Hash Brown Happenings
Don’t you love hash browns? In my humble opinion, this is a dish every cook should know how to make—from scratch using raw potatoes. From scratch using raw potatoes with the result being crispy (the crispness and taste like the kind you get from your favorite local diner). But try as I might, mine have been a disappointment at best. Even my frozen store-bought hash browns tend to turn out on the sad-side.
And naturally I’ve been wondering if perhaps anyone else struggles with hash brown basics like I do, SO in the off-chance I’m not the only one struggling make scrumptious homemade fried spuds, I’m sharing this golden information. (Thank goodness for the Internet’s solutions, tips and tricks!)
On just about every website I visited, I got the same advice: “Before you start, make sure that you have an adequate pan which is either cast iron and well used, or a large skillet (with at least a 9-inch diameter bottom) with non-stick coating. If you don't have the appropriate pan, hash browns will never turn out quite right.” The opinion was the same no matter where I turned—good hash browns can’t be crowded.
Another thing I learned that seems to be a common practice is that grated spuds need the moisture squeezed out of them, either using lots of paper towels or a potato ricer. The advice is not to force the spuds through the ricer, but to press just enough to get the liquid dripping out. (Where’ve I been, anyway? I had no idea…) Oh, and the preferred potato? Idaho Russets. The gourmet hash-brown experts all agreed this was the best variety for excellent hash browns.
The technique doesn’t seem that difficult: After the spuds are grated and most of the moisture removed, some good oil (olive, canola, or grapeseed) is heated on medium high heat in the pan. The proportions are about 3 tablespoons of oil to 1 large potato (which according to one cook, yields about 4 puny servings). After the oil is shimmering (I didn’t know oil shimmered), but not smoking (no wonder I don’t know anything about shimmering oil, I’ve been an oil smoker), add the grated potatoes and spread them out along the bottom of the pan.
The spud layer shouldn’t be too thick in any one place (no more than a half-inch thick). Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, and after a few minutes, lift up one edge of the potatoes to see how done they are. If they’ve fried to a golden brown, they’re ready to flip. Use a large spatula to flip the potatoes over all at once, or divide the large potato cake into halves or quarters and flip. Continue to cook until they’re golden brown on the bottom.
And this is the other common piece of advice I kept reading—turn the spuds ONLY once, which is all that’s needed if the pan is large enough and the layer of potatoes isn’t overly thick (a sin I’ve committed, I admit).
Finally, those that have mastered these hash brown techniques said they liked to grate their potatoes with the skins on and embellish an already good thing with finely diced onion, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. Yeh, I’d vote for that.
So, class, let’s review: The secret to perfect hash browns is a good pan, the temperature of the heat, using a good oil (not butter) and most importantly, only turning them one time! This ensures the crispy texture that you expect from a perfect hash brown recipe!
Now, let’s shift gears—how about frozen hash browns for those days we don’t have the time to gratey-grate fresh spuds? Do you have any idea what an amazingly versatile thing a bag of frozen hash browns is? Besides the all-time favorite, Funeral Potatoes, here are 3 more things you can do with ‘em!
Chili Hash: All you do is put a layer of canned chili in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, then add layer of hash browns, (I threw in some diced onion), and finish with a layer of grated Cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or so at 350 degrees. I made this the night before and we had it the next day. It was delicious.
Breakfast bowls! Layer cooked hash browns, eggs (scrambled with veggies is awesome, or with bacon and sausage, or whatever way you like), shredded cheese, and top with country gravy.
Lastly, I’ll close with one of our favorites, a recipe so good we’ve served it as a dinner side dish as well as for breakfast. See what you think:
3 cups shredded frozen hash brown potatoes
1/3 cup butter melted
1 cup cooked, diced ham (or crumbled and cooked breakfast sausage)
1/3 cup chopped onions
1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 eggs
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
And naturally I’ve been wondering if perhaps anyone else struggles with hash brown basics like I do, SO in the off-chance I’m not the only one struggling make scrumptious homemade fried spuds, I’m sharing this golden information. (Thank goodness for the Internet’s solutions, tips and tricks!)
On just about every website I visited, I got the same advice: “Before you start, make sure that you have an adequate pan which is either cast iron and well used, or a large skillet (with at least a 9-inch diameter bottom) with non-stick coating. If you don't have the appropriate pan, hash browns will never turn out quite right.” The opinion was the same no matter where I turned—good hash browns can’t be crowded.
