Corned Beef Hash!

Last St. Patricks Day something happened to me. I became obsessed with corned beef. I ate leftovers for a week and then I wanted to make another one. This NEVER happens to me... in most cases, I HATE leftovers...... Then, I started ordering it everywhere. Before I'd never thought a thing of it, I didn't understand the hype. And the boiled cabbage.... ew.

 Now, I'm a corned beef eating machine.

I love cooking at home because I have control over how much salt, butter, sugar etc goes into the food I'm eating.

 So I went to the store, grabbed myself a 2.5 delicious pounds of brisket and got to work.

The corned beef (which is brisket that has been pickled or brined) normally comes with a spice packet. I dumped the spice packet along with a beer and some water to cover the brisket (fat side up!!) in a pot. I turned the stove on, brought it to a roaring boil then turned it down to simmer, covered for 2 hours. (I have found it takes about 1 hour per pound of brisket). The house smelled so good the entire time this baby was simmering away, and its so easy.

What you'll need for the corned beef:

• One 12 oz. beer
• One beef brisket (corned beef and spice packet)
• Water

Meanwhile, I started on my cabbage.

A few years ago my boyfriend and I got sick of the old boiled cabbage and decided to turn it up. We sliced it thin and sauteed the cabbage with some onions, salt, pepper and BUTTER! It turned out sooooo good. My trick with the butter is to add it at the end so you get the flavor by using less butter and you can avoid a ton of calories. Or you can use half olive oil and half butter, this also keeps the butter from burning. Cook the cabbage until its tender, about 10 minutes, after about 5 minutes I cover it to let it steam for the last 5 minutes.

What you'll need for the cabbage:

• 1 head of green cabbage (sliced medium to small)
• 1 medium onion (sliced medium to small)
• 1-2 tbs olive oil
• 1-2 tbs butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Once the corned beef comes out of the water, I cut most of the fat off the top.

If you are going to use it later, I wrap it in foil and let it cool for an hour or two on the counter then I stick it in the fridge (you can cut the fat off once its cooled, its much easier). If not, you can cut it up while its nice and hot and serve it with the cabbage! Always remember to cut AGAINST THE GRAIN!

Now, for the important part and why we are all here...... the hash:

What you'll need: 

• 2 cups of diced up corned beef
• 1 cup cooked cabbage
• 3 yukon gold potatoes
• 1 orange bell pepper (diced)
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1-2 tbs butter
• salt and pepper

I take the cooled corned beef and diced it up pretty small, the size is all about preference.

I start by warming up my iron skillet (these things seriously rock) on medium/high heat and get it nice and hot before I add my ingredients. I dice up my yukon gold potatoes pretty small, so they cook quicker, and throw it in the skillet with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I turn down the heat a little bit to about medium/low so it doesn't burn, remember to stir every once in a while! Then I dice up an orange bell pepper and an onion and toss it in with the potatoes after about 5 minutes. I salt and pepper every layer of my cooking, salt and pepper when the potatoes go in and again when the veggies go into the skillet, etc. Once the potatoes are nice and tender add the corned beef and some of the cooked cabbage. Stir it all up and Voila! Delicious corned beef hash!

Serve with toast and an egg.

My boyfriend likes scrambled eggs so I decided to throw his hash in with the cooking scrambled egg, toss some cheddar cheese in and he was a happy camper.

There's so many different ways you can do it, but this way is honestly so delicious!

Then if you have left over corned beef, throw it on a nice soft roll or some bread with a little mayo and some of the cabbage for a delicious sandwich! or you can make more hash ;)!

Enjoy!