Corned beef hash frittata

I recently ate breakfast out and ordered corned beef hash with poached eggs, a favorite. Now the moment eggs are paired with anything, I immediately think “frittata.” The combination seemed so obvious.

Mentioning that I was going to do this, the suggestion was made that I put a poached egg on top of the frittata. My first response was that this would be redundant. After all, the frittata itself included the eggs. But as I thought about this, I recalled how wonderful it was when the nice, runny yolk of the poached egg mixed with the hash. So topping with a poached egg it would be.

I’ve certainly poached eggs before, dumping the eggs into hot water and cooking for a while. They generally tasted fine but didn’t come out looking quite as nice as the well-formed poached eggs in pictures and when done right in restaurants. But now I would be putting the egg on top of a frittata and taking a picture to post on the blog.

I went online to do some research on how to make poached eggs. I found a number of different suggestions. Most have you breaking the eggs individually into custard cups first and then carefully putting each egg into the water. Swirling the water as you were doing so was a common suggestion. But the approach I followed came from a YouTube video from the Food Network’s Alton Brown. I followed his instructions exactly, down to using a ruler to measure the depth of the water and a thermometer to get the correct temperature. Rather than attempt to describe it, I’m including a link to the video:

1 cup cooked canned corned beef hash
oil

3 eggs
oil

1 egg

Cook the corned beef hash in a skillet until it starts to get crisp. I like it when it just starts getting crisp. Others prefer it crispier. Measure out 1 cup for the frittata. Make sure it is well broken up for mixing into the eggs. This is especially important if it was cooked crispier.

Put the eggs into a good-sized mixing bowl and beat just to mix them up. Add a bit of oil to the pan and let it get hot. Add a small amount of the eggs to the pan to set the bottom of the frittata to prevent sticking. Turn the heat down to medium low. Mix the corned beef hash into the eggs. Pour the mixture into the pan. Cook this for about 5 minutes to set the bottom and sides.

While the frittata is cooking, start poaching the egg. Have the water barely simmering. Break the egg into a custard cup or other small bowl and carefully slide it into the water. Cook for 4–1/2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon

Preheat the broiler. Place the pan under the broiler, about 6 to 7 inches below. Cook until the top is set and just starts to brown. This is about 1–1/2 to 2 minutes for me, but watch closely.

Remove from the broiler, loosen up the sides with a spatula if necessary, and slide the frittata out onto the serving plate. Place the poached egg on top.