The Secret to Brown, Crispy Hash Browns

The Secret to Brown, Crispy Hash Browns

You know that restaurant hash browns are prepackaged, trucked in, and just reheated.  You also know they have a longer list of ingredients your body doesn’t need…but admit it, you love them and wish you could get yours to brown evenly and end up crispy like that at home.  Grandma could make them; you can too.

I am an old-fashioned cook.  I love the myriad of variations that exist over the great expanse of time, culture, and tradition.  I am inviting you to leave your super-secret tip in the comment section, if you find that a slightly different technique works for you.  This is my technique, though, so if mushy hash browns are a problem for you, try this and the comments others leave below!

I like mine buttery and crispy.  Restaurant hash browns are off limits for our family because they invitably have cornstarch and/or dextrose or maltodextrin.  At home, you can use real, nourishing ingredients and have them on the table in about 45 minutes.  Or, you can work ahead the night before and make them in just about 15 minutes the next day!

Tips & Tricks before we get started:

1) Use Large Potatoes to save knuckles, time, and potato.  You’ll be grating them.

2)  Use red potatoes or another low-starch variety.  Low starch potatoes hold together better.  Read about using the right potato for the right job.  

3) Top to bottom, they take 45 minutes.  You can work ahead the night before so that you have fresh hash browns in just 15 minutes.  Boil the potatoes and, keeping them covered in water, leave in the refrigerator until ready to use.

4) Handle them gently.  Most homemade hash browns get mushy for the same reason most homemade bread is dry–people over-handle it.

5) Be decadent.  Use butter…or better yet, ghee!  Nearly every recipe out there calls for vegetable oil.  They’re wrong.  Now, a reader named Jennifer mentioned how she prefers home-rendered lard.  I would say that she is right (I’m partial to home-rendered lard for nearly everything, myself) in the sense that you might feel like they get browner or crispier, since lard cooks at a higher heat well.  But–the flavor of butter does so much to hash browns, that I think you can’t go wrong either way.

6) You need to cook the potatoes thoroughly through the middle without over-boiling them, which would cause them to they fall apart (you’re not making mashed potatoes).  I find that exactly 1/2 hour is perfect for boiling.  There have been times, with larger potatoes, though, that they are still too hard in the very center.  I put them back on to boil or  I set those centers aside and put them in tomorrow’s slow cooker soup.
Why Boil?  Anna says: “No par boiling for me. I drain them in a colander for about 30 minutes, lay them on a dish towel and place another dish towel on top. and press the moisture out. Since they aren’t already half cooked, no worries about turning them into mashed potatoes. I then put them in a skillet using an Olive oil spray for non sticking. I leave them on that side til a little brown. I then score and flip them and leave them til a little brown. I then put them in the oven to ‘finish’ cooking (browning), flipping once. Makes the nicest crunchiest crust I’ve had! And they’re nice and tender on the inside.

That’s awesome, Anna!  This was actually how I made them for years but they turned out inconsistently.  They were often soggy, and they felt saturated with the oil instead of crisping up.  They also felt heavier in the stomach instead of light and filling.  Anna is proof that it can be done, though!

Eggs and Boiled, Shredded Potato

Ingredients:

3 Large Potatoes (or 5 medium)

1 Tsp Salt (or 1 1/2 tsp onion salt)

2 Tbs butter

2-3 eggs

1)  Thoroughly peel potatoes.  Peels are great in other dishes, but not in hash browns. If very large, halve them for boiling but do not quarter or they’ll be hard to grate later.

2) Have potatoes in a rolling boil for exactly 30 minutes so that the centers are cooked but they are not falling apart (important!).

3) If saving, let them cool and then put them into the refrigerator for later use, keeping them immersed in water.  If using Immediately, drain off the potato water (saving for homemade bread later in the week), and cover with cold water.

4) Gently shred with a hand grater.  Then spread on a paper towel.  Although you want to drain them, squeezing out the water is not advisable. If you try to force this step, you’ll mash them.

5) In a large bowl, whisk 3 medium eggs (or 2 large).  Gently add potatoes and salt; stir just until they are covered.

6)  In large cast iron skillet, turn the heat to high and melt 2 Tbs butter.  Once melted reduce heat to medium and add hash browns.

7) Evenly spread the hash browns across the skillet with a spatula (patting them down) but do not stir.  Set the time for exactly 5 minutes.

8) Do not stir, flip, or peek.  Be firm about the 5 minutes on medium heat!

9) After 5 minutes, cut them into halves or into fourths in the skillet and flip carefully.  Set the timer for 5 more minutes and do not flip, stir, or peek!

Enjoy!

Chaya

 

 

 

 

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