fig. a: smoked meat hash
It’s unlikely, I know, but what if you found yourself having made a considerable amount of Montreal-style smoked meat? You’d invite a bunch of friends over for smoked meat sandwiches, naturally. And you’d be able to curate the experience exactly to your liking. There’d be pickles, of course—kosher dills and half-sours, if you were able to find them. There’d be coleslaw. There’d be black cherry sodas. And the mustard would be decidedly yellow. Hell, you could even source some actual rye bread to make your sandwiches with. Wouldn’t that be a novel idea?
But even with a crew of voracious enthusiasts, you might find yourself with some leftover smoked meat. I mean, you spent 9 days preparing it—sourcing it, brining it, monitoring it, desalinating it, spicing it, smoking it, AND steaming it—you weren’t exactly going to make smoked meat for two, were you?
So what do you do when life hands you a pile of luscious, homemade smoked meat? You make a hash of it.
And the thing is, when you make yourself that beautiful smoked meat hash, you’ll have pretty much created an exclusive. One of the strange things about Montreal is that while smoked meat is plentiful—nearly ubiquitous—smoked meat hash remains severely undercapitalized upon. Why? I have no idea. Seems so obvious, especially because it tastes so delicious
Smoked Meat Hash
1 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Two medium red potatoes, chopped and boiled (you can either do this in advance of sautéing your onions, or you could use yesterday’s boiled potatoes, if you happen to have some around)
1/4-pound smoked meat, lightly steamed
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
Salt & pepper to taste (keeping in mind that your smoked meat is likely to be adequately savoury—it’s also likely to be heavily adorned in cracked peppercorns)
Optional (but highly recommended): sour cream
Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté your onions over medium heat. When the onions have turned translucent, add the boiled potatoes. Sauté together until the potatoes turn a golden brown and begin to develop some crispiness.
Add the lightly steamed smoked meat. You could just add cold smoked meat and bring it to temperature with your onions and potatoes, but if you add it lightly steamed it will be luscious from the start and your hash will come together more quickly. When the hash has started to bewitch you with its lovely aromas, add the parsley and turn down the heat to low.
Poach your eggs.
Toast your bread (preferably rye).
Slice a ripe tomato, if you have one, and dress it with salt & pepper.
When your eggs are just about poached (the method I use takes about 3 1/2 minutes after they’ve been added to water), turn a tantalizing portion of hash onto a plate. Adorn with a poached egg. Grace each plate with toast and a slice of ripe tomato (remember: only if it’s ripe and tasty, otherwise just skip it).
And if you’re a proud member of Team Sour Cream, as both of us are, feel free to gild the hash with a dollop of sour cream. You won’t regret it.
This recipe makes enough hash for two generous portions. Scale up as needed, and as your supply of homemade smoked meat allows.
And, yes, of course: you can make this smoked meat hash with store-bought smoked meat. Will it be quite as delicious as a hash made with your perfectly prepared homemade smoked meat? Probably not. But it will be tasty.
Hash fiends of the world, rejoice!
aj