Home › Squaw Feeds Paleface › Dude Ranch Hash
Dude Ranch Hash
2 BIG ONIONS, SLICED 2 GREEN PEPPERS, CUT FINE 3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER I POUND HAMBURGER 1/4 TEASPOON PEPPER I CAN TOMATOES 1/2 CUP RICE I TEASPOON CHILI POWDER I TEASPOON SALT Slowly fry onions with green pepper in butter until yellow. Then add meat and fry a little. Add tomatoes, rice and seasonings, put in baking dish, cover and bake in moderate oven 3/4 hour.
A one-dish skillet-to-oven hash of the sort that suited a ranch kitchen or a camp oven. The only thing that reliably goes wrong is the rice, which needs more liquid than a modern can of tomatoes supplies.
- Moderate ovenRead this as 350F. Three-quarters of an hour covered at that temperature is enough to cook white rice through, provided the liquid is right.
- The can of tomatoesThe standard No. 2 can of the period held about 20 oz, roughly 2 1/2 cups with juice. A modern 14.5 oz can is noticeably less. Use a 28 oz can, or add 3/4 cup water or stock to a 14.5 oz can, or the rice will scorch at the edges and stay chalky in the middle.
- RiceLong-grain white rice, uncooked, is what is meant. Do not substitute instant rice, which will turn to paste over 45 minutes, and do not use brown rice without adding liquid and at least 20 more minutes.
- Cover means coverA tight lid or foil is not optional here — this is essentially a baked pilaf, and escaping steam is escaping cooking liquid. Check at 35 minutes; if the rice is done and the mixture looks wet, uncover for the last 10.
- Chili powderCommercial chili powder of the period was a mild blend of ground chile, cumin and oregano. One teaspoon in this quantity is a whisper by current standards; a tablespoon is closer to what the dish wants.
- HamburgerA pound of ground beef; 80/20 works well here. Brown it properly rather than just frying it "a little" — the browning is the only deep flavor in the pot — and pour off the fat if it exceeds a couple of tablespoons, since the butter is already there.
- YieldServes four generously, five at a stretch. It reheats well, which is much of the point of a hash.