Conference turris::cooks

    The trick to Corned Beef is to boil it a good long time (3-4 Hours
    total.)  The recommendations that I have seen are way to short. 
    I like to add new potatoes (an hour to an hour and a half before
    serving), carrots (3/4 hour) and cabbage (about half an hour).
    
    Larry

    Just made it last week and the recipe called for one hour of
    simmering for each pound.  It came out great!
    If you really don't want it too salty, start with cold water,\
    bring it to a boil and then dump out the water and start again.
    My recipe also called for cloves, I used them but I didn't like
    the results as much.  Onion, Bayleaf, garlic were fine.
    There were some packages of corned beef at the Star Market that
    had the spices in the package.  
    
    Most cookbook recipes are fine.  It really is hard to spoil 
    corned beef and cabbage.
    
    Alice

    There are 2 kinds of corned beef. The first being the most common
    is the New York corned beef which is very red in color and comes
    in thin cut and thick cut, the thin cut being more expensive and
    the better of the cuts. 
    
    The second type of corned beef and the only one I'll buy is the
    New England Gray corned beef, this corned beef is gray in color
    and both my husband and I think it has much more flavor. New England
    Gray is hard to find and alot of stores only carry it around St.
    Patrick's Day. This type also comes in thin and thick cuts.

    Hi!
    
    Sorry for the other note, but we are having system problems!
    
    What I was saying before the system decided to die was, I made a
    corned beef for the first time on Saturday and it came out just
    like my mothers.
    
    Here's what I did:
    
    1. Placed corned beef in big pot and added enough water to cover
       it. 
    2. Put the flame on high until water started to boil.  Lowered the
       flame to a simmer and let it simmer for about 3 1/2 hours. 
    3. Let sit in water (no flame) for about 15 minutes.  If you try
       to cut the meat while piping hot, the meat will fall apart.
       
    
    Everyone thought it was delish.  If you follow the directions on
    the corned beef, it should come out just fine.  I bought a Frierich
    corned beef (that's the kind my mother always bought).
    
    Good Luck!
    
    Colleen

     If I'm not mistaken, the main difference (apart from flavor,
     which is from the spices used in the corning process) between
     red and grey corned beef is the inclusion or exclusion of
     nitrates (potassium nitrate = saltpetre was traditionally 
     used).  Corned beef turns grey during the curing process (as do
     other cured meats) in the absence of nitrates.
     
     For the best corned beef, make your own.  This is very easily
     done:  Fill a deep, non-reactive pot (I use enameled) with water
     and dissolve enough salt in the water to make an egg float (you
     can tell this is an old recipe). Add seasonings as desired
     (peppercorns, bayleaves, garlic cloves, even a cup of hard cider
     is not unusual).  Immerse an appropriate cut of meat (brisket or
     bottom round is traditional -- it should not be much more than
     3-inches thick at most) in the brine and place a weight on top to
     keep the meat submerged. Cover.  Leave in the refrigerator or
     another cool place (e.g. cellar) to cure for one to two weeks (one
     week minimum).  Remove from brine, rinse, and cook as desired.  
     

    My mother-in-law has always cooked her corned beef in a pressure
    cooker... It hasn't ever been stringy and she makes it at least
    once a month.  The down-side of using a pressure cooker is that
    she doesn't cook the veggies with the meat.
    
    RHD
    

    In honor of St. Patricks Day, I am attempting my first
    corned-beef and cabbage dinner.  I have an idea how to 
    make this boiled dinner, but would appreciate help from
    the experts out there.  For instance, how long do I boil?
    How do I choose my meat?  What is the difference between
    a red meat and a grey meat???  Do you throw everything 
    in together and boil it all at once or do you add the
    different items at different times?  Do you need to spice it??
           
    BTW, I have no trouble choosing the beer to accompany this
    feast!!!!! 
    
    Thanks,    
    Debbie Corliss                                        
    (Irish surname, but an Italian cook at heart!)

    When corning the meat the use of potassisum nitrate retains
    the red color.  If you have the Joy of Cooking cookbook it
    has a recipe on preparing a boiled dinner.  For real treat
    try making your own corned beef, the method is also in the
    Joy of Cooking.  I do this quite often and the meat is much
    better than what is offered for sale because you can pick out
    a better piece of meat to start with.

