Bacon Hash

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There are some meals that were made to be eaten after a night out.  This is most definitely one of them.  In fact, the first time that I made this dish to post on Macheesmo, the night before was such a long night out on the town that all of the photos were horrible and I burned every part of the meal.

So I had to make it again.  My point though is that if you are capable of making something in a hungover state, I would encourage you to try this.

It’s like corn beef hash, except with bacon and it is crispy and delicious.  Once you get the technique for making hash though, you can really go crazy with it.  When I made the bacon version, I also made a more standard version with just potatoes, onions, and garlic, and then a third version with granny smith apples!

There isn’t really a recipe exactly for this dish because you can vary it greatly depending on how much you are making and what ratio of potatoes to other stuff you like.  For the bacon hash though, this is what you’ll need:

- Large Russet Potatoes, I usually assume about a potato per person and maybe a bit more.  If I’m feeding four, I start with 5 potatoes.  Leftovers are usually not an issue.
- Bacon! Good thick bacon is what you want here. You’ll need 2-3 strips per serving.
- Onions.  I like normal white onions.  One onion will be plenty for 4-5 servings.
- Garlic. Optional, but highly recommended.
- Salt and pepper
- Oil for frying.  I prefer Canola.

- Other stuff? Sometimes I throw in spices like paprika, or cayenne if I want some heat. You could use other mix-ins like leeks, apples, corned beef, leftover turkey, and the list goes on…

The hash. So you probably noticed that hash is really just potatoes cut into tiny cubes.  Yes, this most likely means you will have to cut potatoes into tiny cubes, unless you have a fancy cubing machine (I don’t even know if they make those.)  The best plan for cubing potatoes, or anything really is the following:

- Wash it.  Scrub the potatoes well to get off any dirt.  I like to leave the skins on for a more rustic result. You could peel them though I guess.
- Sheets. This is the first step in making cubes. Cut your potato into horizontal sheets about 1/2 inch thick.
- Planks.  Second, cut vertically down the sheets to form 1/2 inch planks or sticks.  If you were making fries, you would be done!
- Cubes.  Finally turn the planks and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes.

Once you get the hang of it, you can chop up potatoes pretty quickly.  I think I can do a potato or two a minute without a problem.  Of course, my speed at this task is inversely proportional to the amount of beer I had the night before.

Here’s one photo that attempts to capture each of the three phases.

Trick #1.  There are two basic tricks to making perfectly crispy and wonderful potatoes.  The first trick is that you need to wash off some of the starch that it is on the potato surface.  This means giving them a water bath.  As you cut them up, just toss them in a large bowl of cold water.

Let them sit for at least 5 minutes and swoosh them around some.

The really nice thing about this is that it means you can prep the potatoes the night before if you want.  They can sit in water in the fridge overnight without a problem.

The water will be murky and starchy.

For the bacon, I tried par-cooking it a bit in the oven for about 8 minutes as I was a bit worried that it wouldn’t get crispy enough when I mixed it in with the potatoes if I started with raw bacon.

This worked okay, but you run the risk of burning the bacon.  If I did it again, I think I would start with raw bacon and just mix it in with the potatoes that way.  Because the bacon is cubed, it should crisp up just fine.  So I would advice against cooking it in advance after trying it that way.

Trick #2. The microwave.  It is a very rare day on Macheesmo that you will see me advocating the use of a microwave, but it’s really the best way to get the job done here.  The goal is to just cook the potatoes a bit.  This will cook out some of the moisture and make sure they get super crispy when we fry them later.

For the purists out there who shun the microwave, there are two other ways you could accomplish this: 1) blanching the potatoes in boiling water for just a few minutes.  2) Deep frying the potatoes at a much lower temperature, like 300, for a few minutes.

But I think microwaving is much faster and gets the job done just as well for this purpose.  Just drain your potatoes out of the murky water and put them in a bowl and microwave on high for about 2 minutes.  Then give them a stir and microwave for maybe another minute if they are still very hard.

They should be softened and steaming, but not mushy at all.

Then you can mix in your onion, bacon, garlic, and salt and pepper.

One more quick note about the microwave deal.  If you are making a lot of these potatoes, then it would actually be faster to use one of the other methods I mentioned.  The microwave really only makes sense if you are just making a few servings.

Cooking the hash. In your best nonstick skillet, heat up a few Tablespoons of Canola oil.  Once it is hot, add your hash mix!  These will probably take between 10-15 minutes to cook over medium high heat.

The potatoes will shrink a bit.  Be sure to stir them every few minutes also.  If you notice that they are browning really quickly, then turn down the heat.

I also picked up a dozen duck eggs at the farmers market that I fried up.  I had never had duck eggs before, but they were really good.  The yolks were probably 1/4 bigger than chicken eggs.  And they had a much richer flavor.  One egg was more than enough for me.

You know your hash is done when it crispy and has soaked up all your oil.  If you are using bacon, that should also be nice and crispy.  I like mine with hot sauce, but I know a lot of people prefer the K-word.

This and a tall cup of coffee and you’ll be on your way to a good day!