Also, please get comfy with a delicious cup of coffee or tea and get settled in. This was a "simple" recipe but a roller-coaster of a journey! Be prepared to follow along all the twists and turns, ups and downs, and chaos we experienced while making this dish. Also, please use caution if your beverage of choice is hot as I am not liable nor take responsibility for you spilling it or spitting it out all over yourself while the hilarity ensues.
GidgetRoots - Episode 3: Hash
*insert thoughts from 6/19/19: "I have to admit this one has me nervous - I've already been told that this has been voted the least favorite recipe - also, it is all ground up together - all the ingredients including potato! Which are not considered "healthy" at least for those with PCOS... I may have to brainstorm after the initial trials and make a more contemporary "hash" (with cubes not mush) with some adjustments... Why grind it all together!?"
All I can say is my thoughts from the 19th stayed with me for several days until the evening arrived where my great-aunts and I were going to "enjoy" making recipe #3: "hash". I had mentioned in "Episode 2: Podvarak" that I deemed this recipe "Hash Smash" because when I hear "hash" I immediately think of cubed meats and potatoes in a skillet. Well, this was meat and potatoes in a skillet but cubed wasn't even part of the equation.
I admit when I first arrived to make this dish I was optimistic, excited even, to make this dish almost with a wish that it wasn't going to be as bad as the rumors led me to believe. Plus I got to use a kitchen gadget I've never used before, a meat grinder! I mean, meat, potatoes, onions, all things I love, how "bad" could it be? Well...
First, can we briefly have a mini-outburst about the measurements in these recipes!? For goodness sake, the vagueness of the measurements have me in a tizzy! There were no specific measurements on this one, so we simply had to (you guessed it) guess-timate how much of each ingredient we needed. There were three of us once again so we aimed for about 1lb of each kind of meat (for this recipe we used leftover pork roast and leftover elk roast for the two versions).
The recipe says to "grind the meat, potatoes, and onion into a bowl" and that "you want a little more meat than potatoes and onion." Okay - so ... less than 1lb of potatoes and onions? Got it! Grinding the meat was going to require us cutting the roast into smaller chunks to fit into the grinder, so we cut them down into strips at first, then ended up cubing smaller pieces. We also got out the extra spices to "spice up" the elk roast, which we considered the #healthyalternative to the original since it is a leaner meat. Mise en place 101 folks, get that stuff together for when you need it!
My aunt used some salt, pepper, dried Herbs de Provence, garlic (not pictured) and some "Dragons-Head Habanero seasoning blend. And this is about where the train begins to derail, a bit. HAAABANERO!? Is she crazy? (All I can picture is my through catching on fire). I found it endearing how convinced she was that the dragons-head death seasoning would "spice" up and perk up this recipe, and she was "only going to use a little" so okay, a little can go a long way, I am okay with a little spice, right? I did tell her I fully believed habanero peppers got their name from the sound people make when they eat it, you know the guttural phlegmy ghshahaha choking sound? 😃
Second step (one I might add I was thrilled to get to) was the grinding portion of the recipe. We are to grind the meat, potatoes (uncooked), and onion all together into a bowl. YAY! A new kitchen gadget I've never worked with! What an adventure!
When one uses a meat grinder, it is best to know how to assemble said meat grinder. You already know I am a novice grinder myself, so I was hoping to have some guidance. Well, it took a hot minute (and by hot minute I mean about 10 minutes) for us to figure out how to assemble the machinery.
We put together the machine to our specifications (in our head, totally made up) and gave it a literal whirl. Although the first go was more of an abysmal result with nothing really happening... except noise. Lots and lots of loud noises.
(Side note - I also learned that some of us do not handle LOUD NOISES as easily as others and it causes absolute chaotic energy, so for those of you wanting to give this a whirl of your own, might I suggest earplugs or loud music?)
After our first lamentable attempt at grinding the ingredients together we decided it was best to call in some reinforcements. My magnificent aunt came to the rescue with her poised and calm demure settled nature and fixed our mistakes. (Who knew the blade had to be going the right way for this to work?)
