How to Make Hash Browns

Hash browns are a staple of a hearty full-sized American style breakfast. They are the perfect complement to a side of eggs, toast, and sausages. However, their simple looks and appeal are rather deceiving as they are easy to mess up. Many people have found this to be true in their attempts to make perfect looking textured hash browns at home.

Homemade Hash Brown Recipe

In order to properly follow this homemade hash brown recipe you’ll need the correct equipment and ingredients. Yes, it is easier to just go down the frozen foods aisle in a grocery store and pick up the frozen, ready to cook hash browns. However, knowing how to make them yourself from scratch is not only rewarding but will allow you to spruce up a plate of hash browns whenever you like.

How to Make Hash Browns

How to Make Hash Browns

You’ll need the following:

Preparing the Potatoes

With all the equipment and ingredients at your disposal, the first step is preparing the potatoes by peeling them. Simply use a proper potato peeler to remove all the skin from the potatoes that you will be using. If you’re using certain potatoes such as Red Pontiac potatoes, you won’t even need to peel the potatoes.

Once they are peeled, it’s time to place them through a shredder. A normal cheese shredder works reasonably well for this job and, by the end of it all, you should have a couple of cups of coarsely shredded potatoes.

Preventing Mush Hash Browns

How to Make Hash Browns

How to Make Hash Browns

One of the most common problems that people encounter when attempting to create perfectly crisp but not burnt hash browns is the moisture that is trapped in the potatoes. When the moisture is not taken care of in the preparation stage, you will end up with a plate of hash browns that is entirely too mushy in the center.

The secret to preventing this is by soaking up all the moisture of the potatoes after they have been shredded. Just before soaking up the moisture you have the option of washing the shreds with some water to get any skin particles out. The easiest method to remove moisture in the potatoes shreds is to lay the shreds out on a large plate or on a cutting board and pressing down on the shreds with a paper towel. Be a bit patient in this process and ensure that the moisture has been removed to get the best results.

Cooking the Potato Shreds

Pour the 2 tablespoons of oil onto the skillet. The surface of the skillet should be coated in just enough oil. Others like to use butter instead of oil but, for the best results, it’s best to use a vegetable oil, olive oil or coconut oil. Place the stove range on medium-high and wait a couple of minutes until the oil is well heated.

Layer the Potato Shreds

One way to make proper hash browns is to place the shreds onto the skillet in layers. This is not entirely necessary, as one can just put half in first, wait a bit, and then place the other half. With the stove ranges set to medium-low, place a moderate layer of hash browns onto the skillet and let it cook for about 30 seconds before adding another layer.  Remember to add in any other ingredients such as onions or herbs during the cooking stage.

Flipping Hash Browns

With all of the hash browns on the skillet , you have the choice of adding salt and pepper during the cooking process or simply adding them when the hash browns are done and ready to eat. Set the timer for six minutes. This is approximately the time required to get the underside of your hash browns a nice crispy texture. Once the six minutes are up, or once the underside has a golden brown texture to it, you’re ready to flip the hash browns with the spatula. You’ll only have to flip it one time in order to get both sides golden brown.

Perfect Textured Hash Browns

Another six minutes will be needed to get the other side to turn golden brown and slightly crispy. For first timers, it’s always important to keep a close eye on the underside of the hash browns as they may begin to burn if you only rely on a timer. Potential burning can be remedied by placing your stove range on a lower setting and allowing the hash browns to simply cook for a bit longer than expected.

Once both sides are crispy and have a slightly toasty color to them, you’re ready to place it onto a plate. Remember to place a touch of salt and pepper on the hash browns if you did not place any when cooking the hash browns.

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