    I've never corned my own, but you can get a tasty and easy dinner using
    a slow cooker.  In the morning, place the corned beef, chopped onions,
    and peeled and cut potatoes and carrots in a slow cooker with water. 
    When you get home, add cabbage and cook a little longer.  It's nice
    with black pepper and hot mustard.
    
    Beryl

    I'll take it on myself to warn you ... cooking corned beef and cabbage
    will fill your house with what I consider to be quite a strong,
    offensive odor.  I made it once and it tasted great ... but I've
    never repeated it because of the odor.

Re: .3
	True, it doesn't smell like an office, but some of us find it to be
the comforting smell of a loving home where good food is prepared... (violin
music swells up in the background.)

Re: .0

	It's hard to go wrong.  The traditional cut is the brisket.  This
is the long, flat piece of red meat found in the vacuum-sealed plastic
envelopes by people like Freidrichs and Swifts.  The more yuppified markets
will sell corned eye roast or shoulder.  I've never tried the fancier cuts,
I can't bring myself to boil an eye roast, even if it has been corned.

	Take the meat out of the package and rinse it off.  At this point
you have to decide between boiling and roasting.  Boiling is traditional
and shows what kind of respect Britts have for beef.  If you're going to
boil it, you can save yourself some trouble later by cutting the fat layer
off now.  Then sling the thing into a pot large enough to take it without
bending up too much, add water to cover plus an inch or two, add a bay leaf
and a few peppercorns then set it to boil.  Boiling time is about 3 hours 
for an average (3-3.5lb) sized corned beast.  Some people who like to be
REALLY authentic drag it out to 4 hours (There is worse cooking in the world
than Irish, but it's all contained in the British Isles.)  If you 
have a pressure cooker, you can cut that to one hour.  Take the meat out of 
the pot and set it asideto rest/cool.  Put the veggies in the pot and boil 
for 20 minutes.  'Taters and carrots require the full 20 minutes.  It's a 
toss-up if you want to give cabbage the 20 minute treatment, or just put it
in for the last 10.  I usually do the latter. (Re .3 -- I just thought of 
this -- you didn't boil the cabbage for 3 hours, did you?  That would drive
the dead from their graves...)

	The alternate method is roasting.  Put a rack in the bottom of a 
roasting pan, do not cut the fat off the meat. Put the meat on the rack (fat
layer up) and add water until it touches the rack.  Put a small piece of waxed
paper on the highest part of the brisket and cover the entire pan with aluminum
foil crimped down to seal around the edges.  The piece of waxed paper is 
because the steam/meat will react with the aluminum foil and eat right through 
it, leaving an aluminum deposit on the brisket if there's nothing to get in the
way.  These days we think aluminum might not be too good for you, and it's
certainly not tasty.  Half way thorugh the cooking, peel off the aluminum
cap and the waxed paper, add veggies, new waxed paper and new aluminum. Mind
the steam when you open the foil.  Cooking time is again about 3 hours at
375. Again, you can cut the cabbage cooking time back by about half if you
want to.  At the end of roasting, some people like to glaze the top of the 
brisket -- use any glaze you like on ham, and return the brisket to the oven
for 15-20 minutes.

	The done-ness test for corned beef is that a fork held straight up and
down will go through without much resistance. If you need something to compare
to, try sticking the fork in the raw beef.  Boiled corned beef needs to be
set aside before it's cut.  The 20 minutes that it takes to cook the veggies
is about right.  Roasted corned beef can be cut as soon as it's cool enough
to go hand-to-hand with it.  Most people prefer it if you cut the fat layer
off before slicing.  If you're going to glaze a roasted brisket, cut the
fat layer off before glazing. (Or you'll end up cutting off the glaze.)

					>>>==>PStJTT

    Some people stick a whole clove into each wedge of cabbage - supposedly
    that masks the smell as the cabbage boils, although it still mostly
    smells like cabbage to me.

    
    RE .4
    
    I agree that the brisket is the cut of meat but the red is not the
    authentic Irish boiled dinner, the only true St Patrick's dinner
    is the gray cut only.