Well, lesson learned is a lesson never forgotten and I might add that the high tension rigamaroo the meat grinder first gave us was entertainment at its best! (Please look up "let's do the fork in the garbage disposal" dance on the interwebs for a visual recreation of the energy emitting from the meat grinder and my great-aunt while we worked on this part of the recipe. You won't be disappointed.)
Once we had it going it was easy task to grind all the ingredients together - except not knowing exactly how much potato and onion to add to the roast, you know but hey, we got this far we can guess with precision like the best of them!
For the original pork version, we used about 1 large potato and 2 small onions to grind together. We had just under 1lb of leftover pork roast we were using, so the ratio seemed good.
There was a little more elk roast (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs of elk roast) so we increased the ratio of potato to 2 large golden yukons and 2 schmedium onions.
Each version went into its own separate bowl and we were careful not to cross-contaminate the two versions.
Now it was time to "spice" up the ground elk roast mixture! My aunt added a few pinches of the herbs de provence, a couple pinches of garlic powder, and a pinch of the habanero death dragon spice. Also added salt and pepper to taste.
To stay true to the original recipe, I only used salt and pepper to season the pork mixture.
Once the two mixtures had seasoning added, it was time to mix well together to ensure everything was well incorporated and then add it to our baking vessels. For this recipe we chose to use 2 small cast-iron skillets to bake the has in. Also it is important to note that in lieu of Crisco, we simply used olive oil to coat the baking pans.
Before the battle begins, we had to say grace - and it was much to my amusement that I was told two of my Papa's prayers that I shall forever hold in my heart:
A balmy silence fell over the table as all three of us taste tested each ingredient. I believe the word of the night became... "well...." followed by child-like giggles with no end in sight. Inspired by my dad and cousin, my aunt knew something that might help bring life into the beaten and tattered roast hash mush meal. CATSUP! Ketchup? Also, might I add I find it ironic that alternate "catsup" spelling has the word CAT in it, making it a derivative of a condiment purrfect to help save this fancy feast, right? Well....
NEXT 'EPISODE' / CHAPTER: "Chicken and Rice"
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After our first lamentable attempt at grinding the ingredients together we decided it was best to call in some reinforcements. My magnificent aunt came to the rescue with her poised and calm demure settled nature and fixed our mistakes. (Who knew the blade had to be going the right way for this to work?)
Well, lesson learned is a lesson never forgotten and I might add that the high tension rigamaroo the meat grinder first gave us was entertainment at its best! (Please look up "let's do the fork in the garbage disposal" dance on the interwebs for a visual recreation of the energy emitting from the meat grinder and my great-aunt while we worked on this part of the recipe. You won't be disappointed.)
Once we had it going it was easy task to grind all the ingredients together - except not knowing exactly how much potato and onion to add to the roast, you know but hey, we got this far we can guess with precision like the best of them!
For the original pork version, we used about 1 large potato and 2 small onions to grind together. We had just under 1lb of leftover pork roast we were using, so the ratio seemed good.
There was a little more elk roast (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs of elk roast) so we increased the ratio of potato to 2 large golden yukons and 2 schmedium onions.
Each version went into its own separate bowl and we were careful not to cross-contaminate the two versions.
Now it was time to "spice" up the ground elk roast mixture! My aunt added a few pinches of the herbs de provence, a couple pinches of garlic powder, and a pinch of the habanero death dragon spice. Also added salt and pepper to taste.To stay true to the original recipe, I only used salt and pepper to season the pork mixture.
Once the two mixtures had seasoning added, it was time to mix well together to ensure everything was well incorporated and then add it to our baking vessels. For this recipe we chose to use 2 small cast-iron skillets to bake the has in. Also it is important to note that in lieu of Crisco, we simply used olive oil to coat the baking pans.
Next step was to bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour, or until the potatoes were cooked through. You also need to cover with a lid or a tin foil "hat", if you will, to cover the hash while baking. We ended up baking the hash for about 45 minutes and then uncovered the last 5-10 minutes to try and "give them some color" or "crust".
