Beef Leftovers

[Mottmott]

Double thanks to FG. I've made chicken stock many times, but this was my first venture into beef stock. Wonderful: a large tub of jelly-like reduced stock and several bags of stock in the freezer. And thanks also for the Chefmate pot recommendation. The one I've used for chicken wouldn't be large enough for the beef bones and meat.

I also have a couple lbs of beef leftovers. I'm going to freeze some away to use in empanadas when I get a chance to make them, but I thought I'd use the rest in some hash. Believe it or not, I've never made hash before and the few recipes I googled up look look bland. Any suggestions for using this meat up?

[Katherine]

I never have leftover potatoes, so I fry the potatoes up like homefries first, and add the rest of the stuff at the last minute, which leaves the potatoes still crispy.

HASH

1/4 cup beef fat trimmed from cooked beef, diced, or solid fat removed from the top of the chilled stock (you saved it, didn't you?) or butter or oil

2 cups diced potatoes

1 large onion

1/2 diced red pepper (optional)

1-2 cups of meat, diced

seasonings

4 eggs, for poaching

If using trimmed beef fat, fry until cubes are rendered and set them aside. Divide fat up between 2 frying pans. In the first, on high, put the diced potatoes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are attractively brown. Season with salt, plenty of crushed Korean red pepper, some hot pepper or paprika, and freshly ground black pepper. Lower the heat to medium and cover.

Meanwhile, in the second frying pan, saute the onion over medium heat until it starts to become translucent, add the diced red pepper (if you are using it), heat for a few minutes, stirring a few times. Then add the meat, season, and cover the pan, heating until all is soft and moist.

To serve, mix the two together, and taste to adjust the seasonings. Serve topped with the poached eggs, with buttered toast on the side.

To eat, smash the poached eggs into the hash, and mix well. Douse with enough ketchup to qualify as a vegetable in the USDA school lunch program.

Yum.

[fifi]

Katherine... Any chance you could put that recipe in the Archive? That sounds like a great way to use the stock pot meat. I am assuming that is what you are doing. I will be making another batch of beef stock in a couple of weeks and will want to be able to retrieve this recipe. This looks way better than some other recipes that I have seen. The two pan approach solves the common problem of not having any leftover potatoes.

I do have to remember to save the skimmed fat. I would have never thought about doing that before the lesson.

[Katherine]

Katherine... Any chance you could put that recipe in the Archive? That sounds like a great way to use the stock pot meat. I am assuming that is what you are doing. I will be making another batch of beef stock in a couple of weeks and will want to be able to retrieve this recipe. This looks way better than some other recipes that I have seen. The two pan approach solves the common problem of not having any leftover potatoes.

I do have to remember to save the skimmed fat. I would have never thought about doing that before the lesson.

[getting philosophical]There are many ways to make a hash. This is what I'm into now. I tend to think, though, that for me, it would be a matter of a different way to assemble the same ingredients, whereas other ingredients lists might be too bland or not balanced to my taste. (Hold the garlic, puhlease!)[/getting philosophical]

Actually, this recipe derives from my oven-roasting of brisket. With Walmart brisket, there's always plenty of fat. Beef fat goes well in a beef risotto (between that and the jus I added, my daughter couldn't stop talking about how the beef flavor exploded in her mouth), Chinese stirfry with beef, possibilities are endless.

Maybe Marlene can post it. The software wouldn't accept units when I tried to import my ingredients list. It won't let me edit them in, either.

Edited August 23, 2003 by Katherine (log)

[fifi]

I would be glad to try to put it in for you but I don't know how to do that and accredit it to you. I think we will have to rely on Marlene. I see this as a "technique" recipe with a lot of latitude for ingredients and seasonings. That makes it a particularly useful recipe to capture.

Marlene... Where ARE you?

[Mottmott]

Thanks Katherine. It looks great, though I think I'll omit the eggs as I am already going to cholesterol hell for the drippings.

And yes, I did save the fat. Isn't it curious how many of the things most people throw out are the very items that help take your cooking to another level? Shrimp shells, beef, veal, and chicken bones, feet, parsley stems, the seeds from the apricot pit, etc. And I never, never throw away chicken fat. Cholesteral notwithstanding.