Re: .6

	"Authentic", "real", "best" and so on are charged words that are really
personal opinion.  For some people (especially from New York) it means it's
what you're used to ("you can't find a REAL bagle/pizza/cheesecake outside
New York.")  For others, it means it's different than what most people use.
On rare occasions it means that it looks a lot like what was used before
people learned better.

	I use "authentic" tongue-in-cheek, and I assume you do too.  Certainly
gray, boiled beef is authentic English cooking in the sense that it was
what people used to do before they learned better.  And if you weren't 
kidding, it may be authentic in either of the other two ways.  But honest,
corned beef is corned beef, and either one will be as authentic as the
other.
					>>>==>PStJTT

    My favorite way of having corned beef is what alot of folks around here
    call a New England Boiled Dinner.  I prepare it in my pressure cooker.
    Basically, it's just prepared with all types of vegetables and a little
    water at the base of the pressure cooker... I use carrots, potatos,
    onions, parsnips, errrr, those round yellow veggies [isn't this awful -
    I can't think of the name!] and whatever else looks good at the veggie 
    stand.  When I serve it we usually have some grey poupon mustard on the
    side.
    
    Rgds,
    marcia  

    Combine:
    
    4 quarts of hot water
    2 cups of coarse salt
    1/4 cup sugar
    2 tablespoons of whole spice (pickling spice)
    2 bay leaves
    1 teaspoon of black pepper
    (1-1/2 teaspoons of saltpeter [sodium nitrate] for color, no jokes from
    ex sailors please!)
    
    When cool, pour over 5 pound brisket (best ones come from kosher
    butcher) in a large pottery, enameled,  or stone jar.  Add three cloves
    of garlic. [We have used plastic bags of this with no problem.]  
    
    Weight the meat to keep it submerged and cover the jar.  Cure in the
    refrigerator for three weeks turning meat every five days.
    
    To cook, wash brine off of the meat under running water.  Cover with
    boiling water and cook approximately four hours or until a fork can
    penetrate the meat.
    
    I have seen recipes that call for a short period of marination, but the
    result isn't as tasty.  Some recipes call for saving the brine to cook
    the vegetables in.
    
    

    
    A bottom round roast also works well for corning, and produces a
    meatier (less fatty) result.  I prefer to leave out the saltpeter and
    eat gray meat.  It still tastes great, but no nitrates, which are
    though by some to affect the texture of the beef.
    
    

    
    When corning the meat be sure to use salt that does not contain any
    iodine or other ingredients. If you leave out the saltpeter you will
    end up with "gray" corned beef which is found around New England but
    not elsewhere that I am aware of.   I usually use an eye round or bottom 
    round instead of brisket because they are leaner.  You could also try 
    corning pork spare ribs as well.
    
    Bob

    I use a Crock Pot to cook my C.B. in and just follow the recipe
    that came with the Crock Pot. I use the lower setting which has
    the longer cooking time. I also add about 1/4 cup of a good 
    Marsala wine in with the water. It adds a rich extra flavor and
    the aroma in the kitchen is to die for. I made it once without the
    Marsala since I started adding it just to test the results and I
    will never make that mistake again...enjoy
                                                Chris

    Gee, this string goes back to '88.  Anyway... Corned beef in a pressure
    cooker, is the way to go.  The rules are:  10-12 min per pound of
    corned beef, at 15 pounds pressure.  Cabbage, onions and carrots take
    5 min at 15 Lbs pressure.  So, for a 3 Lb corned beef, cook 25 min at
    15 lbs, let down pressure, add veggies, cook 5 min at 15 Lbs pressure,
    let down pressure.  Corned beef in less than an hour, that you can
    cut with a fork.
    
    Alan

Not directly a cookery note, but can anybody give me a brief history of corned
beef.

Reason: I happened to mention to my mother that in America corned beef is
associated with the Irish (she had just served some for supper), and I thought 
she was going to choke. I should point out that family tradition traces the 
maternal line back to a Wiccan High Priestess of Ireland and my Mother's family
most definately call themselves Irish, and yet my Mother is firmly of the 
opinion that corned beef is an American (possibly South American) import, and 
strongly expressed the opinion that she had never heard of it in Ireland, nor
had it ever been served as the main dish at a family reunion in Ireland.

