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Traditional Corned Beef Hash | "The Cowboy President" Teddy Roosevelt's Favorite Recipe
Feb 11, 2026
Printable recipe below! We're making the first Cowboy President's favorite dish corned beef hash. This recipe is hearty and traditional from American history cooking!
Used in this video:
Mesquite wood spatula https://www.kentrollins.com/shop
Cowboy Hash Knife https://www.kentrollins.com/shop
Smokey Woods cooking wood: https://smokeywoodsbbq.com/
DJI Mic 2 https://amzn.to/4ewAHAw
Cowboy Hat: Chazhatz.com
Smokey Woods Wood: https://smokeywoodsbbq.com/
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Printable Recipe: https://kentrollins.com/blogs/beef/corned-beef-hash
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0:00
The cowboy president Teddy Roosevelt, a
0:04
man of grit and determination, but he
0:06
also took that to the White House. And
0:08
today, we're celebrating his best
0:10
campfire dish ever, corn beef hash.
0:33
In the 1800s, corn beef was boiled up
0:36
and served for many a meal. And if there
0:38
was ever any leftovers, it was chopped
0:41
up the next morning and mixed with
0:42
onions and potatoes. That word hash
0:45
comes from the French hasher, meaning to
0:47
chop. And that's exactly what this was.
0:50
Chopped leftovers turned into fuel for
0:52
another long day of work. You'd find
0:55
corn beef hash on ranches, in boarding
0:57
houses, logging camps, and army mess
1:00
tents. It fed [music] cowboys, soldiers,
1:02
and railroad men. And today, I'm
1:04
chopping it up with my hash knife.
1:18
Now, I'm pretty sure old Teddy would
1:20
have probably cooked this the same way
1:21
or had somebody cook it this way. open
1:24
fire. Got them a little grate over the
1:26
top and they would have probably used
1:28
beef tallow to start out with. Now, beef
1:30
tallow, all it is is just rendered down
1:32
beef fat. I cooked a bunch of brisket
1:35
last week, saved all the trimmings,
1:36
melted her down there, got me some beef
1:38
tallow. It is the best thing to fry
1:41
French fries in, but it is great for
1:43
anything else. You can even even use it
1:45
on your complexion. So, we're going to
1:47
put us about two or three tablespoons in
1:50
there.
1:52
Looks like this the kitchen might be a
1:54
little unlevel again today. Got our beef
1:56
tallow melted up. We do one yellow onion
2:00
diced up there a little.
2:02
We ain't going to rush this. We're going
2:04
to let them onions cook till they get
2:06
browned and they get tender. If you have
2:08
to add a little more beef tallow to it
2:10
as it's cooking, feel free to do so. But
2:13
don't walk off and leave it. Keep a
2:15
stirring.
2:23
Well, them onions is beginning to brown
2:26
up. They are. We're going to need a
2:28
little more tallow in here to go with
2:29
this. We'll get that mixed around. While
2:32
that's melting, I have took me two Yukon
2:36
gold potatoes. Boiled them till they got
2:39
soft. Put them in some cool water. Let
2:41
them cool. Sliced them up in about
2:43
batsized pieces. Now, we're going to
2:45
stir this towel around one more time.
2:47
Now, we're using Yukon Gold potatoes
2:49
today, and this is probably the closest
2:50
thing he would have had to keep it
2:52
authentic to the historical records that
2:54
we have. So, don't just throw them in
2:56
there and go to mashing them. Let's just
2:58
place them in there because we want
3:00
these potatoes to crisp up, but we also
3:03
want them to remain in their shape.
3:05
We're not making mashed potatoes.
3:09
Now, when you got your ters in there,
3:11
don't abuse them, but just give them a
3:14
little mash, cuz we want them to get
3:16
down there in that beef tella, and we
3:18
want them to crisp up. But now would be
3:20
a good time to just to season them with
3:23
a little coarse ground black pepper.
3:31
Teddy grew up wealthy, educated, [music]
3:33
and ambitious, but never comfortable.
3:36
From a young age, he battled severe
3:38
asthma and illness. [music] Doctors told
3:40
him to take it easy, but Roosevelt
3:42
refused. Instead, he [music] trained his
3:45
body. At 13, Roosevelt built a home gym
3:48
in his family's house and begin training
3:50
every day. [music] He forced himself
3:52
outdoors because he believed strength
3:54
was built, not given. In 1884, tragedy
3:58
[music] struck Roosevelt's life with
4:00
brutal force. His mother died and on
4:03
that very same day his young [music]
4:05
wife died after childbirth. Roosevelt
4:08
was shattered. He never spoke his wife's
4:10
name publicly again. But he knew he
4:13
couldn't let grief destroy him. That
4:15
year, [music] Roosevelt had already
4:16
invested in a cattle ranch out west. So,
4:19
he left New York behind and headed
4:21
[music] for the bad lands of North
4:22
Dakota. Out there, Roosevelt didn't
4:25
pretend to be a cowboy. [music]
4:27
He became one. He slept in the open,
4:29
rode through the blizzards, worked
4:31
cattle [music] alongside hired hands,
4:33
lost livestock to brutal winters, and
4:35
learned firsthand how unforgiving the
4:38
land could be.
