Corned Beef Rolls


Almost all bakeries in the Philippines have their own version of corned beef roll. But all of them taste more or less the same. They only differ in their bread. The filling usually consists of (leftover?) corned beef – complete with softened onions and diced potatoes. There’s probably more potato inside than beef that you could even count the number of corned beef fibers at each bite.

I happen to like corned beef – so I try to find new ways of enjoying it. I prefer the brand that comes in large flat cans - from Australia or New Zealand, I think. They tend to be in real chunks! Not like the “pureed” local or American versions. I take comfort in knowing I’m getting real meat fibers stuck between my teeth, not some mushy mashed “meat.”

Filling

On opening a can, I skim the surface for fat. This, you can discard or use for sautéing. I take out the large chunks and remove any fascia (medical term for muscle covering – “ligament” or “tendon” perhaps in layman’s terms, or litid in the local language).

On a sauté pan, heat up around 3 tablespoons oil. Sauté the following: two diced medium onions, two diced small tomatoes (I like removing the seeds), 3 cloves chopped garlic (more, if you like!), one small minced carrot and one stalk minced celery. Add the whole can of corned beef. Sauté until the meat is heated through. Pour in one cup of water. Adjust seasonings. Boil away water to desired "soupiness." If the mixture gets too thick, thin out with some water. Cool before stuffing into dough.

This is my basic sautéed corned beef recipe. Yes, I always add carrots and celery when possible as they add more flavor to the beef. They, together with the garlic, perfume the meat to hide the “canned” flavor.

My very minimum for sautéed corned beef is tomatoes, onions and garlic. Tomatoes make the meat moist and juicy. My grandmother always omits it as she believes the dish spoils much more quickly with tomatoes.

I leave out the potatoes as I usually have this dish eaten with bread or rice.

Dough

You can use any dough or bread that you like. But I used an egg-bread for today as its soft, rich consistency goes well with the heaviness of the filling. I used the Challah recipe from Nick Malgieri’s “A Baker’s Tour.”

Sponge
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
½ cup unbleached flour

Dough
1 cup warm water
½ cup oil
2 large eggs
2 large yolks
¼ cup sugar
2 ½ teaspoons salt
5 ½ cups all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast in water, then whisk in flour. Let sponge rise, around 10 minutes.

When bubbly, add the rest of the ingredients to the sponge, except the flour. Mix. Now add the flour. I usually add only 4 cups or just enough so you can handle the dough on the kneading table. Add more flour as you knead, around ½ cup at a time, just enough to prevent it from sticking as you knead. Knead for around 10 to 15 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough on a greased bowl. Cover with damp cloth and let rise for an hour or until doubled in volume.

After rising, gently punch down to release some air. Roll the dough and divide into desired size. This recipe makes approximately three dozen 50-60 g pieces.

Gently flatten each piece on your palm or on the table top. Place a spoonful of filling on the center – around a teaspoon. Gather up the edges then twist. Place the filled dough seam-side down on a greased pan, two to three inches apart.
Let rise another 30 to 60 minutes until dough has doubled in volume again.

(brush dough with eggwash prior to baking)

Brush with eggwash prior to baking. Bake at a 375° for around 15 minutes or until golden brown.

(remove dough from pan and cool on a wire rack)

I had consumed all of the filling, making 36 buns when I still had a piece of dough remaining. I decided to stuff it with some bacon leftover from breakfast. I first brushed the flattened dough with some tomato pesto, laid out some basil leaves, then the bacon, and some sandwich cheese. It was also quite yummy!

(i stuffed the leftover dough with some bacon and cheese, etc.)