Another thing I learned that seems to be a common practice is that grated spuds need the moisture squeezed out of them, either using lots of paper towels or a potato ricer. The advice is not to force the spuds through the ricer, but to press just enough to get the liquid dripping out. (Where’ve I been, anyway? I had no idea…) Oh, and the preferred potato? Idaho Russets. The gourmet hash-brown experts all agreed this was the best variety for excellent hash browns.
The technique doesn’t seem that difficult: After the spuds are grated and most of the moisture removed, some good oil (olive, canola, or grapeseed) is heated on medium high heat in the pan. The proportions are about 3 tablespoons of oil to 1 large potato (which according to one cook, yields about 4 puny servings). After the oil is shimmering (I didn’t know oil shimmered), but not smoking (no wonder I don’t know anything about shimmering oil, I’ve been an oil smoker), add the grated potatoes and spread them out along the bottom of the pan.
The spud layer shouldn’t be too thick in any one place (no more than a half-inch thick). Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, and after a few minutes, lift up one edge of the potatoes to see how done they are. If they’ve fried to a golden brown, they’re ready to flip. Use a large spatula to flip the potatoes over all at once, or divide the large potato cake into halves or quarters and flip. Continue to cook until they’re golden brown on the bottom.
And this is the other common piece of advice I kept reading—turn the spuds ONLY once, which is all that’s needed if the pan is large enough and the layer of potatoes isn’t overly thick (a sin I’ve committed, I admit).
Finally, those that have mastered these hash brown techniques said they liked to grate their potatoes with the skins on and embellish an already good thing with finely diced onion, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. Yeh, I’d vote for that.
So, class, let’s review: The secret to perfect hash browns is a good pan, the temperature of the heat, using a good oil (not butter) and most importantly, only turning them one time! This ensures the crispy texture that you expect from a perfect hash brown recipe!
Now, let’s shift gears—how about frozen hash browns for those days we don’t have the time to gratey-grate fresh spuds? Do you have any idea what an amazingly versatile thing a bag of frozen hash browns is? Besides the all-time favorite, Funeral Potatoes, here are 3 more things you can do with ‘em!
Chili Hash: All you do is put a layer of canned chili in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, then add layer of hash browns, (I threw in some diced onion), and finish with a layer of grated Cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or so at 350 degrees. I made this the night before and we had it the next day. It was delicious.
Breakfast bowls! Layer cooked hash browns, eggs (scrambled with veggies is awesome, or with bacon and sausage, or whatever way you like), shredded cheese, and top with country gravy.
Lastly, I’ll close with one of our favorites, a recipe so good we’ve served it as a dinner side dish as well as for breakfast. See what you think:
Hash Brown Quiche
Serving size: 1
Calories per serving: 1,869.244
Ingredients:
Calories per serving: 1,869.244
3 cups shredded frozen hash brown potatoes
1/3 cup butter melted
1 cup cooked, diced ham (or crumbled and cooked breakfast sausage)
1/3 cup chopped onions
1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 eggs
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Press hash browns onto the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until beginning to brown.
In a small bowl, combine ham, onion and shredded cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and a little seasoning salt. When crust is ready, spread ham mixture on the bottom, then cover with egg mixture. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until filling is puffed and golden brown.
NOTES:
You can bake this quiche, and refrigerate for up to 2 days in advance, then reheat in the microwave. It also freezes well.
This is delicious meatless as well. Just add 1 cup of lightly steamed chopped broccoli to replace the meat. And along the way, why not toss in some sliced mushrooms?
In a small bowl, combine ham, onion and shredded cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and a little seasoning salt. When crust is ready, spread ham mixture on the bottom, then cover with egg mixture. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until filling is puffed and golden brown.
NOTES:
You can bake this quiche, and refrigerate for up to 2 days in advance, then reheat in the microwave. It also freezes well.
This is delicious meatless as well. Just add 1 cup of lightly steamed chopped broccoli to replace the meat. And along the way, why not toss in some sliced mushrooms?
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Sources:
- www.chicagotribune.com
- www.simplyrecipes.com
- www.youtube.com
- www.thepioneerwoman.com
- www.thekitchn.com
- www.niftymom.com
- www.jonesdairyfarm.com
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
