Corned Beef Hash and Pasties

I've never really been into corned beef hash, even though I love potatoes, probably because I've only ever had the canned kind. Which is gross.

But I had all this leftover corned beef from making the St. Patrick's Day maki and saw this recipe, so I figured I might as well try. Actually, I did more than try; I went to Whole Foods at 8 am in the morning to get some onions because we were out just so I could try this recipe. And boy am I glad I did. Homemade corned beef hash is so exponentially better than the canned stuff, and it's pretty easy to make too!

Corned Beef Hash (based on this recipe from Simple Recipes)
serves 4-6

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter or duck fat (guess which one I used)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2-3 cups finely chopped, cooked corned beef
2-3 cups chopped cooked potatoes, preferably Yukon gold (I used Idaho potatoes, and it was fine)
Salt and pepper

Heat butter or fat in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium heat. Add the onion and cook a few minutes, until translucent.

Mix in the chopped corned beef and potatoes. Spread out evenly over the pan. Increase the heat to high or medium high and press down on the mixture with a metal spatula.

Do not stir the potatoes and corned beef, but let them brown. If you hear them sizzling, this is good. Use a metal spatula to peek underneath and see if they are browning. If nicely browned, use the spatula to flip sections over in the pan so that they brown on the other side. Press down again with the spatula. If there is too much sticking, you can add a little more butter to the pan. Continue to cook in this manner until the potatoes and the corned beef are nicely browned.

Remove from heat, and add salt to taste. Serve with fried or poached eggs for breakfast.

So now I had all this leftover corned beef hash and thought, "Why don't I try making pasties out of them?" No, not that kind of pasties, the Cornish kind. They're kind of like empanadas or those beef curry turnovers, but from England. When I visited a few years ago I tried them everywhere I could find them. Not only are they quite tasty, but they're perfect for tourists because you can eat them on the run. While doing some research about them, I found out that sometimes they had two internal pockets: one savory and one sweet so it was like a two course meal in one! I decided to just stick with the corned beef hash filling, though, and added some of the leftover cabbage as well.

Corned Beef Hash Pasties
makes 4

2 pie crusts
Leftover corned beef hash
Leftover boiled cabbage, diced
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Roll out the pie crusts and cut out one 8" circle in each, using a saucer or lid as a guide. Re-roll the remaining dough out and cut out 2 more circles.

Mix the corned beef hash and diced cabbage together.

Fill each pie dough circle with about a 1/2 cup corned beef hash mixture. Fold and crimp the edges to seal. You can watch this video to see how I do it for the beef curry turnovers.

In a small bowl, add a little water to the egg yolk and beat well. Brush on the top of the pasties. If you like, cut out a decoration with any leftover pie dough and adhere to the pasty using the egg wash. I started with the heart and decided to put a diamond, spade, and club on the other 3.

Bake in the oven for 18 minutes or until golden brown.

There's something so yummy and filling about meat pies. I think the pie crust really accentuates the savory fillings, kind of like how garlic bread really goes well with spaghetti. Ooh, now there's a thought: garlic butter brushed toaster pockets filled with spaghetti.... If only I still had my little toaster sandwich maker.....

By the way, I'm headed up to Tremblant and Montreal this weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do/where to eat? I'm thinking L'Express for dinner, Juliette et Chocolat for dessert, and Eggspectations for brunch. Sigh, unfortunately we'll only be spending 24 hours in Montreal....

St. Patrick's Day Maki

So after I blogged about receiving cabbage in my bi-weekly Boston Organics delivery and asked what to do with it, I had multiple people suggest making corned beef and cabbage since St. Patrick's Day was coming up. Well, I'm not really into boiled dinners (other than ramen, haha), but I did see this link on The Kitchn for corned beef and cabbage rolls and thought it was a cute idea. The dipping sauce seemed a little difficult to make, however, compared to the ease of making the rolls so skipped that part and decided to add mashed potatoes inside the rolls instead so it would look more like a normal maki roll.

St. Patrick's Day Maki (adapted from here)
makes 24 rolls

2 medium sized Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons milk
Salt to taste
1 medium size head of green cabbage
1 1/2 lbs. cold corned beef

Add the cubed potatoes to a large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are soft when you insert a knife.

Drain and transfer to a medium bowl. Add butter and milk and mash until there are no lumps. Salt to taste and set aside to cool.

Start boiling a large pot of water.

Gently peel off the cabbage leaves, keeping them whole. In two batches, simmer the leaves for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Transfer from the pot to an ice-water bath. Pat the leaves dry and set aside.

Slice the corned beef into long strips.

Lay out a single cabbage leaf. Spread mashed potatoes over the bottom 2 inches, and place 2-3 strips of corned beef in the middle of the potatoes. Roll the cabbage leaf up tightly. After all the leaves are rolled, cut into bite-sized pieces and serve.

I found that the maki was flavorful enough not to need a dipping sauce, but I guess you can use a mustard or honey mustard if you really want. I brought these to a party on Saturday and didn't get to ask anyone what they thought of them, but when I went back at the end of the night, they were all gone except for two pieces, so I assume people liked them. =) Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Next up: What to do with leftover corned beef and potatoes:  Corned Beef Hash (and Pasties)!