Corned Beef and Potato Cakes are a satisfying way to use leftover corned beef from St. Patrick's Day. Made with mashed and shredded potatoes, corned beef, and savory spices, these crispy, pan-fried cakes are full of flavor. Great for breakfast, appetizers, or a light meal!
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Lunch
Cuisine Irish-American
Keyword corned beef and potato cakes, leftover corned beef recipes
Peel 1 pound of potatoes and cut them into 1 to 1-½ inch chunks. Place in a medium pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Stir in 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Drain the potatoes well. To ensure that any excess moisture evaporates, I like to set the colander back over the warm pot (with the stove turned off), and let the potatoes sit for about 5-10 minutes.
Use a potato ricer to rice potatoes into a large bowl, or mash well with a handheld potato masher.
Meanwhile, peel the remaining 1 pound of potatoes and shred them on the large holes of a box grater. Place shredded potatoes in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze firmly to wring out water.
Add the shredded potatoes to the bowl with the riced potatoes. Stir in ⅓ cup flour, onion powder, garlic powder, 1 to 1-½ teaspoons kosher salt (depending on how salty your corned beef is), and 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper.
Add beaten egg and milk or buttermilk and stir until thoroughly combined. Fold in corned beef and scallions.**
In a 10 to 12 inch nonstick frying pan, melt 1 to 1-½ tablespoons butter (or butter and oil) over medium heat until foaming subsides. Using a measuring cup or cookie scoop, drop ⅓- to ¼ cup of the potato mixture into the pan per pancake. Use the back of the scoop to lightly flatten the pancakes to a thickness of ½-inch (about 2-½ to 3 inches in diameter).***
Reduce heat to medium low and cook the cakes for about 5 minutes per side, until golden and the shredded potatoes are tender. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture, melting additional butter and/or oil to the pan, as needed.
Garnish with parsley and serve the cakes hot and crispy, with Russian dressing and/or creamy horseradish sauce on the side.
Notes
*You can use whole or low-fat buttermilk in this recipe. Buttermilk adds a nice, lightly-tangy flavor to the potato cakes, but you can substitute half and half or whole milk if you prefer.**The potato mixture should be hearty, scoopable, and creamy, but not watery. If it's too moist, stir in another tablespoon or two of flour. If it's too dry, add another splash of buttermilk. Texture can vary by how thick your buttermilk is and how dry your potatoes are.***For crispy pancakes, cook them in batches and do not crowd the frying pan. Aim for fitting 4 cakes in a 10-inch pan and 5 cakes in a 12-inch pan.