Last Sunday marked the day of the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. This event hosts over 22,000 runners which benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and I regularly attend the event. Ok, now what I mean by "attending" the event...I am there for moral support as my girlfriend Katie and her friends put themselves through what I view as pain and torture or better known as 26.2 miles. Of course as they cross the finish line I always greet them with their wish of a fresh beer!
This year we decided to celebrate the completion of the run at the Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant, a second floor brewery and restaurant that sits along the great highway 1. The view couldn't be better as it offers a 180 degree view of the beach and pacific.
Now to the food and beer!
The Beach Chalet offers a standard variety of 6 ales (VFW Light, Riptide Red, West End Wheat, California Kind, Presidio IPA, Fleishhacker Stout, & Dee's Bitter Ale) along with usually one seasonal brewer's special. On this day I partook in the Riptide Red in the generous 22 oz. serving. It was a good red ale but definitely on the milder side. Not as hoppy as most good high ABV % reds but it did have that toasty malt taste that usually is the main characteristic of a good red ale.
Being around brunch time I had a dilemma in what to order for food. I settled on something that I had here 3 years ago that left such an impression that I recreated the recipe on my own the following weekend, the corned beef hash. It is different than most in that it is very chunky with inch size pieces of corned beef crisped up on the side with matching sized potatoes. The unique thing about this hash that I remembered was the pan roasted cherry tomatoes that brightened up the dish with a fruity acidity that cut through the richness of the corned beef's fat content. That hash was one to remember.
Unfortunately on this day the hash was one to forget. The amount of corned beef was minimal and the flavors just didn't seem to pop like it had in my memory. The most disappointing part was what was supposed to be a poached egg that would ooze yolky goodness over the hash, turned out to be an over cooked hard boiled egg masquerading in the shape of poached egg.
Stop by the Beach Chalet for a happy hour beer and the view.
Below is a recipe of mine that was inspired by that original corned beef hash I had years ago at the Beach Chalet, with of course a little BBQ twist. Go ahead and give it try for a weekend brunch or midweek dinner.
Cheers!
Smoked Tri Tip Hash
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lb Tri Tip (smoked or grilled to medium rare, then rested)
4 russet potatoes (cubed into 3/4 inch pieces and par boiled)
10-15 cherry tomatoes
2 Anaheim chilies or 1 green bell pepper (diced)
1/2 yellow onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (smashed)
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (leaves minced finely)
1 jalapeno (finely diced)
2 eggs (fried sunny side up)
2 eggs (fried sunny side up)
2 green onions (for garnish)
salt
pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
olive oil
1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan.
2. Cut tri tip into 3/4-inch cubes and add to hot pan and sear on all sides to create a good crust.
3. Remove tri tip from the pan and add potatoes to crisp on all sides but remain soft in the center. Add more oil if necessary.
4. When potatoes are crisp add chilies, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt and pepper (to taste), rosemary, and cayenne.
5. Cook until tomatoes are soft and begin to pop and onions and chilies are softened.
6. Add tri tip back to the pan and toss, cooking an additional two minutes to warm through.
7. Serve hash topped with a perfectly fried sunny side up egg.
8. Cut green onions on a diagonal and sprinkle over egg and hash for garnish.
