Unheralded

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Leftover Lamb Hash

Growing up in the 1950s and ’60s, eating leftovers was a given for most blue-collar families, and roast beef hash was one of the dishes that many people point to as a go-to meal.

As kids, my mom often would fix Dad, my brothers and I hash a day or two after having a Sunday roast beef dinner. To me, it was comfort food.

I remember Mom dragging out her old-fashioned grinder, pushing through the leftover beef and vegetables, mixing it with the leftover gravy, placing it in a cast-iron skillet and baking it in the oven. And we always had soft-boiled eggs on top of our hash when it was served.

Recently, I prepared a 3- to 4- pound boneless leg of lamb in a slow cooker with a packet of onion soup mix, some Greek seasoning, a couple of bouillon cubes and 2 cups of water. The meat was very tender, cooked to perfection.

With a pile of leftover lamb, I decided to make hash. just the way Mom did. So, I  ground the meat along with a a couple of cooked potatoes, an onion, four carrots and a stalk of celery and mixed it with the leftover gravy and pan drippings.

Therese and I have enjoyed two meals since. The only snag was that my soft-boiled egg wasn’t really soft. I let it cook a little too long.

Mom would never have let that happen!

Lamb Hash
2 cups cooked lamb meat from roast or leg (can substitute roast beef)
1 onion
1 stalk celery
4 medium carrots
2 potatoes, cooked
2 cups drippings from roasting pan or slow cooker
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Put meat and vegetables through grinder (medium coarseness). Add salt and pepper and mix thoroughly in large bowl. Once mixed, place in large cast-iron frying pan or Dutch oven.
Cook for 1 hour, the first 20 minutes covered. Serve with soft-boiled eggs.





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