4:51
Now, while them ters is over finishing
4:53
up getting that good crispy crust to
4:55
them, I think we better talk about corn
4:57
beef. Now, it ain't like a era of corn
5:00
and a piece of beef. Corn back then, the
5:03
old terminology meant large crystals of
5:05
salt which were used to pack meat with
5:08
which what cured and preserved before
5:10
refrigeration ever come along. And then
5:13
it went through a brining process where
5:15
you would boil this meat in with salt,
5:17
peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves,
5:19
different spices to give it even more
5:21
flavor. Boil it till it got tender. Then
5:24
it was took out, made for slice for
5:26
sandwiches, made for hash like we're
5:28
doing today. Usually when we're talking
5:30
about corn beef, it was tougher cuts of
5:32
meat. Most likely brisket. Now, when you
5:36
cured this out also, that's going to
5:38
make it a little more tender. But when
5:40
you boil it, it's even going to get more
5:42
than that. Now, you can see when this
5:44
one come out, it sort of fell apart, and
5:46
we just chopped it up. So, I bought this
5:48
one,
5:50
threw it in the crock pot with just a
5:52
little beef broth, their seasoning
5:53
packet, and just let it cook about 6
5:55
hours till it got good and tender. But
5:58
if you want to do it the old way like we
6:00
did, go back and watch the video where
6:02
we did a corn beef, and it'll show you
6:04
exactly how to go through the process.
6:06
But when you chop this or shred it, that
6:09
depends on your appearance. But we're
6:11
going to get it back over there in the
6:12
skillet with them ters and onions. Let
6:14
it crisp up and we'll be good to go.
6:23
Well, ters [music] is ready to go. They
6:25
are. So, it's time to add up our little
6:27
chopped up corn beef here. Whoa. One
6:30
tried to jump out. Y'all see this guy?
6:32
He going to go in first. So, we're just
6:34
going to scatter this out amongst it.
6:36
Now, remember, everything we got in here
6:38
is cooked. We're just wanting to crisp
6:40
up this meat and warm it up, too, at the
6:42
same time. So, I'll set this right over
6:45
here. And we're just going to gently
6:48
begin to fold this over and try to get
6:50
the meat on the bottom.
6:53
You want to look at that good color of
6:54
them potatoes.
6:56
So, when you got everything mixed in
6:58
there good and you flipped it over, take
7:00
your spatula and just give it a mash. We
7:03
want to get everything to where it tries
7:04
to get a good crust on there.
7:09
Now, as this is cooking along and we're
7:11
pretty close, it's time to add a little
7:12
seasoning to it. Traditionally, it would
7:14
just been salt and a little pepper, but
7:16
I don't want you to salt until you taste
7:18
it because remember that corn beef had a
7:22
lot of salt in it. So, we're going to
7:24
use a little garlic powder
7:26
and a little smoked paprika.
7:31
As you're cooking this along and you
7:33
think that's beginning to get a little
7:34
dry or something, you're drying out in
7:35
there, you can add a little beef broth
7:38
or you can add a little more beef
7:39
tallow. We're in pretty good shape. I'm
7:41
going to give it another mash. Then I'm
7:43
going to try to flip it here in just a
7:44
second. The way this is looking, I think
7:47
old Teddy would have been proud to come
7:49
into camp and have a bite.
8:01
When Teddy finally left the Badlands, he
8:04
returned east and stepped [music] back
8:05
into public service. He took a job
8:08
behind a desk as a civil service
8:10
reformer, fighting corruption in the
8:12
government hiring. He then became New
8:14
York City's [music] police commissioner
8:16
and he personally walked night patrols
8:18
and tracked down corrupt officers.
8:20
Later, he became assistant secretary of
8:22
the Navy. When the war broke out with
8:25
Spain in 1898, Roosevelt volunteered to
8:28
fight and that's when the Rough Riders
8:30
[music] were formed. They were a
8:31
volunteer of cavalry unit made up of
8:34
cowboys, ranch hands, miners, and
8:36
working men from the American West
8:38
alongside Ivy League [music] athletes
8:40
from the east. Theodore along with the
8:43
Rough Riders didn't just win the battle
8:44
in 1898. He won the nation's attention.
8:48
Newspapers across the [music] country
8:49
ran his name. That reputation carried
8:52
him straight into higher office. [music]
8:54
Roosevelt was elected governor of New
8:56
York. He pushed reform, challenged
8:58
powerful interest, and refused to be
9:00
controlled by party bosses. To sideline
9:02
him, party [music] leaders pushed
9:04
Roosevelt into the national ticket as
9:06
vice president. A job that was mostly
9:08
[music] ceremonial at the time. They
9:10
thought it would keep him quiet. But in
9:12
1901, President William [music] McKinley
9:15
was assassinated.