At last the time had come, we paired with peas and it was time to serve!
"Good food, good meat, good God, let's eat!"
"Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, whoever eats the fastest, gets the most!"
The initial taste battle was off to an even start, as they both looked like human sized portions of a feline's favorite Fancy Feast - just different ingredients.
Staying optimistic, I took a little of each version on a plate with some peas. Each looking just as questionable as the other (although don't get me wrong they smelled really good and one should NEVER judge a book by its cover!)
As I ate a bite the hash of the pork version simply crumbled in my mouth. Mush. I mean I don't think I can describe in words the texture of what is happening here. (Again, WHY GRIND IT ALL TOGETHER!? What is wrong with reheating simply leftover roast, why grind it, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD, WHY!?)
A balmy silence fell over the table as all three of us taste tested each ingredient. I believe the word of the night became... "well...." followed by child-like giggles with no end in sight. Inspired by my dad and cousin, my aunt knew something that might help bring life into the beaten and tattered roast hash mush meal. CATSUP! Ketchup? Also, might I add I find it ironic that alternate "catsup" spelling has the word CAT in it, making it a derivative of a condiment purrfect to help save this fancy feast, right? Well....
Needless to say the catsup / ketchup didn't help a lot, although slightly enhanced the tomato flavor of the dish. 😉 A new idea, let's add a bit more sprinkling of the HHHHHAAAAAABANNERROOOO dragon fire death seasoning. That should help, right? Well....
I watched my aunt pensively as she sprinkled some Dragon-Breath over her hash and dig in with earnest, eager to taste a bite of victory. And just as quickly as the spark of optimism graced her with its presence, her face briskly was overcome with a look of desolated defeat, followed by an innocent and shallow murmur, "Well....all that did was make it hotter."
*INSERT UNCONTROLLED LAUGHTER TO THE POINT OF TEARS*
I can't begin to describe how utterly hilarious this specific moment was, so much build up, so much tension, and so much disappointment in a matter of seconds!
Slowly a discussion began, timid at first as if we were trying not to offend our ancestors that we didn't enjoy the meal, but turned into a meat-grinder whirl wind of ideas on how we could improve this Fancy Feast. We didn't add enough seasoning, we know now this recipe can TAKE A LOT of help. Maybe, just maybe if we pattie up the meat adding extra seasoning and crisping it on the stove top it will help bring the hash back to life:
Well we tried.... It didn't work. We needed even more seasoning (in addition to the additional salt, paprika, pepper, garlic, and dried mustard that was added).
Now the next challenge... how to zhuzh up the leftovers!
Initial ideas: Ravioli, Wantons/Dumplings as in Pot stickers, Applebee's inspired burger pattie with pickles and bacon added.
The rest of the evening was spent reminiscing on days of old and continuing relentless laughter that filled the halls deep into the night.
NOTES: I am a few days late in posting this as I mentioned the night was late, and then Tuesday got away from me. No, literally I spent all day today thinking it was Tuesday, Tuesday literally ran away from my consciousness. However, I have created some fun dishes with the leftover hash! Keep checking the post for a couple of #leftovermania creations that used the leftover hash as the primary ingredient!
Also - please for the love of all things good in this world, start measuring your ingredients! How will your future children and grandchildren ever be able to recreate a meal that brings them happy nostalgia from their childhood if everything is an estimation!?
NEXT 'EPISODE' / CHAPTER: "Chicken and Rice"
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ORIGINAL RECIPE
HASH
You will need:
- Leftover Pork or Beef Roast
- Potatoes (we used Yukon Gold)
- Onions
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Grind the meat, potatoes and onion into a bowl. You want a little more meat than potatoes and onion. Add salt and pepper and a spoon of Crisco and about a half cup of water. Mix well and pour into a baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour until the potatoes are done and the has begins to brown around the edges. Use a baking dish with a lid or cover with foil.
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