Corned Beef Hash

Today Peter & I did the Spring Forward Distance Run 15K at Mendon Ponds. It was kinda intense. The distance was not my worry... the hills were. To say I was scared of this race is an understatement. Rochester is pretty flat and my training has not incorporated much hill work. Luckily we survived. It was tough, but not nearly as tough as I anticipated. My calves were screaming by the end, but (except for exhaustion) I felt pretty good. I finished in 1:27:27 which gave me a pace of 9:24. I was impressed with myself, but once again I think it just goes to show that I continually underestimate myself. I think if I could just give myself a good kick in the ass I could be a pretty decent runner.

Yesterday Peter & decided that we would enjoy mimosas & a nice brunch after the grueling race. Upon arriving home we drank a mimosa & shared some bacon and then I promptly passed out on the couch for a few hours. So, the plan changed & we made some pretty awesome corned beef hash for dinner. We used the leftover corned beef, and then everything else was from our garden- homegrown potatoes, peppers & onions!

Hash prep

Rendering some fat from corned beef scraps!

Browning the potatoes

Peter wanted photographic evidence of the mimosas, so he took this wonderful picture of me post 15k run/post nap. Awesome.

Adding the onions

Muff enjoying the warmth from the dryer as she watched us cooking

Corned beef finally added to the mix

I like my potatoes extra crispy!

We planned on having leftovers, but somehow we ate this entire pan of hash for dinner... it was so good!

And here's some photographic evidence of this morning's race. When I showed Peter this pic he stated: "Well, that seems to sum up my running abilities nicely....struggling to keep up with an old man and woman."

Corned Beef

Something I've been talking about for quite a while now is making my own corned beef for St. Patty's Day. Two years ago I bought an already brined brisket & cooked it... it was mediocre. Last year Peter attempted to brine his own. He only brined it for a couple days, which is apparently insufficient. Well, I've finally learned the ways of brining brisket!

While I was on vacation a co-worker of mine forwarded me the recipe that he swears by. To say I was excited to give it a try is an understatement. Peter was pretty sick of me talking about this corned beef. I can't really say why I was so excited, but my theory is that the idea of REAL corned beef reminded me of my Nana's corned beef that we ate every St. Patrick's Day & the memory just made me feel all warm & fuzzy inside..... but I digress....

After some minor setbacks we were ready to begin this lengthy process...

I had no idea briskets were this big! This one was about 6.5 lbs.

Peter taking it out of the package

Trimming the fat

More trimming, I think

Poking holes into the brisket

The brine needs lager, so we stuck with the irish theme

Me & my double chin shoving the brisket in it's new home for the next 2 weeks

The brine

Where the pot stayed for a while 'til the heat wave hit & then it had to be relocated to the fridge

Unfortunately due to our busy work, running (and drinking) schedule eating the corned beef on St. Patty's Day was not in the cards for us. Instead a few days later we had some friends over to share in the yumminess.

Brisket post-brine

Yes, I bought this whole package just so I could have one damn chile for my spice packet!

Homemade spice packet

Look how pretty!

Let the boiling begin!

Ready to carve!

Yum!

Perfect!

So, would I do this whole process again? Yes, definitely. It honestly wasn't that much more work. You just have to make sure you begin the brining process well ahead of when you want to eat the corned beef. The taste & texture definitely reminded me of St. Patty's Day past... which is exactly what I wanted.