How to Use Up Leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage!
By Alison Milam
St. Patrick’s Day is upon us! On this green-as-can-be holiday, many of us consider eating corned beef to be as mandatory as drinking green-tinted beer and attending St. Paddy’s Day parades. But what do you do if you’re lucky enough to have corned beef leftovers? Especially if you’ve invested hours in making your own meat at home, you better bet that your efforts should stretch way beyond March 17. Luckily, future iterations of this salt-cured staple do wonders even after the holiday has passed, with the deli-counter meat bringing a robust, salty flavor to everything it joins.
1. Forgo pepperoni and use corned beef as a pizza topping.
Instead of digging into a plateful of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes using a fork and knife, pile those ingredients over yeasty homemade dough for Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza (pictured above). Top it with a triple threat of Monterey Jack, Parmesan and mozzarella for a cheesy and creative post-holiday slice.
2. Make cabbage rolls instead of lettuce wraps.
Wrap up corned beef, whole-grain mustard, fresh herbs and a dab of mayo inside cabbage leaves for Corned Beef and Cabbage Rolls that work as an appetizer or easy-to-eat lunch. Unlike traditional stuffed cabbage, the savoy cabbage leaves used in this recipe are just boiled so they soften, but then they’re run under cool water so each bite is crunchy and refreshing.
3. Churn out some old-fashioned corned beef hash.
Perhaps the most well-known way to repurpose leftover corned beef is in the form of hash, a diner favorite in which the salty meat is fried with potatoes, spices and oftentimes veggies. Go for a more elegant encore with Food Network Kitchen’s Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs boiled red-skinned potatoes that are fried with corned beef and whole-grain mustard, then topped with gorgeously poached eggs.
4. Simmer it into a soup.
Stew potatoes, barley and veggies in a savory, beefy broth for Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup that reinvigorates the leftover deli meat with every spoonful. With just 15 minutes of prep time, this easy soup is your best bet for putting any St. Paddy’s Day hangover to rest.
5. Pile it into a casserole dish.
There is nothing quite like the sight of a golden, bubbling breakfast casserole leaving the oven in the morning. Put your leftover corned beef to work in a one-dish Corned Beef Hash Brown Casserole that piles the salted meat together with crispy potato tots and sauteed peppers and onions in an eggy, cheesy bake. This is corned beef hash at its very heartiest.
Corned Beef Hash Brown Casserole Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the baking dish
6 cups frozen potato tots, from a 32-ounce bag (about 28 ounces)
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound sliced deli corned beef, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
4 dashes hot sauce, or to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with oil. Fill the bottom of the dish with one layer of the potatoes (about 4 cups). Drizzle the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Bake until hot and crisp, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and red and green peppers. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and started to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the corned beef, and cook for 2 minutes more. Let cool.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper in a large bowl.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the Cheddar over the potatoes in the casserole dish. Layer the vegetable-beef mixture over the Cheddar. Top with the remaining cup of Cheddar. Pour the egg mixture into the dish. (The casserole can be assembled up to this point and refrigerated overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Top the casserole with the remaining potatoes (about 2 cups). Bake until the egg mixture is set and the top is lightly golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.
More From Food Network:
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27 Top St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
