Pastrami Hash

Corned beef hash often conjures thoughts of pink glop from a can, seared in a pan until crusty. The canned stuff looks and smells like dog food.  But home made? It is a crispy chewy and tender delight.

The word hash comes from old French  "hacher" - to cut up, (derivative of hache ax, hatchet) so anything chopped up and cooked in pan can rightfully be called a "hash".

But I digress, and I'm hungry. I've got some pastrami that I made and a few left over baked potatoes. Sounds like makings of hash to me!

You can make hash out of almost anything, leftover meat (chicken, beef, pork), some chopped vegetables but I think potatoes are a necessary ingredient.

My best tip for this is to cook the components separately before combining them at the end. They all have different cook times so this method gives you more control than if you were to just put them all in the pan at the same time.

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
Bacon
Diced potatoes
Sliced onion
Diced pastrami

Crisp up the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat - rendering the fat.

While I was doing this, I found some mushrooms in the crisper, so I chopped them up as well.

After the bacon is crisp and the fat is in the pan , remove the bacon  to a paper towel covered plate.

Add the onions and mushrooms, reduce heat to medium low. You want to stew the onions, not brown or crisp them.

Remove the cooked vegetables to a plate.

Add the chopped pastrami (or corned beef or chicken or pork or...)

The pastrami rendered a little fat, and while it took on a pretty dark red (cured meat reacting with heat) and looks crispy, it is in fact meltingly tender.

Remove from pan, add the potatoes and increase the heat to medium high.

Add a spot of oil if needed. I wanted the potatoes to have a crunchy golden crust.

Add the meat, and onion/mushroom mixture back to the pan.

Toss together and heat through. Serve with a fried egg on top. My friend Marcy gave me that egg from her chickens. Some folks might like ketchup, others a splash of vinegar based hot sauce. Do as you like.

Sweet onion, peppery pastrami, crispy potatoes awash in egg yolk. A darn fine breakfast!

For breakfast, lunch, or dinner; hash is a great way to use up what's on hand.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging.

The Gastronomic Gardener

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