Talk:Hash (cooking)

Ground, not minced?

Heresy.

Hamburgers can be ground and browned. A Sloppy Joe is neither browned nor minced. Howard C. Berkowitz 17:33, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

It's all a matter of user definition. See for instance, this very recent exchange on Ro's page, down at the bottom of the Goodnight Nurse section: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Talk:French_words_in_English/Catalogs. It has a link to the NYT article about a famous English chef and his "mince".... Hayford Peirce 18:04, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

If we can't argue safely about things...that are not in very small doses...what can we argue about? :-)

Now, another religious war is about the cooking utensil. For a great number of dishes, I use heavy enameled cast iron, Le Creuset that I bought in a better economy — yes, they do mean lifetime warranty. Hash, however, is one of the things that I find cooks best in plain cast iron. Stainless steel, copper, etc., just don't work, although I have some commercial grade, very thick anodized aluminum that can work.

The cast iron, of course, has to be extremely well seasoned to avoid sticking. Howard C. Berkowitz 18:50, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I have some LeCreust stuff that I bought 20 or 30 years ago when it didn't cost $500 for a modest-size pot. Use it all the time. Also have three cast iron pans that I *never* wash (rinse only) that are pretty well seasoned -- use them for various things. My old New England nanny used one (which she called a "spider") for her hash but it almost always stuck -- so she just scraped up the crust. These days I cheat -- use a heavy teflon pan for hash. Key secret: use some Crisco for the lubricant -- get it fairly hot but not smoking. Cover and cook. Remove carefully. Add a *little* more Crisco, melt it, return turned-over hash to brown the second side. This method works pretty well and gives a really deeply browned crust. At least *mostly* it does.... Eat with Quince jelly (if you can find it -- very difficult) and lavishly buttered English muffins. Yum!

I've heard a cast-iron griddle pan (i.e., with no sides) called a spider, although I usually call it a griddle. Mine has a groove around the periphery to catch fatty runoff, but, since I primarily use it for making South Asian breads like paratha, I don't usually need it.

Yes, very heavy nonstick will work. Unfortunately, my favorite mail-order supplier of restaurant-grade pans that were heavy, not pretty, but cheap enough to discard after several years stopped carrying then; they are basically a uniform and restaurant clothing place. Apparently, there are at least three grades of nonstick coating, one of which is commercial but still won't last forever.

I like to be able to stick the hash pan under the broiler, which good nonstick can take. The most common problem there, however, is that it can't have a plastic or wood handle.Howard C. Berkowitz 19:27, 8 November 2008 (UTC)