Traditional Corned Beef Hash | "The Cowboy President" Teddy Roosevelt's Favorite Recipe

The cowboy president Teddy Roosevelt, a man of grit and determination, but he also took that to the White House. And today, we're celebrating his best campfire dish ever, corn beef hash. In the 1800s, corn beef was boiled up and served for many a meal. And if there was ever any leftovers, it was chopped up the next morning and mixed with onions and potatoes. That word hash comes from the French hasher, meaning to chop. And that's exactly what this was. Chopped leftovers turned into fuel for another long day of work. You'd find corn beef hash on ranches, in boarding houses, logging camps, and army mess tents. It fed [music] cowboys, soldiers, and railroad men. And today, I'm chopping it up with my hash knife. Now, I'm pretty sure old Teddy would have probably cooked this the same way or had somebody cook it this way. open fire. Got them a little grate over the top and they would have probably used beef tallow to start out with. Now, beef tallow, all it is is just rendered down beef fat. I cooked a bunch of brisket last week, saved all the trimmings, melted her down there, got me some beef tallow. It is the best thing to fry French fries in, but it is great for anything else. You can even even use it on your complexion. So, we're going to put us about two or three tablespoons in there. Looks like this the kitchen might be a little unlevel again today. Got our beef tallow melted up. We do one yellow onion diced up there a little. We ain't going to rush this. We're going to let them onions cook till they get browned and they get tender. If you have to add a little more beef tallow to it as it's cooking, feel free to do so. But don't walk off and leave it. Keep a stirring. Well, them onions is beginning to brown up. They are. We're going to need a little more tallow in here to go with this. We'll get that mixed around. While that's melting, I have took me two Yukon gold potatoes. Boiled them till they got soft. Put them in some cool water. Let them cool. Sliced them up in about batsized pieces. Now, we're going to stir this towel around one more time. Now, we're using Yukon Gold potatoes today, and this is probably the closest thing he would have had to keep it authentic to the historical records that we have. So, don't just throw them in there and go to mashing them. Let's just place them in there because we want these potatoes to crisp up, but we also want them to remain in their shape. We're not making mashed potatoes. Now, when you got your ters in there, don't abuse them, but just give them a little mash, cuz we want them to get down there in that beef tella, and we want them to crisp up. But now would be a good time to just to season them with a little coarse ground black pepper. Teddy grew up wealthy, educated, [music] and ambitious, but never comfortable. From a young age, he battled severe asthma and illness. [music] Doctors told him to take it easy, but Roosevelt refused. Instead, he [music] trained his body. At 13, Roosevelt built a home gym in his family's house and begin training every day. [music] He forced himself outdoors because he believed strength was built, not given. In 1884, tragedy [music] struck Roosevelt's life with brutal force. His mother died and on that very same day his young [music] wife died after childbirth. Roosevelt was shattered. He never spoke his wife's name publicly again. But he knew he couldn't let grief destroy him. That year, [music] Roosevelt had already invested in a cattle ranch out west. So, he left New York behind and headed [music] for the bad lands of North Dakota. Out there, Roosevelt didn't pretend to be a cowboy. [music] He became one. He slept in the open, rode through the blizzards, worked cattle [music] alongside hired hands, lost livestock to brutal winters, and learned firsthand how unforgiving the land could be. Now, while them ters is over finishing up getting that good crispy crust to them, I think we better talk about corn beef. Now, it ain't like a era of corn and a piece of beef. Corn back then, the old terminology meant large crystals of salt which were used to pack meat with which what cured and preserved before refrigeration ever come along. And then it went through a brining process where you would boil this meat in with salt, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, different spices to give it even more flavor. Boil it till it got tender. Then it was took out, made for slice for sandwiches, made for hash like we're doing today. Usually when we're talking about corn beef, it was tougher cuts of meat. Most likely brisket. Now, when you cured this out also, that's going to make it a little more tender. But when you boil it, it's even going to get more than that. Now, you can see when this one come out, it sort of fell apart, and we just chopped it up. So, I bought this one, threw it in the crock pot with just a little beef broth, their seasoning packet, and just let it cook about 6 hours till it got good and tender. But if you want to do it the old way like we did, go back and watch the video where we did a corn beef, and it'll show you exactly how to go through the process. But when you chop this or shred it, that depends on your appearance. But we're going to get it back over there in the skillet with them ters and onions. Let it crisp up and we'll be good to go. Well, ters [music] is ready to go. They are. So, it's time to add up our little chopped up corn beef here. Whoa. One tried to jump out. Y'all see this guy? He going to go in first. So, we're just going to scatter this out amongst it. Now, remember, everything we got in here is cooked. We're just wanting to crisp up this meat and warm it up, too, at the same time. So, I'll set this right over here. And we're just going to gently begin to fold this over and try to get the meat on the bottom. You want to look at that good color of them potatoes. So, when you got everything mixed in there good and you flipped it over, take your spatula and just give it a mash. We want to get everything to where it tries to get a good crust on there. Now, as this is cooking along and we're pretty close, it's time to add a little seasoning to it. Traditionally, it would just been salt and a little pepper, but I don't want you to salt until you taste it because remember that corn beef had a lot of salt in it. So, we're going to use a little garlic powder and a little smoked paprika. As you're cooking this along and you think that's beginning to get a little dry or something, you're drying out in there, you can add a little beef broth or you can add a little more beef tallow. We're in pretty good shape. I'm going to give it another mash. Then I'm going to