British Corned Beef Hash
The British storecupboard supper: parboiled potatoes and cubes of tinned corned beef fried with onion, pressed into a crust, splashed with Worcestershire sauce and served with baked beans.
Britain's corned beef comes in a tin, and much of it once came from Uruguay. UNESCO's listing for the Fray Bentos Industrial Landscape, on the Uruguay River, says the Liebig Extract of Meat Company exported meat extract and corned beef from there to Europe from 1865, feeding a global market that included the armies of both world wars. Wikipedia adds that Fray Bentos began canning corned beef in 1873 and shipped more than 16 million tins in 1943, mostly for the Allied war effort (citing BBC, 2019). Canned corned beef hash became especially popular in Britain and France during and after World War II rationing). BBC Good Food still calls corned beef hash "a traditional storecupboard supper" (recipe below).
Why it works the kitchen science
Parboil first
A few minutes in boiling water cooks the potatoes most of the way and roughs up their edges, so they only need to brown in the pan.
Press and wait
Pressing the hash flat and leaving it alone puts the most surface on the hot pan, and the fat in the tinned beef melts and fries the potatoes.
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the potatoes in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook 6 to 7 minutes, until just tender at the edges, then drain well and let them steam dry 2 minutes.
- Step 2
Heat the oil in a 10 to 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion 3 to 4 minutes, until it starts to soften.
- Step 3
Add the potatoes and corned beef. Press everything down firmly with a spatula and cook 5 minutes without stirring, so the bottom crisps.
- Step 4
Turn the hash over in sections, trying not to break up the meat and potatoes too much. Sprinkle with the Worcestershire sauce.
- Step 5
Press it down again and cook 5 minutes more, until the new bottom is crisp.
- Step 6
Season lightly (the beef is salty), then serve with warm baked beans and a sprinkle of parsley.
British Corned Beef Hash
Serves 4 · one 10 to 12-inch skillet of hash · 35 min total
Hash
- 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 (12 oz) can corned beef, cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper
To serve (optional)
- 1 (15 oz) can baked beans, warmed
- A little chopped curly parsley
Method
- Put the potatoes in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook 6 to 7 minutes, until just tender at the edges, then drain well and let them steam dry 2 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a 10 to 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion 3 to 4 minutes, until it starts to soften.
- Add the potatoes and corned beef. Press everything down firmly with a spatula and cook 5 minutes without stirring, so the bottom crisps.
- Turn the hash over in sections, trying not to break up the meat and potatoes too much. Sprinkle with the Worcestershire sauce.
- Press it down again and cook 5 minutes more, until the new bottom is crisp.
- Season lightly (the beef is salty), then serve with warm baked beans and a sprinkle of parsley.
Adapted from BBC Good Food, "Corned beef hash" by Katy Greenwood (Good Food magazine, March 2014), as written for 4. The potato cube size, the baked bean amount and the tip about chilling the tin are ours. Canned corned beef is fully cooked. bbcgoodfood.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Chill the tin for an hour so the corned beef cubes neatly instead of crumbling.
- BBC Good Food readers add cabbage, wholegrain mustard or a fried egg; the recipe itself stops at beans.
- Compare with our Diner Corned Beef Hash recipe: the American hash steams and mashes its potatoes; the British one parboils and keeps them in chunks.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Fray Bentos shipped 16 million tins in 1943. Disputed for now: Wikipedia cites a 2019 BBC article we did not read, and a search summary could not confirm it.
- Fray Bentos began making corned beef in 1873. Disputed: Wikipedia says 1873; UNESCO says the company exported corned beef "from 1865"; a Spanish-language source in search results says 1879.
- Hash became popular in Britain because of rationing. Documented as Wikipedia's account (Hash, food).
- Corned beef hash is served with baked beans. Folklore: BBC Good Food serves it that way; it is a habit, not a rule.
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