Foodservice operators, the best way for the road to rise up and meet you this St. Patrick’s Day is to do a wee bit o’ planning ahead. To help, the Gordon Food Service culinary team has assembled several corned beef hash recipes to bring cheer to your menu.
We’re excited to share recipes that include some global takes and some unique twists on traditional favourites. You should be excited too. This year, the holiday is on Sunday, March 17. That gives you and your team time to plan a week or more of shenanigans and menu selections that can lead up to a profitable start to the spring season.
The right combination of atmosphere and flavourful food can pay off. In 2023 The National Retail Federation estimated the average person spent about $44 for St. Patrick’s Day.
Corned Beef Hash – A Versatile Player
For 2024, it’s estimated that 29% of those who celebrate will do so at a bar or restaurant. All the more reason to call on corned beef hash and other simple ingredients to create dishes certain to delight guests. Corned beef hash also is a versatile solution for you and your guests.
“Corned beef hash can be used in a multitude of ways,” said Gordon Food Service Culinary Specialist Leo Asaro. “It’s something familiar that everyone can relate to and can be applied in ways far beyond breakfast service.”
Prepared corned beef hash saves valuable prep time compared to brining, slow roasting and turning that flat-cut brisket into hash. Prepared corned beef hash combines the cured brisket with potatoes and onions. It’s a dish many diners associate with breakfast bowls, but the opportunities don’t stop there.
Corned Beef Hash Goes International
Chef Leo and Chef David Evans created eight thoughtful and inviting recipes that may change the way you consider corned beef hash. They include ideal ways to amp up your menu leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, and they are versatile enough to join your everyday culinary lineup.
With a little creativity, corned beef hash is an excellent ingredient in appetizers, sides and entrées. This dish already is a traditional Irish favourite, so Chef Leo added other international approaches and flavours. Here are five easy-to-execute ideas:
1. Pupusa Corned Beef Hash. Mash up an Irish favourite with a street food considered to be El Salvador’s national dish. Papusas are tortilla-sized cornmeal flour (or rice flour) cakes stuffed with your choice of ingredients. In this version, the corned beef hash is combined with a tres queso blend, charro beans and chili crisp. The meaty filling is sealed inside sandwiched griddle cakes and served like a plate of pancakes, often with pickled vegetables or salsa as a side.
2. Gyro Corned Beef Hash. This is a simple take on a Greek favourite. Instead of shaving off meat that’s been seared on a spit, take a serving of corned beef hash and roll it into a warm piece of pita bread filled with tabbouleh, cherry pepper tahini, tzatziki and crumbly feta cheese. It looks great on a plate in place of a burger or sandwich, and it’s also easily wrapped and made available for takeout.
3. Empanadas with Corned Beef Hash. These small Spanish-style turnovers make a perfect appetizer or entrée. Simply fold a small circle of dough around a helping of corned beef hash, salsa verde, queso fresco and cilantro, then seal the dough with the tines of a fork and bake or deep-fry. Serve with a ramekin of sour cream or other dipping sauce.
4. Morning Meatballs Corned Beef Hash. As everyone knows, corned beef hash is a regular on the breakfast menu. That doesn’t mean it always has to look like breakfast – or be limited to morning menus only. For this recipe, form a meatball with the corned beef hash, serve it in a small pool of marinara sauce, top with a cured egg, truffle aioli and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. It’s breakfast food if you like, but it’s also suited to be an entrée. You can even serve it on a bed of pasta as a spaghetti and meatball plate.
5. Corned Beef Hash Cakes. You didn’t think we’d forget a seafood-style presentation, did you? In this nod to crab cakes, corned beef hash takes the place of the shellfish. The hash is made into a puck-shaped cake with Calabrian chili aioli and chives, then topped with hollandaise sauce for service.
Some Surprise Places for Corned Beef Hash
If international corned beef hash offerings are not your style, there’s still room for some new twists on traditional recipes. Surprise treatments are key here. They will intrigue your guests to try corned beef hash as if for the first time.
“Ireland is a leader on the world culinary stage for utilizing and encompassing the terroir for culinary excellence, all the while being classical and quirky,” Chef David said.
Here are three of his simple-to-prepare examples featuring corned beef hash:
1. Corned Beef Hash Tots. The tater tots craze that won’t stop reinvents itself in a dish that’s a distant cousin to poutine. This one could have possibilities as an appetizer, a side dish, or a main course. It’s made by adding a bed of corned beef hash to the bottom of a cast-iron skillet. The hash gets covered with tots, scattered randomly or shaped in a circular pattern around the skillet. Douse with gravy or sprinkle with cheese for service if you like.
2. Fried Corned Beef Hash Spring Roll. This idea joins the best parts of Asian egg rolls and potstickers. Simply place corned beef hash and pickled vegetables in a wonton wrapper, roll it together and deep-fry until the wrapper is crisp. For a version that’s not fried, create a Vietnamese-style spring roll. Use the same filling, roll it in a rice paper wrapper and serve cool.
3. Pulled Corned Beef Over Potato Hash Cubes. The larger pieces of meat and potato wedges (fried or oven-baked) make this more hearty than standard hash. Top it with parsley or chives and make it a complete meal by adding a side of beans, slaw or a couple of poached eggs.
Options Beyond Corned Beef Hash
A St. Patrick’s Day menu can include many other Irish-inspired choices. Our team of culinary specialists also assembled a toolkit that includes recipes ranging from the classic to the elevated. You can ask us about recipe titles that include Drunken Mussels with Fresh Bangers, Scotch Egg Burger, Blackberry Glazed Leg of Lamb, and Cheddar Cheese Mousse.
Even if it is not your tradition to sell green beer, Guinness stout or Irish whiskey, there’s room on your menu to prepare food using marinades or sauces made with these beverages. There also are dessert possibilities, such as the Sienna Bakery Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake.
Your Gordon Food Service team is always ready to help you satisfy customers and generate profits, whether it’s for St. Patrick’s Day or other menu needs.
As the Irish blessing goes: “Happiness being a dessert so sweet, may life give you more than you could ever eat.”
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