8/1/05 | Corned Beef Hash
[ Currently Eating: Some Somen Salad ]
I have a lot of good memories of eating Corned Beef Hash fried up straight out of the can for breakfast in my parent’s motorhome on camping trips when I was little. My mom was a stickler for home cooked food that if possible was not preseved or canned, but she made allowances for camping when it was difficult to cook up stuff in the camper.
She’d get a few eggs and crack them on top of the whole mess and let that sit for awhile while it crisped up in the pan. It was usually served with toast, though I’d been known to shovel it in as is.
But I hadn’t eaten this for awhile, so since I was trawling at the Dollar Tree (a la Bottom Feeder) the other day I decided to pick up a can of Hartford House Corned Beef Hash and see if it still tasted the same. Now, I think the Corned Beef Hash we used to eat before was made by good old Hormel. I couldn’t even really find the Hartford House company or band online, which definitely was not a promising sign!
The extreme consolation here was that it only cost a buck. Dang, but it IS dangerous shopping at the 99 cent stores. You come away with all of this junk that costs a buck each, but it sure adds up. We bought about $12 worth of stuff. The store was packed too… no wonder they’re so popular!
Opening up a can of corned beef hash can be an enlightening experience if you haven’t opened one before, or you’ve never opened up a can of dog or cat food. Wow. Another helpful hint in opening the can… don’t smell it. There are plenty of foods that taste great but smell bad, and this is definitely one of them. It smells pretty much like dog food. The consistency is nearly the same, except this has tiny squares of potato in it instead of ground up with the meat.
The meat… ah. One time I went camping with two friends and I brought along cans of Deviled Ham. One of the friends refused to eat it because he said it tasted like dog food and looked worse. This is pretty much similar meat.
My health conscience was weighing in on me, so I decided to “fix” it by adding some chopped zucchini and white onion. One thing I noticed about this Hartford House brand is that it didn’t really crisp up that quick. It just kind of sat in the pan. In fact, I sort of had to “burn it” in the pan in order to get a crust. That crust is actually one of the few redeeming qualities of Corned Beef Hash.
Anyhow, I had a 1/4 stick of french bread leftover so I decided to eat it with this. A good idea. This stuff was heart attack city and actually didn’t smell so pleasant. The bread was a really good type so I felt it counteracted the “evil-ness” of the hash. I don’t remember Hormel’s being that bad, but maybe it was because I was a kid.
Ah, well. Another dollar, another shot at some Cheap Eats. I would quite possibly still keep this in the pantry for emergencies. You know, those kind of emergencies where you’re faced with gnawing off your own leg or having a can of corned beef hash in order to survive. Yeah.
Cheap Eats Score: 4/10
August 2nd, 2005 at 1:21 am
Oh man, corned beef hash. During my senior year in college, I ordered breakfast a la carte from the cafeteria. 75 cents for a scoop of corned beef hash, 50 cents for a scoop of eggs, and 25 cents for a scoop of rice. Mmm…Take me down to heart attack city, where there’s only fat no lean and the food is greasy.
August 2nd, 2005 at 8:05 am
Oh man I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. I can’t eat regular corned beef so the idea of canned corned beef that looks and smells like dog food makes my stomach turn. LOL LOL You are a brave brave soul!
August 2nd, 2005 at 10:13 am
Marvo - oh yeah, dorm food. That was the one time in my life where I was actually of normal weight. I went to UCLA, it was all you can eat cafeteria and I ate it all. They had some certainly questionable eats there. The funniest was so-called “Fire Station Casserole”… I still don’t know what it was made of to this day.
Andie - It sort of tastes like Horsemeat, if you know what I mean… just kidding! =)
August 2nd, 2005 at 12:10 pm
actually canned corned beef hash isn’t too bad if you add some green pepper and onion. i haven’t tried the brand you tried in your article but i do buy hormel sometimes. i also use plenty of hot sauce. hot sauce makes about anything taste good.
August 2nd, 2005 at 12:18 pm
Jim - man, I must second you on saying hot sauce seriously makes lots of questionable cheap eats taste better. And it also does wonders cleaning up old pennies… try it. =) I have always wanted to go to the Fiery Foods festival in Albuquerque, NM one of these days.
I think Hormel is probably tons better than this brand… I will have to get a can to compare it.
August 2nd, 2005 at 1:10 pm
I loooooves me some cb hash! Nuthin like staggerin into the local greasy spoon at 3 or 4 am after a night of hedonistic bacchian binges where the toothless lady with the red lipstick up to her nose asks what you want while she gums her chewing gum. “I’ll take the corned beef hash” I usually try to say without staring at her mole sprouting two thick hairs like daffodils on a fresh grave. They always come out steamin and crusty. Ever notice the weird sheen on them? Not a greasy sheen but sort of like melted plastic sheen. Hell yeahs, throw some fried tubers in bacon grease on the side and a couple eggs over easy on top and I’m the happiest sum bitch this side of the Big Dirty. Oh yeah, don’t forget my ketchup.
August 2nd, 2005 at 1:27 pm
bonz - that was poetic, pure poetry! But I haven’t had CBH in a diner, and I’ve been to a lot of diners. I guess there is a first time for everything though…
August 2nd, 2005 at 8:35 pm
bonz: that was funny as all hell dude (= lol
November 13th, 2005 at 1:41 pm
Libby’s Corned Beef Hash is the brand we buy. B/C it’s so bad for you, we only eat it maybe once month for breakfast. But yum! Some hash mixed w/onions and cheese, fried eggs and warm tortillas.. heaven!
