Corned Beef Hash

Because there isn’t a good recipe on the web. They’re all fancy, or go on and on about it.

Ingredients

• Tin of corned beef. One average tin, two people

• Potatoes. Any will do (see variations). One big one each

• An onion

• Worcester Sauce

• Mustard

• Oil

• Tomato sauce

Yeh, I added tomato sauce because it’s the thing to do.

Tools

• Nothing special. If you can chop, all is good

Method

1. Chop the corned beef into lumps as big as your fingernail. Then mix in a bowl with Worcester Sauce and mustard

2. Scrub the potatoes. Chop, with skins, into lumps as big as your fingernail. Put the potatoes in a pan with water boiled from the kettle. Only enough water, maybe salt, then simmer

3. Chop the onions. Thin strips, quarters. Get the oil hot in a frying pan, very hot, throw in the onions. You want to burn the edges black, but don’t let them dry out to paper. Time for a song

4. Meanwhile, drain the potatoes (they’ve cooked for an onion chop and part of a song). Top with a lid or teatowel (will steam them a bit)

5. Tip the burned onions onto a plate

6. Very hot, fry the potatoes. Another song

7. Throw the onions and beef onto the potatoes. Shovel about for a last song

8. Turn the heat down, cover, fry the eggs, then dish out

Variations

• The oil is supposed to be tasteless, like sunflower or peanut (‘groundnut’) but I can taste nothing much against olive oil, if that’s what you have

• Why mash this? Beyond me (unless you have mash leftover)

• Potatoes are usually recommended to be floury, but honestly, any will do. Waxy ones take a few minutes longer. Anyway, what an annoying recipe direction floury/waxy is. Do you see potatoes labelled ‘floury’ or ‘waxy’ at your supermarket/veg‐shop? No.

• You can do without the Worcester Sauce and mustard if you like. They are the thing, and I wouldn’t call it ‘Corned Beef Hash’ without them. But if I was stuck I might throw in brown sauce. More likely, head off‐path with olive oil and rosemary

Feedback

Not a smash hit (I’ve had three of those), but all cleaned up by a very picky audience. Not a murmur. Believe me, that’s a sleeper hit, and I’d do it again anytime.