try to flip it here in just a second. The way this is looking, I think old Teddy would have been proud to come into camp and have a bite. When Teddy finally left the Badlands, he returned east and stepped [music] back into public service. He took a job behind a desk as a civil service reformer, fighting corruption in the government hiring. He then became New York City's [music] police commissioner and he personally walked night patrols and tracked down corrupt officers. Later, he became assistant secretary of the Navy. When the war broke out with Spain in 1898, Roosevelt volunteered to fight and that's when the Rough Riders [music] were formed. They were a volunteer of cavalry unit made up of cowboys, ranch hands, miners, and working men from the American West alongside Ivy League [music] athletes from the east. Theodore along with the Rough Riders didn't just win the battle in 1898. He won the nation's attention. Newspapers across the [music] country ran his name. That reputation carried him straight into higher office. [music] Roosevelt was elected governor of New York. He pushed reform, challenged powerful interest, and refused to be controlled by party bosses. To sideline him, party [music] leaders pushed Roosevelt into the national ticket as vice president. A job that was mostly [music] ceremonial at the time. They thought it would keep him quiet. But in 1901, President William [music] McKinley was assassinated. At just 42 years old, Theodore Roosevelt become the youngest [music] president in American history. Cowboy grit built his [music] tenacity. Cowboy honor guided his presidency. So, we're going to top this off with some fried eggs. And believe me, I have fried a mini. I have. But it also goes back to is your skillet well seasoned before your egg tear up. That's what happens to me sometime. I've even cooked them on Bertha. Y'all have seen that. So, we got our old Grisswald out here and it is getting hot. [snorts] Now, if you ain't got no beef towel and you're just frying eggs at home, I would say you get you some butter cuz butter is your friend frying eggs. And you really need I would say a level spot. That is really nice if you can have one. And I'm I'm a little out of Kelter here, but we just going to go with it. Hope everything's all right. I'm just going to roll that tower around till I can get everything greased up here real well. When you begin to fry egg, start on medium low heat. Because a lot of times, so many people think you just crank it up on high. You're going to get that egg so crusted on the bottom that it wants to stick and don't even want to turn over. So, if you're having a little trouble with your egg sticking, not turning loose cuz your skillet may not be seasoned well, add you about a tablespoon of water in that skillet. Crack the egg, put it on there. What does it do? Steam rises. >> [music] >> That is a pretty good looking dish. It is. I'm thinking Teddy and all the Rough Riders might want to join up in camp, have some of this. But as I let this cool here just a minute, I just want to tell you a little something that I know about Oklahoma, my home state. And in 1905, Teddy Roosevelt allowed he'd come down there to Oklahoma and go wolf hunting. Oo, he was going with Jack Abernathy, the old famous wolf catcher he was, cuz he'd just bail off them horses and just catch them right there. He thought it was the grandest thing ever. But guess who else was hunting with him that lived down there in the area pretty close between Frederick and Cash? Quana Parker, the great Comanche war chief. He even got invited to come over Quana's house and they had supper. Now Quana had been up there to to Washington DC to see the president and they served glasses that were like short and half full. So Quana told everybody, "When we serve our wine or anything, make sure it's in a tall glass because we want to try to outdo him." They become dear friends and I know they would have loved this hash together. I'm going to have me a little back, but also Roosevelt helped Oklahoma become a state by coming down here to visit in 1907. We got our statehood. I'm going to have me a bite. I have never ordered this in a restaurant. Shen said she likes it and a friend of ours, Alana, says it is her best dish ever to order at a restaurant. So, Teddy Roosevelt, I hope you'd be pleased. >> Honest thoughts. >> I'm going to tell you, I'm going to go to a restaurant and I'm going to have this. See if they did a good job as we did because this is outstanding. I have never had it. Never been a great big fan of corn beef. But when you can mix it with all this and I'm going to have me another bite. Them ters crisp up. The meat did sort of like a carnita. But there it is. Make me want to saddle up ride with the rough riders all the way to camp. Now, if y'all want to eat like a cowboy president with grit, this is where you need to start. This cowboy hash right here. But it is with great pride, honor, and privilege that I tip my hat to all the servicemen and women and all the veterans who have kept that old flag of flying. Rest of you, get on up in here. I'm gonna give you a big one today. God bless you each and everyone. We love y'all. See you down the Teddy Roosevelt breakfast truck. Y'all worked real hard today. You did. Some of you was even tied up and still tied up cuz you're in timeout. So, you're going to be first. Corn [music] beef. Dooker. Woo! Woo! Oh my gosh. Ain't that good? Let's just go ahead and unleash [music] the beast.

Printable recipe below! We're making the first Cowboy President's favorite dish corned beef hash. This recipe is hearty and traditional from American history cooking! Used in this video: Mesquite wood spatula https://www.kentrollins.com/shop Cowboy Hash Knife https://www.kentrollins.com/shop Smokey Woods cooking wood: https://smokeywoodsbbq.com/ DJI Mic 2 https://amzn.to/4ewAHAw Cowboy Hat: Chazhatz.com Smokey Woods Wood: https://smokeywoodsbbq.com/ For more suggested products seen in our videos click here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/cowboykentrollins ====================== Printable Recipe: https://kentrollins.com/blogs/beef/corned-beef-hash ====================== Check out our BEST SELLING cookbooks. Get your copy here: https://www.kentrollins.com/shop Also available at bookstores nationwide, and Amazon www.amazon.com/shop/cowboykentrollins --------------------------------- Connect with us! https://facebook.com/cowboykentrollins https://instagram.com/cowboykentrollins https://twitter.com/Kent_Rollins --------------------------------- Kent Rollins Cowboy Cooking, Cast Iron, Outdoor Cooking, Grilling, Dutch Oven Cooking Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission for your click through and purchase.