Corned Beef Hash Patties

Corned Beef Hash Patties

You can get a plate of corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast at just about any diner in town. Some places pride themselves on featuring fresh corned beef in their hash, other places jazz up the recipe with the addition of fresh herbs or heavy cream. Even Worcestershire sauce has found it's way into some recipes I've come across. Technically speaking, hash is any dish made up of ingredients that are diced up finely and fried together in a pan so there's quite a lot of leeway when it comes to what constitutes a hash.

My preference when it comes to making corned beef hash is to keep it as simple as possible. I stick to just three ingredients; a can of corned beef, diced onion and potatoes. You can fry it all up loose and sloppy or make them into patties like I do.

In Hawaii, at local okazuya's or old-fashioned Japanese style deli's, you can always find corned beef hash patties ready for your bento box. Often, at these places, the ratio of potato to corned beef is heavy on the potato side of things but if you make your own, you can ensure you get a healthy serving of corned beef in every bite.

To one can of corned beef, I add a diced onion and two medium sized russet potatoes that have been peeled, sliced, cooked and roughly mashed. Mix everything up to incorporate, divide the mixture and roll into balls then pat them down into patties. Stick them in the refrigerator to cool while you heat up a large pan. When the pan is good and hot, pour in about a 1/4 inch of vegetable oil. When the oil begins to ripple, add the patties to the pan and fry them until they form a crispy crust.

Franks Foods Franks (The Red Hot Dog)

Franks Foods Franks

There's a lot to be said for the way color influences what we eat. Back in college I took a color theory class and discovered the many ways color subconsciously affects our everyday lives. Of particular interest to me was the way color has the ability to stimulate our appetites. Although the way colors affect us depends greatly on our cultural differences and individual life experiences, in general, warm colors stimulate the appetite and cool colors suppress the appetite. This may be attributed to a time when the only cues we could rely on to indicate ripeness and wholesomeness as opposed to unsavoriness like mold and spoilage were color indicators. Consider the fact that most fast food chain logos use reds yellows and oranges in their logos. My guess is, the decision to graphically warm things up was based on careful market research and color consultation and not by chance alone. Here's a link to more on color theory by Color Professor J.L. Morton.

I assume color theory to some extent must have been the original concept behind artificially colored red hot dogs. In my opinion, possible carcinogenic risk aside, (from FD&C red 40) a red hot dog looks much more appealing on the surface than a pasty, flesh colored wienie. Vivid colors imply freshness and flavor. I almost believe a red hot dog actually tastes better than a hot dog of a subtler hue. A "blind" taste test would seem in order here. I only recently found out to what extent meat producers are willing to go to in order to present the desired color in their products and their tactics extend surreptitiously well beyond coloring hot dogs red. Check out this article in the Washington Post for more information on this subject.

With all that color theory background in place, I present to you FF Smoked Artificially Colored Franks. That's exactly what they're called on the package. These franks are red. They are really red.

FF Brand Smoked Artificially Colored Franks

Red on the backside too

In Hawaii, red hot dogs and sausages are popular items. Redondo's "Winners" and Pupu Pups, Miko hot dogs, and Pupu Rockets and Uncle Louie's sausages are just some of the hot dogs and sausages available that proudly sport the bright red, fresh sun burnt complexion. On many a plate lunch menu one can usually find the chili frank plate. Consisting of a scoop or two of rice smothered with chili and accompanied by a dollop of cool macaroni salad on the side, any chili frank plate worth it's heartburn would be incomplete without the signature bright red hot dog.

Chili Frank Plate

Hawaii is not alone in it's affinity for red hot dogs. In some regions of the country, red hot dogs are almost exclusive on local menus. Take for instance, North Carolina's Bright Leaf brand of hot dogs produced by Carolina Packers, manufacturing red hot dogs since 1941, or West Point, Nebraska's Wimmer's Meats, producing fine meat products including red hot dogs, since 1934.

So what is it about the red hot dog? Hot dog aficionados across the country swear by them. For me, the red hot dog speaks of tradition and stability in an ever changing culinary environment. Food trends seem to come and go, reluctant to blend in, adapt and assimilate. Today's hot ticket meal quickly becomes tomorrow's has-been novelty. Wow factor (I hate that term) food is all too often the main objective in fancy restaurants these days with comfort, tradition and sometimes even taste suffering as a result. Red hot dogs remind me of more carefree days spent picnicking at the beach or backyard barbecuing at friend's houses in the summer. Red hot dogs come from a time when we weren't overly concerned with what we were eating, as long as it tasted good and we ate it in moderation. We were ignorantly blissful before we found out that everything we eat is going to kill us.

I say, you should eat what you want and enjoy it but do it in moderation. Like everything that's supposedly bad for us, red hot dogs simply taste good but no one needs ten of them at one sitting to feel satisfied. Eat with your eyes, then your taste buds, then think of all the reasons why you're enjoying it.

Eh Brah, What? You Like Beef?

Beef Stew

You like beef!?!?!?!? Not exactly asking for your preference of protein. For anyone who grew up speaking pidgin like I did, them's fight'n words.

Give "stink eye" to the wrong kid, cut in the lunch line, pick on the kid brother of the class "moke" and you'll get threatened, "You like beef!?!?!?!" At this point, your options are few. Put'em up and stand your ground, talk your way out of the altercation with a, "Nah, only joking brah!" or practice the ancient art of "run-ate" (like karate, only it involves running away like a little girl) risking ridicule and persecution for days, even weeks to come.

Luckily, since I've long graduated from the elementary school playground, the only context I use, or hear those words in, is food related. "You like beef... stew?" Now that's a question I welcome hearing and the answer is a resounding "Yes!"

Beef stew is one of those comfort foods that we always turn to especially on the weekends when we have the time to allow it to simmer all afternoon. I start out by seasoning and browning up some stewing meat. Once nice and carmelized, I add a chopped onion or two, some chopped celery and maybe some minced garlic or garlic powder and let it continue to brown. After a nice crust begins to develop, in goes a can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce, perhaps a bayleaf or two and enough beef broth to cover. The lid goes on and the heat is reduced and everything is allowed to simmer for a couple of hours. If the meat happens to be really lean, it takes a little more time to soften but if I'm using shortribs or a more marbled cut, it gets tender quite quickly. The broth reduces and the beefiness intensifies. If it needs it, I'll add some Maggi seasoning, or maybe a bullion cube along the way, carefully tasting it to make sure it doesn't get over seasoned in the process. Before the beef reaches the point of falling apart, I add potatoes and carrots and another chopped onion because at this point, the onions I started out with have all melted. I then allow it to cook for another half hour or so. This time around, green beans made their way into the pot. I've only started doing this recently if I have some that need to be used because I like the color and texture they add to the finished stew. At this point you can thicken it with a little cornstarch mixed in cold water or just have it unthickened, Hawaiian style. Ain't nutin as nice as beef stew an rice

What about you? You like beef or what?!?!?!