Now I don't want to start a family feud by calling my uncle in Ireland to get 
his version of the story, so can somebody give my the straight story? 

/. Ian .\

Ian,

I think the problem comes from the fact that when immigrants came to the
US, they tended to settle into "neighborhoods" and they tended to absorb
the cultural signatures of other groups nearby...in the case of corned
beef, it is definitely NOT an Irish dish, but, rather a northern European
dish often associated with the German-Jewish communities.  The use of
beef in the dish is incidental....whatever was available was used.  The
practice of "corning" or preserving the meat is a tradition that comes
from the German-Jewish culture.  In fact, my grandmother made a fine
corned wild boar when I was a child - she from the German side of the
family.

I don't know exactly why corned beef became known as "Irish food", but
I suspect it had more to do with the fact that is is considered "winter"food
(March is just barely getting to spring, you know, and the food stored
for the winter is mostly gone except for the pickled and corned stuff),
and usually served with lots of potatoes (which are certainly Irish), and
it was the "traditional" bar meal, being very forgiving of overcooking
and all....and we know the American opinion that the Irish and drinking
go together.  At any rate, corned beef dinners became the "traditional"
meal on St. Patrick's day sometime in the 1800's and it remains so to
this day.  The Irish side of me thinks that is just fine....liking potatos
and corned beef and cabbage, and a fine glass of Harps as I do....8^}

    
    Thanks that makes perfect sense. And the large ethnic German comunity
    in South America probably explains why the Brits think it comes from
    there...
    
    /. Ian .\

    Has anyone ever baked corned beef vs boiling it?  My father insist
    that he had it baked with a glaze one time and it was the best he
    ever had.  Everyone that I have asked has never heard of this. 
    Anyone?

>    Has anyone ever baked corned beef vs boiling it?  My father insist
>    that he had it baked with a glaze one time and it was the best he
>    ever had.  Everyone that I have asked has never heard of this. 
>    Anyone?

yes.  I've had it and it was wonderful.  The cook was not exact, but the
procedure was something like:

use a whole corned beef roast (you can sometimes find these in the grocery 
stores in the meat section wrapped in plastic with the juice still in the bag),
or you can buy one from a deli if you order ahead.

soak corned beef in water to remove salt, draining and refilling water twice.
I would guess this is a procedure that takes approx. 6 hours or more in the
fridge, at least 3 hours soaking each time.  Dry meat with paper towels.
Place in roasting pan on a bed of sliced onions - slice thick and place in
bottom of the pan and place roast over it.  Roast for approx. 1 and 1/2
hours or until nicely cooked (depends on size) in a 350 degree oven.  Use
the basic plan of 30 minutes roasting time/pound of roast.  Baste
often with either pineapple juice or apple juice.  In the last 30 minutes
of cooking, glaze with a mixture of:

	2 - 4 tablespoons prepared dijon mustard (how much do you like it?)
	1 cup apricot/pineapple jam or peach jam or your favorite flavor jam
	1 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

put glaze in small sauce pan and heat over low heat until it is "clear".
Immediately glaze the roast and continue roasting for 30 minutes longer.
Serve with roasted potatoes.

You can make a sauce for the potatoes by adding 1 cup beef broth to the
roasting pan, stirring up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.  Pour
this into a saucepan.  Let it sit for a few minutes and spoon off any
standing fat.  Heat to a simmer and add 1/2 cup water mixed with 3 tablespoons
cornstarch or flour, stirring constantly.  Simmer until thickened and
serve in a gravy boat.  

BTW:  This is not an inexpensive meal...that roast will cost you plenty...
but it sure tastes good.

             I was in a supermarket yesterday and saw the roast the was in
    the plastic for .98/lb. -$1.19/lb. They had two different brands and
    two different styles, the pointed ones and the flat square ones. I
    prefer the flat ones. Price reductions must be for the time of St. Pat.
    Day.
    
                                                    Mike
    
                                 

    re: 16
    
    Why couldn't you just buy a regular beef brisket instead of buying a
    corned one.  Then you wouldn't have to soak it to get the salt out.
    
    Your recipe sounds delicious.
    
