Bacon Potato Hash

Shall we start the day off with some bacon potato hash?

Let’s face it. Any recipe can achieve greatness by adding bacon. Amiright or what? Add bacon to plain old mac & cheese and it’s not so plain anymore! Salad, slaw, burgers, pancakes and cookies– just. add. bacon.

That’s exactly what I did with my recipe for potato hash. Not only is there crispy bacon pieces tossed in at the end; but the shallots, green pepper and potatoes actually cook in reserved bacon fat. Yes! Glorious, smoky, bacon fat!!

Oh how I love it so! Any leftover bacon fat I have is cooled then stored in my fridge for things like roasting vegetables and making these chips. It’s a total “pantry” necessity in my kitchen.

Here are the goods. It doesn’t get any easier than this.

Okay-dokie, so I started by frying up some bacon, please do it in a 10 inch cast iron or stainless steel skillet for ultimate browning! Cook up about 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound. I cooked up a full pound, but I snacked on seven one or two pieces. It’s sort of impossible not to.

After the bacon has cooked, pour off all but 2 tablespoons or so of the bacon fat, then remove off the heat.

Peel the potato and then carefully slice the potatoes in half.

Place the potato halves into a large pot filled with room temperature water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for about 10 minutes.

While the spuds are par-cooking it’s a great idea to prep all the other ingredients so everything is ready to go. This is what I always use to struggle with in my earlier cooking days… I was always so unprepared! I’d be all red, sweaty and frustrated… not pretty.

So I started with the shallot; peel, halve, slice and dice up two large shallots. I love shallots… but if you don’t have any… use a yellow onion.

Set aside for a sec.

Cut a good size green bell pepper in half, remove any seeds and whitish membranes aka ribs, and slice into strips. Red peppers would totally work well in this recipe too!

Then dice the green pepper the same size as the shallots and set aside.

Once the potatoes have simmered for 10 minutes, remove to a colander and run cold water over top to stop the cooking process and cool them off so they are safe to handle and you won’t burn your finger tips off!

Dice the potatoes to 1/2 inch cubes.

Heat the bacon renderings to medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter… Everything tastes better with buttah and BACON!

Once the butter is melted and the pan is hot, add in the shallots.

Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Then toss in the diced green pepper and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Stirring just until the green peppers start to soften. OMG!! This instantly filled my house with the best aroma and I didn’t even add any seasonings yet.

Bacon + shallots & green pepper = insta-house-that-smells-good!

Now that the veggies are soft, add in the dried thyme…

Next, season with salt and pepper.

Now it’s time to add the cubed potatoes. Try not to drop any onto the floor!

Next toss and then leave it be. It needs to brown, so walk away but not too far so they don’t burn. 😉

Stir occasionally until the potatoes are tender. The time frame is maybe 15-20 minutes… it all depends on how hot your pan is and how big {or small} the potato cubes are.

My husband was glad to offer his services as zee-taste-tester.

The minute the potatoes are tender, add in some crumbled bacon. As much or as little as you’d like.

Next, toss and heat through.

It’s pretty amazing how bacon can be so magical… it’s kind of like cheating, because bacon would make an old shoe taste good!

This can be served with dinner as a side. Or… with a fried egg on top and garnished with some green onion and sriracha… if sriracha is your thing, if not, maybe ketchup then?

I know you will love this! It’s easy, delicious and HELLO there’s bacon!!

Enjoy! And if you give this Bacon Potato Hash recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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Yield: 4 servings

Bacon Potato Hash

Start the day off with delicious bacon potato hash. Serve as a side to fried eggs and toast. SO good!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon
• 2 tablespoons reserved bacon fat
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 small shallots, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, or 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• kosher salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

• Cook about 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound of bacon and reserve about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat, remove off of the heat and set aside.
• Mean while heat the potato halves in a large pot of room temperature water and bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes. Potatoes should still be a little firm and not mushy. After the 10 minutes, drain into a colander and cool down with cold tap water. Once cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
• In the same pan, reheat the bacon fat with the tablespoon of butter between medium-medium low heat. Saute the diced shallot for 5 minutes until soft, then add the green pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Next add the thyme, salt, pepper and the potatoes. Stir once and continue to cook the hash stirring occasionally for about 10-15 more minutes or until potatoes are cooked all the way through.
• Lastly add crumbled bacon pieces to potato hash, toss and serve.

Serving: 1g, Calories: 421kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 418mg, Potassium: 626mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 167IU, Vitamin C: 19mg, Calcium: 25mg, Iron: 1mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Breakfast & Brunch

Cuisine: American