There is an Armour brand roast beef hash that I’ve seen, but not tried. Waiting for it to go on sale.
November 13th, 2005 at 3:58 pm
marie - I think I may have had LIbby’s once, I’ve mostly eaten Hormel. If it wasn’t so bad for you I’d definitely eat it more often. I haven’t had the Armour brand before…
December 22nd, 2005 at 2:53 pm
i would like to know where i could buy the heartford house beef stew in springfield illinois?
January 19th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
iight its good
January 19th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
elena - no idea… i’m in california and got it at one of those Dollar stores. They didn’t have the beef stew, just the corned beef.
addison - yup. i think.
March 12th, 2006 at 2:44 pm
The 99 cent stores periodically sells this brand in CA. Tried a can once and did not notice bad odor but did notice a significantly higher fat/grease content than the major brands. Given that Target sells Hormel normally at $1.44 @ can in our area, I do not consider this brand a great bargain or value.
April 10th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Please tell me where I might purchase Hartford House Beef Stew.
Thank you. Rita Maitland
March 10th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Mary Kitchen & Armour is great corned beef hash. The secret lies in cooking it right. Don’t microwave as the can says you can- cook it in skillet on a high setting, don’t move it as much as you can so it develops the whole brown crust- but don’t crisp it too much! Then toss that in a bowl, make some eggs over easy and break them up with the hash. Add toast, hot sauce, and various vegetables.
Lots of veggies to counteract the death in a bowl.
September 6th, 2007 at 9:11 am
thanks for all these helpful ideas
just bought a can of hormel because i’ve never had it before & didn’t know what to do with it.
i’ll give it a go
October 10th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Canned corned beef spread on crackers is excellent, when you are drunk, and poor. Ad some mustard or ketchup to enhance the flavor. A million Brazilians can’t be wrong.
October 26th, 2007 at 3:43 am
Corned beef hash always reminds me of when I was body building but very very poor. Great source of cheap protien and not to bad if washed down with some guinness.
April 29th, 2008 at 5:47 am
I remember eating corned beef hash as a kid. My dad would make gravy and put the corned beef hash in it. It would kind of all fall apart and we would have it on toast for breakfast. Kind of like sausage buscuits and gravy. I still like it today as a grownup.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
As a kid in the 1960s, my mom would cook up some Hormel Mary Kitchen corned beef and roast beef hash on the weekends for lunch. That was our big treat. It has to be somewhat firm and crisp, and you have to put ketchup on it. Every now and then when my wife is out of town, I’ll buy a can for old time’s sake and fry it up. My wife actually thinks it tastes OK, especially with eggs. However, it smells up the house when you cook it, so she is not a big fan. I just had a serving. It never fails to please.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Why hasn’t the Hartford House Corned Beef Hash been available in the Dollar tree Stores & the 99 cent only Stores in Arizona, especially Tempe & Scottsdale Az. stores. Thank you
May 25th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Introduced my son to corned beef hash he is hooked. Fried up in an iron skillet with 2 sunny side up eggs on top. Great breakfast treat.
June 10th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Really nasty stuff. Opened up a can of it for the first time in my life and I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t do it again. Yes, it does smell horrible, may be even worse than dog food. Smell aside however, it packs a lot of protein and fats. Good for when you’re trying to gain weight or striving to be another heart attack statistic.
July 17th, 2009 at 11:37 am
All cb hash is good, even the cheap stuff. I throw a few potatoes in the microwave and get them soft. Then I put butter in a skillet, add potatoes and hash. Mix it up w/salt and pepper. Delicious, and my kids gobble it up too.
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:45 am
Just stumbled on your site. I have trying to find Hartford House
Corn Beef for over a year. I too would buy it at 99 cent and
dollar tree stores. Did they go out of business? Or did they
pull it from shelves for health reasons….???
I guess my husband and I are the only ones who love it,
whether we’re trying to gain wait…love fat…or heart attacks…
we think the stuff is way better than hormel or any other
brand….
December 9th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I grew up eating CBH when the national brand were *normally* a buck a can in the 70s/80s. It has a special place in the hearts my sibs, due to a couple of family incidents. About a decade ago Libby’s adjusted its recipe to crisp up better in the pan (as other brands went to a drier recipe I didn’t like as much) until finally it was the only brand I bothered with… but I never accepted its rise to $2.50 a can in local stores.
I was able to get Hartford House at Dollar Trees in NH a few years ago, and it was very much like Libby’s before they upped the “crispy factor” — perhaps there’s no accounting for comfort foods, but I liked it very much. I had a strong feeling that I could crisp it up with a little flour or something, but I’ve only rarely seen isolated cans in the Dollar Trees in a 20 mile radius of Boston since then — but when I do, I grab every can for myself and my sisters. In fact, ! found this blog entry while *looking* for some, so I could experiment.
BTW, the secret to the best crust on Libby’s crust is to give it time to crust up (but not overbrown). You can toss it 2-3 times, but leave it alone between flips. Cast iron is, of course, the best.
January 27th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
We have had much the same problem here in western NY as well. Our experience with Hartford House CBH as a decent form of “cheap eats” has only been marred by a sudden and rather peculiar lack of availability and we have searched from Lake Erie south into Mackean Co. in Pennsylvania hitting every possible form of Dollar Store we come across to no avail. We are fortunate enough not to have to scrimp on food but prudence is practical and and a good canned comestible at $1.00 a 15 oz. can is not to be sneered at. RELEASE THE CORNED BEEF HASH!!!!!!