9:18
At just 42 years old, Theodore Roosevelt
9:21
become the youngest [music] president in
9:22
American history.
9:25
Cowboy grit built his [music] tenacity.
9:28
Cowboy honor guided his presidency. So,
9:31
we're going to top this off with some
9:33
fried eggs. And believe me, I have fried
9:35
a mini. I have. But it also goes back to
9:38
is your skillet well seasoned before
9:40
your egg tear up. That's what happens to
9:42
me sometime. I've even cooked them on
9:44
Bertha. Y'all have seen that. So, we got
9:46
our old Grisswald out here and it is
9:49
getting hot. [snorts] Now, if you ain't
9:51
got no beef towel and you're just frying
9:53
eggs at home, I would say you get you
9:55
some butter cuz butter is your friend
9:57
frying eggs. And you really need I would
10:00
say a level spot. That is really nice if
10:05
you can have one. And I'm I'm a little
10:07
out of Kelter here, but we just going to
10:09
go with it. Hope everything's all right.
10:11
I'm just going to roll that tower around
10:13
till I can get everything greased up
10:14
here real well. When you begin to fry
10:16
egg, start on medium low heat. Because a
10:19
lot of times, so many people think you
10:20
just crank it up on high. You're going
10:22
to get that egg so crusted on the bottom
10:25
that it wants to stick and don't even
10:27
want to turn over. So, if you're having
10:28
a little trouble with your egg sticking,
10:30
not turning loose cuz your skillet may
10:31
not be seasoned well, add you about a
10:34
tablespoon of water in that skillet.
10:35
Crack the egg, put it on there. What
10:37
does it do? Steam rises.
11:06
[music]
11:09
That is a pretty good looking dish. It
11:11
is. I'm thinking Teddy and all the Rough
11:13
Riders might want to join up in camp,
11:14
have some of this. But as I let this
11:16
cool here just a minute, I just want to
11:18
tell you a little something that I know
11:20
about Oklahoma, my home state. And in
11:22
1905,
11:24
Teddy Roosevelt allowed he'd come down
11:26
there to Oklahoma and go wolf hunting.
11:28
Oo, he was going with Jack Abernathy,
11:30
the old famous wolf catcher he was, cuz
11:32
he'd just bail off them horses and just
11:34
catch them right there. He thought it
11:36
was the grandest thing ever. But guess
11:38
who else was hunting with him that lived
11:39
down there in the area pretty close
11:40
between Frederick and Cash? Quana
11:42
Parker, the great Comanche war chief. He
11:45
even got invited to come over Quana's
11:47
house and they had supper. Now Quana had
11:49
been up there to to Washington DC to see
11:52
the president and they served glasses
11:56
that were like short and half full. So
11:58
Quana told everybody, "When we serve our
12:00
wine or anything, make sure it's in a
12:02
tall glass because we want to try to
12:04
outdo him." They become dear friends and
12:07
I know they would have loved this hash
12:09
together. I'm going to have me a little
12:11
back, but also Roosevelt
12:14
helped Oklahoma become a state by coming
12:17
down here to visit in 1907. We got our
12:20
statehood. I'm going to have me a bite.
12:23
I have never ordered this in a
12:24
restaurant. Shen said she likes it and a
12:28
friend of ours, Alana, says it is her
12:30
best dish ever to order at a restaurant.
12:33
So, Teddy Roosevelt, I hope you'd be
12:36
pleased.
12:40
Honest thoughts.
12:44
I'm going to tell you, I'm going to go
12:47
to a restaurant and I'm going to have
12:48
this. See if they did a good job as we
12:50
did because this is outstanding. I have
12:52
never had it. Never been a great big fan
12:54
of corn beef. But when you can mix it
12:56
with all this and I'm going to have me
12:58
another bite. Them ters crisp up. The
13:01
meat did sort of like a carnita. But
13:04
there it is.
13:11
Make me want to saddle up ride with the
13:13
rough riders
13:15
all the way to camp. Now, if y'all want
13:17
to eat like a cowboy president with
13:19
grit, this is where you need to start.
13:21
This cowboy hash right here. But it is
13:23
with great pride, honor, and privilege
13:25
that I tip my hat to all the servicemen
13:27
and women and all the veterans who have
13:28
kept that old flag of flying. Rest of
13:30
you, get on up in here. I'm gonna give
13:32
you a big one today.
13:35
God bless you each and everyone. We love
13:37
y'all. See you down the Teddy Roosevelt
13:40
breakfast truck.
13:46
Y'all worked real hard today. You did.
13:48
Some of you was even tied up and still
13:50
tied up cuz you're in timeout. So,
13:52
you're going to be first. Corn [music]
13:54
beef.
13:56
Dooker. Woo! Woo!
13:59
Oh my gosh. Ain't that good? Let's just
14:02
go ahead and unleash [music] the beast.
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