    Can't remember the note # but the square piece and pointed piece
    described sound like a whole beef brisket cut in half.  The pointed end
    is called the tip of the brisket and is supposed to be the best piece.
    
    Mary Lou
    

>    Why couldn't you just buy a regular beef brisket instead of buying a
>    corned one.  Then you wouldn't have to soak it to get the salt out.
    
actually, it would probably work fine for a plain brisket, but corning adds
other flavors besides salt, and besides, I think my glaze might be a bit 
overwhelming for a plain brisket.  You might taste a lot of glaze and very
little of the meat.

for the record, the baste with fruit juice and the glaze with dijon mustard
and sweet flavors like those found in jams works fine for ham too.

there's a little Irish in everyone at this time of year....as my more
notorious ancestor, Oscar, said:

		Life is too important to take seriously!

		   So, Happy St. Pat's day to you all...I hope the
		 	leprechauns bring you many smiles this year...

PS - he WAS Irish, you know, he just pretended to be snooty and upper class.

    When does the corn beef come out the stringiest, when you roast or
    boil?  I would like to try roasting one but my husband likes it stringy
    and I'm affraid it won't be.

    
    I vote for boiled....
    
    

My mother's roast beef always came out stringy. She always cooked it on
top of the stove, in a big covered pot, with plenty of water. She also
sliced it *with* the grain. It was nice and stringy <sigh>.

My father used to just shake his head. When he cooked we got medium rare
roast beef sliced across the grain.

Art

    Corned beef comes out really stringy when you cook it in a crockpot all
    day.  I just put the onion, sliced carrots, and cubed potatoes in the
    crockpot, add the corned beef with a little water (to cover the
    veggies), and let it cook on low while I'm at work.
    
    At the end of the day, the meal's done, and the corned beef is
    *perfect*!

    I believe the reason it is stringy, is the way it is cut after it is
    cooked. There is a certain way to slice it. 
    
    
        Mike

    I had corned beef over the weekend and am thinking about making a hash. 
    My mom used to do this with a meat grinder, but I don't have one of
    those.  Do you suppose a food processor would suffice?  Or, since I
    probably will only make enough for one or two servings, maybe I should
    just dice (??) it by hand?  

    I know mom used the corned beef and potato in the hash, but what else?

    
    
    Rep .38
    
    >>>My mom used to do this with a meat grinder, but I don't have one of
        those.  Do you suppose a food processor would suffice?  Or, since I
        probably will only make enough for one or two servings, maybe I
        should just dice (??) it by hand?
    
    For small servings I would just dice by hand. 
    
    >>> I know mom used the corned beef and potato in the hash, but what
    else?
    
      Well, for a traditional hash that's it but I can't see why you 
    couldn't add things like caramelized onions, diced wild mushrooms
    (dried or fresh), carrots, or maybe half parsnips and half potato.
    Hash is peasant cooking so I wouldn't get too carried away with
    ingredients, keep it simple.
    
                                            
    -mike
    

    Thanks, I hope to use the advide.  But it may have to be saved for
    future reference.  I noticed this morning that betweeen sandwiches and 
    nibbles, most of it is gone.

    So, can someone tell me what is a hash, and how you do it?
    
    Ta,
    ~S~
    :^)
    

    You get a piece of cardboard, and a straight pin, and a glass. Oh,
    nevermind. Wrong hash. :-)

    well, since I revived this string, I'll give my version of what hash
    is.

    Hash is ground cooked meat and potatoes.  Maybe onions or other cooked
    vegetables too, usually a root vegetable like carrots.  My mother
    always used a meat grinder but, as answered already, finely cut would
    suffice for a small serving.  My mother usually pan fried it, sort of
    like a potato pancake.  And she would usually serve it with dropped
    eggs.


    Umm, maybe dropped eggs need a definition :-)  A dropped egg is made by
    bringing water to a boil and dropping an unbeaten egg into the water. 
    When it is cooked you remove it with a slotted spoon.  It comes out
    like a poached egg, only without quite as much form.

    There are some variations on the theme (like most any peasant cooking).
    
