Parboiled potato, onion and tinned corned beef pressed into a hot pan and left alone until a dark crust forms underneath, topped with fried eggs and brown sauce.
Prep
15 mins
Cook
35 mins
Servings
4
Per serving
£1.90
Difficulty
easy
Hash rewards patience and punishes fiddling. The single most common mistake is stirring it, which breaks up the crust you are trying to build. Parboil the potatoes so they are cooked through before they hit the pan, then press everything down and leave it for a full five minutes at a time.
Boil the diced potatoes in salted water for 7 minutes, until a knife goes in but they still hold together firmly. Drain and leave to steam dry in the colander for 5 minutes.
Chill the corned beef in the fridge or even the freezer for 15 minutes first. Warm corned beef smears rather than cubes.
Melt the dripping in a large, heavy frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onions for 8 minutes until soft and golden at the edges.
Add the potatoes, spread everything into an even layer, season with the paprika, salt and pepper, and press down firmly with a fish slice. Now leave it completely alone for 5-6 minutes.
Resist stirring. You are building one crust at a time, and every stir destroys the one you have.
Turn the hash over in big sections rather than mixing, press down again and cook for another 5 minutes. Scatter over the corned beef cubes and the Worcestershire sauce and ketchup, fold through once, then press down and crisp for a final 6-8 minutes.
The corned beef goes in late — cooked too long it dissolves entirely into the potato.
Fry the eggs in a separate pan in a little more dripping, spooning the hot fat over the whites until the edges are lacy and the yolks still liquid.
Scatter the hash with parsley, slide the eggs on top and serve straight from the pan, with brown sauce and a mug of tea.