Homemade Corned Beef Hash Recipe – Savory & Easy

Our corned beef hash recipe is the perfect way to transform leftover corned beef into a crispy, golden, deeply flavorful side for your favorite breakfasts, or as the star of your next brunch. So, whether you’re craving diner-style comfort food or something quick and satisfying, this easy hash recipe has got you covered.

Whether as a side to fried eggs, the ‘potato’ for seared steaks, or even as a filling for tacos, what truly makes this recipe shine is how versatile and simple it is. With just a few basic ingredients and some quick sautéing, you can whip up a batch of Corned Beef Hash in minutes flat. No, seriously, check out the printable recipe card below this recipe could not get easier.

Now, without further introduction, let’s get to it. Read on for a recipe overview, a complete ingredient checklist, tips for making the best hash possible, and a printable recipe card.

Recipe Overview – What to Expect

The ultimate comfort food, a good Corned Beef Hash should be a pleasant mix of rich and savory goodness, with subtle sweet undertones contrasting against a salty background. With that in mind, our beef hash recipe is intended to transform leftover corned beef into a hearty, satisfying skillet meal with crispy potatoes and golden onions.

Taste and Texture: In terms of flavor, this recipe cooks up savory and meaty. We’ve got rich meatiness from the leftover beef, with a hearty texture provided by the potatoes. The caramelized onions add sweetness and oniony depth, while the scallions provide some fresh contrast.

Preparation Process: Our recipe has about four basic steps, none of which are difficult or complex, I promise. Here’s a quick breakdown of what prepping our corned beef has entails.

• Prep the Potatoes: Boil and then dice the potatoes. Simple.
• Shred the Beef: After prepping the potatoes, we shred the corned beef. Easy.
• Caramelize the Onions: Sauté the onions in a dry cast iron pan, seasoning with sugar and salt. Once they’re golden, add olive oil for moisture and richness.
• Combine Ingredients: Finally, we combine all of the ingredients in the pan (I’m using a large cast iron skillet) with onions, and sauté over medium heat for a couple of minutes to meld the flavors. And we’re done.

Pairings: You don’t need me to tell you that corned beef hash pairs well with all manner of breakfast or brunch staples. Instead, here are some of my go-to pairings.

• Breakfast: The best pairing would be fried eggs with toast or a bagel. Diner-style pancakes would also be a delicious pairing. You could also pack this beef hash inside of a hardy breakfast biscuit with eggs and cheese.
• Creative Uses: Stuffed in taco shells, preferably crunchy shells, with plenty of cheese and spicy sauce. That’s probably my favorite creative use for hash.
• Sides: In a brunch setting, I would suggest balancing out the richness of the hash with lighter sides. Think melon slices, a crisp apple and fennel slaw, or a peppery arugula salad with a lemon vinaigrette.
• Beverages: Whether served with breakfast or brunch, I can’t imagine serving corned beef hash without a good cup of coffee. Aside from that, you might also consider fresh fruit juices, or even a Moscato if you’re serving the hash part of a brunch spread.

Difficulty Level: Couldn’t be easier, and well suited for home cooks of all skill levels. All this recipe entails is some basic cooking techniques like boiling, dicing, and sautéing ingredients in a large pan. Seriously, it doesn’t get much more straightforward than this.

Leftovers: There are two aspects to this recipe when it comes to leftovers. How to store leftover corned beef hash, and how to use up leftovers to make corned beef hash. Let’s take a look at both.

• Storing Leftovers: Pop any leftover beef hash into an airtight container, and they can stay that way in the fridge for up to about 3 or 4 days.
• Using Up Leftover Beef: Corned beef hash is best made with leftover beef. I mean it! Don’t make beef hash with fresh beef – just don’t do it. Why? Because you actually ‘want’ the flavors of the leftover beef the next day. Let’s say you’ve got leftover corned beef from St. Patrick’s Day, it’s got all of those good spices and flavors from being boiled with the holiday’s usual veggies. All of that flavor gets transferred into the beef hash, and that’s what you want. Really, think of this recipe as a great way to use up things like leftover pot roast, beef brisket, or even leftover roast beef.

Ingredient Checklist – Everything You’ll Need

As mentioned above, this recipe is an easy way to use up leftover beef, and one of the great things about this recipe is that it doesn’t require any hard to find or expensive ingredients. With that said, here’s everything you’ll need;

