“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” And thus, Churchill’s quote begins the end of this hashcapade, dedicated to our third annual Turkey Tailgater. His words are especially fitting, juxtaposing our Thanksgiving tradition and the worldwide Occupy movements. Therefore, we semi-solemnly also dub this, OccupyCNF – in honor of the dishes that sacrificed themselves for our post-running pleasure at the Portland HQ of Conway Freight (CNF)!.
But what does OccupyCNF represent, you ask? Well, every Saturday between March and October, hundreds of dedicated runners & walkers meet at NW 21st and NW Raleigh at the CNF parking lot. Members of PortlandFit, we come to test our mettle, set goals, train for races and commune with running friends. In the winter months, it transforms into StayFit as our running community shrinks to a dedicated core of intrepid and unruly souls, my running family!
And so, back to the end of the beginning. Expectations were high for my contribution to the Turkey Tailgater, but I had a secret weapon up my sleeve, Podnah’s Pit Barbecue! After our epic hashcapade there, I mentally filed away their stunningly delicious beef brisket hash and vowed to recreate it. After our lovely meal at Beast, Lisa and I stopped by Podnah’s Pit to purchase two pounds of beef brisket and their bbq sauce – seriously, I’m addicted!
And so to the beginning of the end where I assemble all the lovely ingredients, a testament to the marshaling of raw ingredients and their subsequent transformation into…hash! Curious readers may wonder what mysterious goodness awaits in the ramekin on the lower left of the yummy bits. It is the Emeril Creole Seasoning that I used from one of my Celebrity Chef Hashcapades. I used liberal amounts along with salt and pepper for the roasted potatoes further below.
Once the potatoes were roasting away in the oven, it was time to caramelize the sweet Mayan onion. This was a quick redux of the process I used to make my award-winning Portland Bacon Takedown Hash. Huzzah!
After the potatoes were roasted and the onions caramelized, the rest of the process was simple: mix all the ingredients together in a big steel bowl. Because the Turkey Tailgater was the following day, I transferred the finished beef brisket hash into a 13×9 baking dish covered with foil and slipped it in the fridge.
And now to the end of the end. (Wait, is that redundant?) Anyway, the day of Turkey Tailgater III, I simply heated the beef brisket hash for 30 minutes at 350 degrees and slipped it into an insulated quilted thingy. We arrived at CNF before 8:00 so we could all have our picture taken together. After a stellar 6.5-mile run, I set my Smoked Beef Brisket Hash on the table and the masses descended. Judging from Jeff’s enthusiastic response, it was a hit!
As the morning gave way to early noon, a small band of OccupyCNF remained, huddled together under and umbrella with a propane heater to fight the oppressive Thanksgiving weather. Occasionally, we lured unsuspecting runners to our encampment and served them mimosas and food. Cheers to our new friends, Kaylan and John, and cheers to my running family!!!
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Happy Hashcapades,
Clark
I’m sad that the hash was gone before I arrived and crashed the tailgate, but it was great to meet everyone!
It was great to have you join our unruly band of runners – cheers!