    For example, in my family (as far back as I'm aware) hash is never made
    with ground meat; always diced meat (1/2-inch or smaller dice).
    The recipe is basically 
    
    Diced onions
    Diced potatoes
    Diced leftover cooked meat (corned beef, roast pork, grilled steak
    				are popular in our house for this)
    Pepper to taste
    (sometimes I use a few herbs, or a little garlic, but that's not in the
    	family recipe..)
    
    saute the onions and potatoes until browned and tender (like making
    homefries). Add meat and pepper. Heat through.
    
    ...tom

    Re: .42
    
    Wow...hash under glass. That really brought back some memories!
    Actually, I can't remember anything since then!

    Sounds like the American version of the English 'Bubble & Squeak'.
    Nice!
    
    Dropped eggs are known here, although not by that name - they are just
    a variation on poached eggs. One of our favourite cafes does Eggs
    Benedict, with the eggs dropped instead of poached, and on foccacia
    instead of muffins (recent innovation - and it's GOOD).
    
    Which leads me to the next question - how do you do hash-brown
    potatoes? I have stepkids who love McDonalds, so I make bacon&egg
    McMuffins and HotCakes with Syrup (IMO *far* nicer than the MickeyDee
    version!) .. they are clamouring for hashbrowns too now.
    
    Love this cultural exchange!
    
    Cheers,
    ~Sheridan~
    

    If you wanted something like the McDonalds hash-brown potatoes, you
    might try a recipe along the lines of potato pancakes, and just make
    them smaller.
    
    There is another type of hash brown potatoes that is more of a potato
    chopped up and fried with onions (sometimes peppers).
    
    ~Beth

    What we used to call hash browns are different then what you see now
    (Mcdonalds) but the main difference is how fine/coarse the potato is
    chopped. We always had hash browns with eggs for sunday brunch when I
    was growing up.
    
    
    Old variety:
    
    white potato - diced into cubes, no more than 1/2" - 1" square.
    	Potato can either be raw, or pre-cooked by boiling. Your choice as
    	to whether you leave the skins on or not.
    onion - finely chopped (quantity depends on how much potato you make
    	and how much you like onions, usually 1 onion to 4-5 large potatoes)
    
    coat pan with enough oil to cover bottom (or use non-stick pan)
    pan fry onion til mosty cooked, add potato, cook until well browned
    salt and pepper to taste
    we used to add oregano - optional
    
    The only difference I see for the McDonalds hash browns is that the
    potato is slivered (cut into much smaller, thin pieces - more like
    shoe-string potatoes) and fried in individual portions.... probably
    with a lot more oil :^)  too.
    
    Hope this helps!
    
    janetb.
    

While my method is pretty much the same as Janet's, I find that if
I start with raw potatoes I need to put the onion in later than the potatoes,
are else the onion is prone to burning before the potatoes are cooked.
This is less of a problem with pre-boiled potatoes (which is mostly how I
do it nowadays).  It might also be a function of how small one chops the
onions.

I also like to season with salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and occasionally
a bit of dry mustard.

-Hal

Traditional US American hash browns are, as previously mentioned, 
diced potatoes, pan-fried, usually with chopped onions, and seasoned 
with salt and pepper.  You can get more elaborate and add chopped 
green pepper or go Cajun and add cayenne pepper and garlic as 
additional seasonings.

McDonald's "hash browns" are riced or shredded potatoes, formed into 
a brick, and deep-fried.  It's more of a deep-fried potato pancake 
than traditional hash browns.

Real American hash browns are a staple of diner food. (For the 
benefit of non-Americans, diners are low-cost, inexpensive 
restaurants.  Originally they were converted railroad dining cars set 
up by the side of a road.  Your traditional diner has a counter at 
which the customers sit and eat, and serves breakfast-type food 24 
hours a day.)

--PSW

re: .50

>Traditional US American hash browns are, as previously mentioned, 
>diced potatoes, pan-fried, usually with chopped onions, and seasoned 
>with salt and pepper.  You can get more elaborate and add chopped 
>green pepper or go Cajun and add cayenne pepper and garlic as 
>additional seasonings.
>
>McDonald's "hash browns" are riced or shredded potatoes, formed into 
>a brick, and deep-fried.  It's more of a deep-fried potato pancake 
>than traditional hash browns.
>
>Real American hash browns are a staple of diner food. (For the 
>benefit of non-Americans, diners are low-cost, inexpensive 
>restaurants.  Originally they were converted railroad dining cars set 
>up by the side of a road.  Your traditional diner has a counter at 
>which the customers sit and eat, and serves breakfast-type food 24 
>hours a day.)


