Corned Beef Fritters

Corned Beef Fritters are a delicious old fashioned potato based recipe made with freshly prepared or leftover corned beef. Ready in 25 minutes, the pan-fried corned beef patties have a crispy texture and a salty, hearty flavor. This recipe is excellent on it’s own but can also be served with a tangy, sweet honey mustard sauce to elevate it from already good to fantastic! 

If you’re a corned beef fan and made my dutch oven corned beef recipe or just bought some, you might be wondering what to do with the leftovers. Wonder no longer my friend! These corned beef fritters are THE recipe you’ll want to make every time you have corned beef leftovers or when you’re searching for quick and simple dinner ideas.

Its also just a great, unique corned beef and potato recipe on its own if you want to stray a bit from the traditional corned beef and cabbage meal. Who says you can only eat it on Saint Patrick’s Day anyways? It’s awesome on it’s own right and these patties make for a tasty quick 30-minute meal.

They can be served as a hearty appetizer, side dish, main meal or even for breakfast making them so versatile. I normally eat them for dinner with leftover carrots and cabbage from the night before and then turn any leftover corned meat fritters from that meal into breakfast the following morning. This creates 3 meals out of one original corned beef recipe!

If it is that time in March and corned beef isn’t your thing but you wan to make a festive dish for St. Patrick’s Day, try my Instant Pot Irish stew. It’s so hearty and comforting.

Ingredients

This recipe uses simple ingredients but uses them well. I used almond flour to make them gluten free and paleo without sacrificing flavor or texture (for true paleo, buy corned beef without brown sugar). They’re also dairy free so the lactose intolerant can enjoy them too! Here’s what you’ll need for the fritters and the honey mustard sauce, listed separately.

Fritters

• eggs – regular large eggs here
• Yukon gold potatoes – can substitute russet or red potatoes
• yellow onion – just a small one or half of a larger one will do. You can substitute a white onion, sweet onion or red onion.
• cooked corned beef – I used corned beef leftovers and recommend using leftover cooked corned beef brisket like this if you have it. In a pinch, you can use canned corned beef. It won’t be quite the same texture and flavor wise but should still taste good. If using canned, be sure to remove all of the jelly coating and only use the actual meat for the recipe.
• almond flour – you can substitute regular all purpose flour or a gluten free 1:1 flour blend if you want to
• avocado oil – you can substitute another cooking oil but since we are frying these, it has to have a very high smoke point so avocado oil is perfect here and recommended

Honey mustard sauce

This dipping sauce is optional but truly makes the corned meat fritters fantastic! They’re perfect paired with this sweet, tangy honey mustard sauce.

• mayonnaise – you can substitute sour cream or yogurt if you want but I prefer it with mayo
• honey – if you want it sweeter or less sweet adjust to your taste preference
• dijon brown mustard or stone ground, and as with the honey adjust to taste
• apple cider vinegar – you can substitute red wine vinegar, distilled white vinegar or lemon juice if needed

How to make the corned beef patties

This is an easy recipe with shortcut options. There are lots of pictures provided to guide you through too.

1. Mix the honey mustard sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for now.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the two eggs and then set them aside.
   
3. Chop corned beef up into small pieces by pulsing a few times in a food processor or chopping with a knife.
   
   
4. Peel potatoes and then grate those and the onion using a food processor or the large holes in a box style grater.
   
5. Use your hands to squeeze excess water out of the potato and onion mixture using a kitchen towel or paper towels.
   
6. Add potato, onion, corned beef, almond flour (or plain flour), salt and pepper to the bowl with the eggs. Use your hands to mix the fritter mixture up. Don’t forget to take off your rings!
   
7. Form 12 patties out of the corned beef mixture using about 1/4 cup of the mixture for each one.
   
8. Heat a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until oil is hot but not smoking.
9. Add fritters to the hot oil in the frying pan and cook for 3-4 minutes and then flip and cook another 3-4 minutes on the other side until each patty is golden brown. You might need to cook them in two batches depending on the size of your pan.
   
10. Place cooked fritters on a serving plate and serve immediately on their own, with the optional honey mustard sauce, a dollop of sour cream and/or with cream style horseradish.

Variations and Serving Ideas

This corned beef fritter recipe is fan-flippin tastic as written! I tried to keep the recips traditional, but if you want to play around with it a bit, I certainly understand and here are some ideas:

• Add shredded cheddar cheese, swiss cheese or gruyere
• Add fresh herbs like chopped parsley, green onions (spring onions) or dill
• Add a little bit of leftover, chopped up cooked cabbage from St. Patrick’s day to the patties or serve it alongside the fritters as a side dish
• Serve corned meat fritters in place of the English muffin in eggs benedict
• Replace some of all of the potato with sweet potato for a healthy, tasty twist
• With tomato sauce or ketchup added to the patties or served on the side
• Add cooked corn kernels for a potato – corn fritters mash up
• Use leftover mashed potatoes or mash up the potatoes that were cooked with the corned beef in place of the grated potato
• Coat patties in panko before frying for a breaded texture

And if you love these, you’ll love my cheesy cauliflower fritter recipe too!

Tips

This recipe is pretty easy to make but here are some tips and notes for making them perfectly.

Storage, freezing and reheating

The cooked fritters can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They technically keep longer but the texture can get kind of dry and mealy.

To freeze, once they’re fully cooled, place the corned meat fritters in an airtight container or freezer safe ziplock and freeze for up to 3 months. If stacking, place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper between the layers to keep them from sticking together. Let them defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat just before eating.

For reheating, use one of these methods:

• in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat for about 2 minutes per side until the inside is warm.
• in the oven preheated to 350° F (175° C) on a sheet pan for about 8 minutes or until center is warm.
• in an air fryer at 350° F (175° C) for about 6 minutes, making sure not to overlap them. 

The reheating times are approximate and will depend on how cold your fritters are, size, and what equipment you’re using.

Why aren’t my fritters crispy?

If your fritters aren’t browning properly, your pan is most likely not hot enough. Make sure your pan is hot but the oil is not smoking before you begin frying for a golden brown exterior.

What if my mixture is too wet and won’t form patties?

This can happen if you don’t squeeze out enough moisture from the potatoes and onions, your eggs are oversized or if the mixture sits for too long. Squeeze each patty over a bowl as you form it to get rid of excess moisture so that it will stick together better.