Getting
Mileage Out of Meat - Take 1
 |
| Leftover Roast Beef Hash with Cheddar Cheese |
Welcome back to
For The Culinarily Challenged's series on re-purposing leftovers!
In this entry,
we'll be looking at an easy way of re-purposing leftover meat. Have burgers leftover
from a BBQ? The leftover pieces of roast? A few pieces of cold cooked chicken? How
about some cold cuts that are perfectly edible but not enough for a decent
sandwich?
Try making HASH.
A hash is some
kind of cooked meat re-cooked with some potatoes. Though this recipe doesn't contain any, if you have some leftover vegetables, you can chop them up and cook them with the onions.
Hash is quick and delicious
on its own or as a side dish for any meal of the day. If you want to get extra fancy, top it with a fried egg.
See the image below.
Here's How You Do It
Difficulty
Level: Easy
Total
Prep and Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves
3
Ingredients
1/2
a Cup of Leftover Cooked Meat - cut into 1/4 inch cubes - This can be leftover roast beef, lamb, turkey,
pork, ham, or chicken, some cold cuts, chopped up cooked bacon, or even some cold
chicken fingers or nuggets you have leftover from a fast food dinner.
1
Cup of Cooked Potato - also cut into 1/4 inch cubes - this can be any leftover cooked potato
you have lying around. If you don't have leftovers, take some potatoes, wash them
well, stab them all over with a fork and stick them in the microwave on high
for three minutes. Poke the potatoes with a fork. If the tines slide in easily,
the potatoes are tender and good to go. If they are not, nuke them again, a
minute and a half at a time, testing each time, until they are. Don't have a microwave? No problem! You
can boil or roast the potatoes instead.
It will take about 20 minutes if you cut them up BEFORE cooking them. If
you're roasting them, be sure to coat them in a little olive oil first to make
sure they don't stick to your pan.
1
Medium Onion - Peeled and Sliced
1
Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1
Tablespoon of Butter
Salt
and Pepper - to taste
1/4
Teaspoon of Oregano
1
Teaspoon of Sugar
1/4
Teaspoon of Grated Garlic - OR - 1/2 a Teaspoon of Garlic Powder (aka Granulated
Garlic) - Grating garlic
is a more efficient way of getting fresh garlic flavor into something because
the pieces are so small that they are easily distributed throughout a dish. I offer garlic powder as an alternative because it keeps a lot longer,
the only disadvantage is that the flavor isn't as strong, so you need to use
more.
1/4
Cup of Water, Chicken Broth or Stock, or Balsamic Vinegar - This will help soften up the onions.
Parmesan - OR - Old Cheddar Cheese - finely grated - Optional - these cheeses are expensive, but they're a nice touch.
Equipment
1
Knife and Cutting Board
Measuring
Spoons
1
Frying Pan
1
Wooden Spoon
1
Regular Bowl
In
a pan on high heat, melt the butter and olive oil together. The oil will keep
the butter from burning too quickly.
Dump
in the onions, season them with a little salt, and sauté them in the pan until
soft. About 5 minutes
Lower
the heat and add the water or broth or balsamic vinegar and the sugar, and cook the
onions for about 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring with a wooden spoon to cook off the liquid and keep the onions from burning.
When the liquid has evaporated, dump the onions into a bowl and set
aside.
Season the potato pieces with salt,
pepper, and oregano and dump them in the same pan you cooked the onions in.
There should be some oil and butter left in the pan. If there isn't, add a
little more, say a teaspoon of each.
Raise the heat to medium and stir the
potatoes with a wooden spoon until they've turned golden brown on at least one side. See
the image below.
Add the grated or granulated garlic and
mix well.
Dump in the onions and stir so they're
evenly distributed among the potatoes.
Do the same with the meat, and cook until
everything is heated through. Should take less than a minute.
Taste the food and adjust the salt and
pepper to your taste.
Divide between 3 plates, and top with
cheese and a fried egg if desired.
Enjoy!
Stay tuned for next time when I'll be
showing you new ways to re-purpose leftover meats!
-Samantha R. Gold
Questions? Comments?
Requests?
Bring it on!
I can be reached at: for.the.culinarily.challenged@gmail.com
Trolls will be
unceremoniously deleted and dismissed.
