What To Do With Your Leftover Corned Beef

Cooking and eating corned beef on St. Patrick's Day is a tradition everyone in the States knows about, even if they aren't exactly sure what corned beef actually is. Whether you're curing it yourself or dumping it out of the can, corned beef is a versatile ingredient with many ways to prepare it, and even more ways to mess it up. The most traditional, St. Patrick's Day classic way to serve it is a corned beef and cabbage meal, complete with a side of carrots and potatoes to really crank up the Irish-ness.

But then, disaster strikes! You've got a stack of corned beef so tall that not even a leprechaun can get away with it. Though delicious, corned beef has a powerful salty flavor that can feel out of place in the wrong dish, but oh so welcome in the right one. There are plenty of uses for leftover corned beef, some expected, some eccentric, all excellent.

It's the morning after St. Paddy's day. You're cleaning up some green streamers, nursing a headache after maybe one too many Guinnesses, and wondering what to make for breakfast. Enter the savior of St. Patrick's Day hangovers, the corned beef hash.

Our Corned Beef Hash recipe is everything you want in a comfort food: warm, savory, filling, delicious, and easy to make. All the ingredients are stuff you probably have lying around your kitchen and pantry, like eggs, potatoes, onions, beans, and soup stock. Preparation couldn't be easier: fry up the onions and potatoes, mix in the corned beef and beans, add a fried egg or two along with some spices and veggie stock, and you have the beginnings of a beautiful breakfast. For bonus points, serve it alongside some toast or even bacon if you want to start off your day with the wind of Ireland at your sails.

Ireland. St. Patrick's Day. Corned beef. If these words made you think "egg rolls," you have a fascinating mind, but one with bright ideas. Egg rolls are found throughout East Asian cuisine for good reason. A fresh, crispy exterior gift wraps a spicy interior of meat and/or veggies, perfect for dipping in a variety of sauces for an amazing appetizer.

Egg rolls can be filled with anything from noodles to seafood to cabbage to chicken. Corned beef is a combination that seems strange at first, but really, really works. It's not too wacky when you think about it: corned beef goes great with veggies (okay, it's still a little wacky). Our Corned Beef Egg Roll recipe isn't too hard to follow either. Gather up your veggies, like carrots, onions, and cabbage — hey, it's looking Irish already! — shred 'em up, cook them for a bit, add in the corned beef, fill up your egg roll wrappers, and get to frying. They might raise some eyebrows at first, but after one bite, you'll understand the method to this meaty madness.

The grilled cheese feels like the PB&J's older brother. Just as iconic and just as simple to make, a grilled cheese is composed of bread, cheese, butter, and something to fry it on (which, for whatever reason, is almost never an actual grill). While anyone can make one, there are plenty of ways to plus up your grilled cheese experience, to turn a good sandwich into a truly great one. If you've got a some corned beef left over, stick it in to make a Corned Grilled Cheese Beef. We're working on the name, don't worry.

If you're feeling really adventurous, and are still feeling the St. Paddy's Day vibes, try out this recipe from Reddit that incorporates Guinness to caramelize onions, and grainy mustard for that extra burst of texture and flavor. The use of Guinness is a stroke of genius in particular, as the rich, dark flavor of the stout has a lot of potential for cooking. If it can upgrade your barbecue sauce, it can definitely upgrade your grilled cheese.

The breakfast burrito is one of the most versatile, delicious ways to start your day. You can basically take anything you would normally have for breakfast — eggs, bacon, potatoes, tomatoes — and chuck it in a tortilla, and you'll have something that works. Corned beef is no exception, and in fact, you can take the entire Corned Beef Hash you made earlier and convert it into a beautiful breakfast burrito.

Just like grilled cheeses, you have a lot of options to make sure your breakfast burrito is the best it can be. The salty flavor of the corned beef marries really well with egg and cheese, kind of like an Irish spin on the Taylor Ham Egg & Cheese, a New Jersey breakfast classic. We also know a little trick to add a delicious layer of crunch to your burrito that will make you want to have breakfast for any meal. Whatever you end up doing, you can keep the St. Paddy's spirit going by finding fun, flavorful ways to use your spare corned beef. Sláinte!