• Cooked shredded corned beef:
  • Tip: You can use leftover corned beef from a previous meal or purchase pre-cooked corned beef from the deli section of your grocery store. Any leftover beef will work.
  • Substitutions: As mentioned earlier, this recipe works just fine with almost any leftover meat, even leftover steak or pork.
• Medium-sized potatoes, cooked and diced:
  • Tip: The kind of potatoes you use isn’t terribly important, but I do recommend choosing starchy potatoes like Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes for the best texture. Red potatoes also work great.
  • Note: This is important. You want to boil the potatoes until fork-tender, then allow them to cool before dicing to prevent them from becoming mushy. You want tender potatoes, not potatoes that are ready to be mashed.
• Sweet onions, sliced thin:
  • Note: You can use Vidalia, Walla Walla, or any other sweet onion variety for a milder flavor. Yellow onions will also work nicely in this recipe.
  • Tip: Slicing the onions thinly helps them caramelize evenly and adds sweetness to the dish.
• Scallions, chopped:
  • Note: Scallions add a fresh, mild onion flavor and a pop of color to the dish.
  • Substitution: If scallions are not available, you can substitute with chopped chives or omit them altogether.
• Sugar:
  • Note: A small amount of sugar helps caramelize the onions and enhances their natural sweetness.
  • Substitution: You can use white or brown sugar, or substitute with a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup.
• Salt:
  • Note: Salt works to bind and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
  • Tip: That said, feel free to adjust the amount of salt based on your taste preferences and the saltiness of the corned beef. Some like a saltier hash, I prefer a bit more balance.
• Coarse ground black pepper:
  • Tip: As always, freshly ground black pepper works best.
  • Substitution: Pre-ground is a perfectly suitable stand in.
• Olive oil:
  • Note: We’re using olive oil for sautéing the onions, potatoes, and corned beef.
  • Substitutions: You can substitute the oil with bacon fat, vegetable oil, or even clarified butter if desired. However, I personally find that olive oil works best, but experiement and see what you prefer.

Tips for Preparing the Best Corned Beef

Here are my top nine tips for preparing the perfect Corned Beef Hash every time.

1. Use a large skillet: Personally, I never cook on anything but cast iron, so I’m using a large cast-iron skillet for today’s recipe. But really, any heavy-bottomed skillet will work. While you don’t really need to worry about ‘overcrowding’ the pan with this recipe, you do want to have enough room for turning and flipping the hash as it warms. This allows for even cooking and better caramelization.
2. Preheat the skillet: Before adding any ingredients, preheat your skillet over medium heat. Again, we want medium heat, not high heat. We don’t want the potatoes burning. Also, you want the onions to start sizzling as soon as they touch the pan, as this promotes caramelization and flavor melding.
3. Caramelize the onions: It is true that caramelizing the onions is ‘technically’ optional, and a lot of diners just toss the onions in raw with the potatoes and beef and let them cook down that way. And yes, you can prepare today’s recipe that way if you’re short on time. However, I promise that caramelizing the onions is ‘very’ worth it.
4. Cook the potatoes until golden: The texture and ‘richness’ of this recipe comes in large part from the diced potatoes, and that means you need to get the potatoes right. That means you want the potatoes to be allowed to cook until golden. To do this, after you add the potatoes to the skillet, spread them out in an even, single layer, and let them cook without disturbing them, until they have developed a crispy, golden exterior without becoming mushy. Then flip, and let them cook like that again on the other side so that they are nice and golden on both sides. Basically, we want good crust on the potatoes.
5. The corned beef and scallions: Do not add the corned beef until the potatoes have become golden, because we do not want to overcook the corned beef, lest we dry it out. Instead, only add the shredded corned beef and scallions to the skillet ‘after’ the potatoes have reached their golden brown color. After that, we toss everything together over medium heat, allowing the flavors to meld.
6. Prevent sticking: Sticking is the enemy of a good corned beef hash. And when it comes to preventing sticking, I personally prefer olive oil – at least for this recipe. While you can certainly use butter, I think olive oil really gets the job done better, since it’s easier to ensure that the bottom of the pan is evenly coated using olive oil. I would ‘not’ suggest using vegetable oil, since you want the flavor of either the olive oil or butter for the hash. That means add in olive oil, and then either brush it or swirl it around in the pan until the pan is evenly coated. Add more oil as needed during cooking to prevent sticking. Remember – too much sticking will very quickly ruin your beef hash.
7. Cover and steam: Once everything is combined, it’s time to do some steaming. Nothing complicated, all this involves is covering the skillet, and letting the hash cook like that for the last few minutes. This traps in moisture, preventing the hash from drying out, while also ensuring that the hash is heated through and tender. Think of this last step as ‘maximizing deliciousness.’
8. Adding Moisture: As I mentioned earlier, I prefer olive oil for this recipe, both to prevent sticking ‘and’ to add moisture, but don’t feel constrained by that. For example, you could use olive oil to coat the pan to prevent sticking, but then add in butter or beef broth during the cooking process for added flavor and moisture. This really is just a matter of preference.
9. Get Creative: Feel free to add in things like fresh garlic cloves, bacon fat, red or green peppers, Worcestershire sauce, spicy chilis, or even a dash of hot sauce. Get creative!

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And that’s our Homemade Corned Beef Hash Recipe. If you enjoyed this recipe, or have any questions or suggestions, be sure to let us know in the comments below. We always love hearing from you!

Happy Cooking!

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