Midnight Hash
Featured in
S3E5: The Fog
"Bullshit. He's never where you expect him to be."
— Betty Draper
"Bullshit. He's never where you expect him to be." — Betty Draper
The Episode
Season 3, Episode 5 of Mad Men, titled "The Fog," is a haunting meditation on generational guilt, parental inadequacy, and the dim glow of humanity refracted through cigarette smoke and hospital fluorescents. Written by Kater Gordon and directed by Phil Abraham, this episode first aired on September 13, 2009, and is notable for its dreamlike descent into Don Draper’s tortured psyche. If Mad Men is a jazz riff on mid-century existentialism, "The Fog" is a particularly mournful solo.
The plot ostensibly revolves around Betty and Don as they prepare for the birth of their third child, but the real drama unfolds in stolen moments and peripheral vignettes. Chief among these is a quiet midnight snack shared between Don and his daughter, Sally. Unable to sleep, Sally ventures into the kitchen, where Don is preparing a plate of hash, the archetypal ‘50s dish of leftovers fried into forgetfulness. It’s a small, tender scene—Don, for once, is neither selling nor sulking. He offers Sally a plate, and for a fleeting moment, the facade of the perfect suburban family feels almost real. The hash itself is nothing fancy, but it’s emblematic of the show’s ability to wring meaning out of the mundane. Here is Don Draper, man of steel and silk ties, sitting down to the culinary equivalent of cleaning out the junk drawer, silently revealing his alter-ego and sharing it with the one person who doesn’t yet see through him.
The title, "The Fog," is an apt metaphor for the episode’s mood. Betty, sedated during labor, hallucinates a conversation with her late father, a surreal sequence that underscores her isolation. Don, meanwhile, confronts his growing distance from his wife and his children, wandering through the hospital corridors like a ghost in his own life. Even at work, the usual Sterling Cooper hijinks feel hazy and peripheral—Pete Campbell blunders through a conversation about the burgeoning Black consumer market, while Peggy Olson negotiates a raise with the flinty precision of a woman who knows her worth but not her ceiling.
Behind the scenes, this episode marked Kater Gordon’s growing influence as a writer. Gordon, who had started as Matthew Weiner’s assistant, co-wrote the Emmy-winning "Meditations in an Emergency" before penning "The Fog" solo. Her sharp understanding of character psychology is on full display here, from Betty’s ether-induced visions to Don’s fraught but tender moments with Sally. Phil Abraham’s direction, meanwhile, leans into the episode’s dreamy, disjointed tone. The hospital scenes, bathed in a pallid glow, feel simultaneously intimate and alien, a visual counterpoint to the show’s usual rich, golden hues.
"The Fog" captures Mad Men at its most introspective, weaving together themes of parenthood, legacy, and the things we pass down whether we mean to or not. The midnight snack of hash—a humble, unremarkable dish—becomes a rare moment of connection in Don’s otherwise fractured world. It’s a reminder that even in the fog, there are glimpses of clarity, however fleeting, and sometimes they taste like fried potatoes.
Midnight Hash
The crowning glory is a pair of yolky eggs that spill rich, velvety goodness all over the crispy potato-corned beef hash.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes
1 cup cooked corned beef, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
Chopped fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)
Directions
Dice the onions, potatoes, and corned beef into small, evenly sized pieces.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to turn golden brown and crisp, about 10-12 minutes.
Add the chopped onions to the skillet with the potatoes. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the diced corned beef to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the corned beef is heated through and starts to get crispy edges, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
In a separate non-stick skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet and cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny, about 2-3 minutes. Divide the corned beef hash between two plates. Top each serving with a runny egg. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley if desired.