dutch Baby Pancake Recipe and Swedish Pancakes recipe are great, but this one adds a bit of meaty substance to our breakfast.

Bacon Grease and Substitutes

An indulgent recipe calls for indulgent ingredients and today we are using bacon fat. When I cook my bacon, I store the grease and use it for some things when I want them to have some extra flavor. This dish already has a great flavor, but the bacon adds something special. 

If you don’t have bacon grease, use butter. Or you could use oil or lard. Any good fat will do. I think bacon is the best answer, but use what you have.

Parboil Potatoes with Vinegar

All parboiling is simply boiling a product until it is partially done. A good 10 minutes of boiling, or until slightly tender helps get the potatoes are done, but we also add vinegar.

Have you ever fried potatoes on your stovetop and had them fall apart? Almost like the potatoes lose their shape and perhaps are a bit mushy? Vinegar helps the potatoes keep their shape and will result in a better, crispier, hash. Just a tablespoon per quart of water gets the job done.

We are also adding salt to our water for flavor.  

What Kind of Potatoes To Use?

Look, you can probably use whatever potato you have. I have made hash with russet, red potatoes, and Yukon gold potatoes. I feel like you get a great combination of crispiness and flavor with Yukon gold, so that is what I call for in this recipe.

Don’t Rush Cooking The Potatoes

I know you might feel like you want to hurry up and get this breakfast done, but one thing that is very important to a good hash breakfast is time. We mostly cooked the potatoes during the parboil, but in the skillet is where we crisp everything up.

It takes about twenty minutes over medium-high to get your potatoes nice and crispy. Let your bacon grease liquify and then add your potatoes. Stir occasionally and make sure nothing ends up burnt. If things are getting a bit too dark, turn your heat down. 

Finishing Up

After your potatoes are done, we add a bit more bacon grease and our onions. Let those onions cook to completion. After that, add back in your corned beef, salt, pepper, and any other spices you want. 

I like my corned beef hash with eggs, so I cook those at the same time in a different pan. Some people cook their eggs right in the same skillet. I choose not to, as I think my eggs are more likely to break and I like them over-easy or sunny side up. 

Garnish everything with parsley and our hash is done! Serve it up.

History of Corned Beef Hash

Hash doesn’t need corned beef to be hash and is a dish that has a long history. The word originates from the French word hacher, which means ”to chop.” There is record of Hash going all the way back to the 14th century.

And it makes sense, right? Hash is just a bunch of leftovers that are chopped up, headed, and combined together. Hash is just a great meal and really is not limited to breakfast, although we have associated the word with breakfast over time.

Migration to America

The meal made its way to America and became a popular dish. By the 1860s, cheap restaurants were referred to as Hash Houses or a Hashery. Corned Beef seemed like a natural combination.

As Irish migrated to America, the taste for corned beef increased and the combination of the two fit really well. Corned beef was often served with potatoes and cabbage. A natural leftover dish would be a corned beef hash.

Canned corned beef became even more popular during and following world war II, as rationing limited the availability of fresh meat. Today, I just see it as a delicious breakfast, particularly when you are dealing with corned beef that I just made the day before. 

Corned Beef Hash Tips

• Use Yukon potatoes for the best results, but you can use whatever you have really
• Vinegar in the water for parboiling potatoes creates a crispier potato
• Take your time with the potatoes! 
• I use Bacon Fat, but butter, lard, or oil should work fine. 
• If you like a little zing, use cayenne pepper to spice it up

Products Used In This Recipe

• Skillet
• Colander
• Spatula

Did You Try This Recipe?

That makes me so happy! I hope you love this Corned Beef Hash recipe as much as I do. It is such a great classic American breakfast and I am so grateful that you tried my version. You could really do me a favor by leaving a comment and review below. Of course, I would love for you to share this on Facebook and Pinterest, but most of all I appreciate you for just visiting Ramshackle Pantry!

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