Copycat “Who Hash” from The Grinch

Then he slunk to the icebox.
He eyed the Whos’ feast.
He took the Who-Pudding.
He took… the Roast Beast.
He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash.
Why, that Grinch, he even took their last can of Who-Hash.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Jim Carey’s classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” has become a required movie to watch to officially kick-off the holidays in our household. I’ve been watching it for over 20 years now – in fact, at 10 years old, this movie was one of the last, if not THE VERY LAST, movie that my family bought on VHS tape. I’ll let you extrapolate my age from there.

Everyone wants the iconic Who Beast to be recreated from the movie – but what about the dish you can actually find in real life at Seuss Landing at Universal Studios Orlando?

You can find “Who Hash” at the Green Eggs & Ham Cafe – where it is served in a souvenir can with a Who Hash label. Naturally, I kept the can my lunch came in for the last few years with the intention of recreating the dish for you Hungry People.

I figured the perfect time to recreate it was for Christmas – it is the yummiest dish to serve for breakfast after being robbed by the Grinch!

Plus, TikTok has been requesting a lot of fictional feasts lately, so I figured now was even more perfect.

A Seuss-Style Recipe

We’ll start with brined brisket
and of course salt and pepper
Plus pickling spices;
and beef broth for good measure

We’ll toss in some cinnamon
And star anise too
Then we’ll give it a stir
before making a roux

The base of our sauce could not be better
With the addition of whole mustard
cayenne,
and mountain aged cheddar

Then give it a whisk before moving ahead
to make tater tots,
that will keep our Whos fed

We’ll bake the tots until they are crispy
Meanwhile,
we can chop up our baked briskey

Then its time, to combine ingredients together
Before baking it once more to complete our endeavor

We’ll top our Who hash with green onions and cheddar
Then serve to the Grinch and he’ll think we’re clever

If this Christmas your heart is too small
This dish will bring cheer to one and to all
And don’t forget, if you are still here
To follow the Starving Chef for more recipes, my dear

Ingredients for Who Hash

Based off the recipe that you can get at the Green Eggs & Ham Cafe, this is my take on their “Who Hash” but with added flavors for a Christmas-y twist!

• brined brisket – buy a flat cut, pre-brined brisket OR brine your own
• roasted beef broth – for braising the brisket, I recommend using a bouillon based broth for best flavor
• cinnamon sticks – whole cinnamon sticks provide the perfect amount of aromatics and give great undertones of flavor
• star anise pods – additional Christmas-y infused flavor
• pickling spices – blend together bay leaves, cardamom pods, coriander, cloves, ginger, mustard seeds & peppercorns
• butter, flour & milk – for the roux based cheese sauce
• aged mountain cheddar – funky cheddar from Mount Crumpet is best
• whole grain mustard – to enhance the cheddar flavor
• hash browns – crispy, golden hash browns for the base of our casserole (prior to serving it in a can)
• green onions – for chopping, topping and tangy flavor

Brisket Tips

I recommend buying a flat-cut, 1-3 lb brisket that has been pre-brined. Many of my local grocery stores here in Ohio carry a raw corned beef brisket that has been brined in a 35% solution and has a pack of pickling spices provided in the package (try saying that five times fast…).

You can absolutely brine your own brisket to make corned beef from scratch, but keep in mind this process can take up to 10 days for the perfect corned beef brisket. I am not going to cover brining the brisket in my recipe specifically, but you can find all you need to know about brining your own corned beef on Sweet and Savory Meals.

Every home chef should have a reliable meat thermometer to ensure their meats are perfectly cooked. Corned beef is best cooked to 150°F where it is still pink throughout and perfectly tender. Let the brisket rest so it holds on to as much of the juices as possible before you chop it up into bite size pieces.

Don’t want to use corned beef? I’m generally not a big corned beef eater myself – though this recipe definitely converted me. But if you don’t want to risk it for the brisket, chopped prosciutto can be swapped in for similar flavor.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!