Campfire Corned Beef Hash and Eggs
Crispy corned beef and potato grated straight into the pan, topped with a fried egg and a few drops of hot sauce. One cast iron pan, fifteen minutes, and the whole camp is up.
Equipment
- 1 cast iron pan
- 1 box grater
- 1 wooden spatula
Ingredients
The hash
- 1 tin (340 g) corned beef or the equivalent in homemade or store-bought
- 4 potatoes peeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus a little more if the pan dries out
- salt and pepper to taste
On top
- 4-8 eggs one or two per person
- hot sauce to serve — Tabasco, for me
Instructions
At the fire
- Get a fire going. You do not need to start hours ahead for this one — a modest fire under a grate is plenty. Preheat a cast iron pan with the olive oil.
The hash
- Chop the corned beef with a knife and transfer it to the pan. Let it heat slowly and start to catch, so the edges go crispy.
- Grate the potatoes on a cheese grater directly over the pan, letting them fall into the beef and integrating the two as you go.
- Let it grill. Use a spatula to flatten the beef and hash against the pan, and if things get too dry add a little more oil. Turn it one section at a time and let each part crust for a few minutes, keeping an eye on it.
- When the potato and beef are evenly browned and crisp, set the hash aside, scrape the pan with a wooden spoon and pour in the rest of the olive oil.
The eggs
- Fry the eggs the way you like them — sunny side up or over easy. Plate the hash and lay the eggs on top.
- For those who like it hot, a few dabs of hot sauce. Personally, Tabasco.
Notes
Canned is fine. One 340 g tin feeds four with potatoes, keeps without refrigeration and crisps beautifully. For camping it is the better choice.
Grate, do not cube. The corned beef is already cooked. Cubed potatoes take far longer than the meat needs, and you burn the beef waiting for them.
For a crispier hash. Squeeze the grated potato in a cloth first, spread it flat in the pan, and then leave it alone long enough to form a crust before turning.
Substitutes. Leftover roast beef, smoked ham or good sausage out of its casing all work with exactly the same method.
Leftovers. Keep two days refrigerated and reheat well — back into a hot pan, pressed flat, until the bottom crisps again. Fry fresh eggs to go on top.