Beef Tallow Easter Hash Browns Benedict

Directions

Latest Holiday Creation from Coast Corporate Chef Greg Hozinsky Promises Potatoes Worth Rising Early For

Easter morning may never taste better, thanks to the latest in an ongoing series of unique recipes from Coast Packing Company, the largest supplier of animal fat shortenings in the Western U.S.

The recipe, Beef Tallow Easter Hash Browns Benedict, is a creation of Coast Corporate Chef Greg Hozinsky.  Drawing on more than 20 years in the culinary field, Hozinsky has worked in everything from Michelin star restaurants to fast casual.

“In preparing our Easter brunch recipe, we started with tallow, the perfect ingredient for flavor, texture and mouth-feel,” Hozinsky said. “Potatoes fried in beef tallow make this dish a holiday on a plate.” Chef Greg’s latest recipe walks home cooks through all the steps, from turning the Russets into hash browns, prepping the wilted spinach and the prosciutto, creating the Hollandaise sauce and plating all the ingredients.

Chef Greg’s Easter concoction is the second in an ongoing series of creative, Coast-made recipes for sweet and savory dishes that integrate the animal fats lard and beef tallow.  Later this spring, Coast will release a series of tutorial YouTube videos aimed at “best practices” with the popular animal fats.

“The beauty of Greg’s recipe is how powerful the experience of both making and tasting is, when you prepare familiar dishes with animal fats like tallow and lard,” said Eric R. Gustafson, CEO of Coast Packing.  “Our new Recipe Series gives consumers a fresh opportunity to sample authentic, traditional ingredients for themselves.”

BEEF TALLOW EASTER HASH BROWNS BENEDICT RECIPE

Ingredients

• Beef Tallow Hash Browns
  • 2 lbs. Russet potato
  • 2 egg whites (yolks reserved for Hollandaise sauce)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoon potato flour or potato starch (plus extra for dusting)
  • 3 Tablespoons of chopped chives or favorite herb
  • ¼ cup beef tallow (or enough to have at least ¼” in the pan)
• Wilted Spinach
  • 5 ounces washed baby spinach
  • 1 medium shallot, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 cloves
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp. left over beef tallow from hash browns
• Hollandaise sauce
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup melted butter, warm but not hot
• Thin slices of prosciutto or favorite ham
• Poached eggs (or however you like your eggs cooked)

Directions

To make the hash browns

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, wash and wrap potatoes in aluminum foil, place in oven and bake for 45 minutes.  After 45 minutes, remove potatoes from oven and open from foil to stop from overcooking; potatoes should still be firm and feel undercooked.
2. When potatoes are cooled, peel with a paring knife or peeler.  Grate potatoes using a coarse grater and place into medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine egg whites, potato flour and salt; mix very well. Pour over the grated potatoes and mix by folding it in with your hands; add chives and fold again until evenly combined.
4. Dust a clean cutting board or counter surface with additional potato flour and place potato mix on top. Form into individual potato cakes or form into a large cake and cut into smaller pieces with a knife. For best results, cakes should be around ½ inch thick.
5. Heat tallow over a medium high heat until about 325 degrees; add potato cakes into tallow and cook until golden brown.  Flip and cook other side (this should take about 4-5 minutes per side).
6. When hash browns are cooked, place onto paper towel and season with a little extra salt.

For spinach

1. Pour out extra tallow, leaving about 1 Tablespoon for spinach.  Set pan aside for about 2-3 minutes, to cool slightly. Return pan to the heat and cook over medium flame.
2. Add shallots and cook for 1-2 minutes; add in garlic and spinach, season with a pinch of salt and cook until just wilted. Set aside.

Hollandaise sauce (suggest making this first)

1. Fill a small to medium-size saucepot about halfway with water; bring to a simmer (use this water for your poached eggs as well).
2. Use a heat-proof bowl that comfortably fits on the saucepot; add in reserved egg yolks, lemon juice, water and salt, whisk together well and place over saucepot of barely simmering water.
3. Continue to whisk vigorously until egg yolks just start to thicken and get frothy; be careful not to cook the yolks too much or they will curdle.
4. Remove bowl from heat and place onto a non-slip surface to give the bowl some stability; a damp kitchen towel works great for this. Very slowly drizzle in melted butter while whisking vigorously to emulsify the butter into the warm egg yolks. (You can also transfer the yolks to a blender and slowly drizzle in warm butter while running if you don’t feel comfortable whisking in butter.)
5. Check for seasoning and set aside in a warm (but not “hot”) place until ready to use.

Poached eggs

1. Use saucepot with simmering water; add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
2. Pre-crack eggs into small individual bowls; pour egg into simmering water and cook for 3-4 minutes until eggs are set but yolks are still runny.  Use a slotted spoon to remove egg from water.  (I like to gently dap the spoon with egg on a folded paper towel to remove excess water.) Serve immediately.

To build Benedict

Place 2 hash browns on each plate, top each tallow hash brown with wilted spinach and then 2 slices of prosciutto. Top the prosciutto with a poached egg and finish with 1 large tablespoon of Hollandaise sauce on each egg.  Garnish with chives and enjoy!