And just to make matters even *more* confusing, often diners (and similar
inexpensive restaurants) will refer to them as "home-fried potatoes", or
more commonly "home-fries".  Or at least they do in Baltimore, I don't know
about where Paul lives.

-Hal

Actually, I believe home-fries are a different animal altogether. Or,
at least, I know of places that serve both, and they are distinctly
different. Hash browns typically use raw potatoes of small granularity
as a starting ingredient (diced or smaller). Home fries are generally
started with "chunks" of pre-cooked potatoes.

re: .52

>Actually, I believe home-fries are a different animal altogether. Or,
>at least, I know of places that serve both, and they are distinctly
>different. Hash browns typically use raw potatoes of small granularity
>as a starting ingredient (diced or smaller). Home fries are generally
>started with "chunks" of pre-cooked potatoes.

Well, I'd largely agree with you, but around here the distinction seems
to get blurred nowadays.  And I've *never* been in a restaurant that served
both.  Then again, I live in a large city nowadays, and they don't seem to
do breakfast potatoes in general as well as the little dives out in the
country did.

-Hal

    Wow! Thanks for the recipes, and the cultural notes, all!
    
    Gonna give those babies a go when we have OUR babies to stay, next
    weekend. Wish me luck  :-)
    
    ~S~

    re:  home-fries vs. hash browns 
    
    I grew up in southern New Jersey and hash browns, home fries and potato
    pancakes were all different. 
    
    Home fries were made from raw potato, sliced thin (more like the size
    of thick potato chips) and pan fried til brown.
    
    Hash browns were potato (could have been raw or pre-cooked) chopped
    into small cubes and pan fried. (which is why I usually refer to the
    fast food stuff as hashbrowns, it's closest to how they're made)
    
    Potato pancakes were a mixture of mashed potato, egg, milk, other
    ingredients and seasonings, formed into patties and pan fried.
    
    All varieties were served by the local diner. Yes, we had one too.
    Original (or at least by the time I saw it) was a 50's classis. Outside
    was lots of chrome and pink, insides had a long counter with stools,
    booths with individual "Juke" box (you could sit at the table, put in
    your quarter, pick a song after flipping through the various
    selections, and sometime later the song would play throughout the
    place). Open 24 hours a day, every day of the year except for Christmas
    eve through mid-day Christmas day. Favorite hangout  for fishermen in
    the morning and kids after the movies. Had GREAT milkshakes, homemade
    pies and just regular food with good sized portions. My grandmother
    used to take my sister and me there for "special" dinners. I can
    remember my sister ordering Chicken Croquettes and thinking they looked
    gross (but what does a 4 yr.old know?!). Oh, the memories!
    
    janetb. 

Hash browns as I know them are shreds of potato fried.  Home fries are chopped
or sliced potatoes fried.  But why is this discussion going on in the Corned
Beef topic?  

Judy

    
    Corned beef and cabbage, and corned beef hash and eggs are some of my
    favorite 'comfort food' meals!
    
    I've heard of making hash browns by mixing shredded raw potatoes and
    onions to taste, and then cooking them in a waffle iron.  Sounds great.
    Anyone ever try this?
    
    Donna

    How do you get the onions and potatoes to stick together into a sort of
    'cake'? Do they just do this naturally?
    
    Lookin' forward to the weekend - gonna test them on the little
    guinea-pigs! :-)
    
    ~Sheridan~
    (PS - sorry for ratholing the corned beef topic)
    

    
    
    Just to add to the confusion - does anyone with experience of both know
    how hash browns compare to rosti ? Most of the rosti recipes I've used
    rely on the natural moistness of the potatoes to form a fairly dense,
    cohesive pancake that you can use like an English muffin as a base
    for a variety of fillings.
    
    Grainne Ni Choiligh
    

    
    
    Rep .59  Grainne
    
    >>>Just to add to the confusion - does anyone with experience of both
    know how hash browns compare to rosti ?
    
      The two are the same in preparation. 
    
    
    -mike