how to make great hash browns ?

[justme4910]

evidently I don't have a clue,I bought a mandolin to be able to cut the taters right,which it did an impressive job of and did great on the onions too

I did lay the taters in some paper towels to dry them out some,then i put them in a cast iron skillet with hot shortening in it,I would have been better off to make some fried taters instead they didn't have much of the golden fried color that i like and they were greasy,not very good at all,other than it was taters and some fried onions

I want them to be a bit crispy and not so greasy,I don't eat them often but some times I have a major craving for some with breakfast ,mmmmm with an everything I have in the fridge omelette and some biscuits and gravy and then watch some sports program on a Sunday and take a snooze lol

please share an easy to do hash brown recipe and give me some hints as to what i'm doing wrong

hmmm whipped cream ? it seams to have fixed my biscuits and mashed taters problems probably won't help hash browns at all though

 

[Becky]

Whenever I try making them they crumble apart! Clearly I need help with this too!

 

[justme4910]

hmmm if we combine our methods Becky they may come out good mine stick together,like a big greasy clump of fried taters,i can make good fried taters but have stayed away from them in recent years

I did use to keep a pint jar of bacon grease in the fridge to fry them in and let me tell you,they were good too lol but I got rid of the bacon jar years ago sadly

 

[ChesterV]

Have no fear.........Chester is here!!!!!
LMAO


COLD. The secret is COLD!!!!

You need COLD taters to make them crunchy and fry up nice and brown!

For hash browns you can do one of two things....

1. Grate up your potatoes and stick them in a bowl of ice water while your pan is heating up.
2. Grate up your potatoes and make sort of small "pancakes" out of them, press each pattie between a paper towels to dry off the juice, then place them on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper, and then stick it in the freezer for an hour or two.

If you use the ice water method, before you start grabbing them to fry, grab a handful and squeeze the water out.
Put it in a paper towel and then squeeze again, then drop it in the fry pan. Be careful of the splattering!

If you use the freezer method, just peel one off the waxed paper and stick it directly into the fry pan.
If you use a splatter screen on your fry pan...PLEASE have this on top as soon as you drop a pattie in the oil/grease!

You can also make potato hash "cakes".

Mix 4 cups of grated taters with one egg, 3 tablespoons of cream or milk, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of flour.
Best results will happen if you whisk the egg, milk/cream, salt, pepper, and flour into a roux like substance and then add your taters and toss them to get them coated. Then make patties out of them and then fry them suckers!


If you want "lose" hash browns, once they hit the pan, toss around until they are as brown as you want.

If you want a solid hash brown, cook that sucker on one side until the edges are brown, then flip it over.

 

[Tina Nord]

I am glad I am not the only one who has had issues making fresh hasbrowns. I have had issues with them clumping and getting too greasy as well. It makes sense to freeze them before frying them and I am going to give this a try. This is why frozen hashbrowns you buy at the store always taste so good.

 

[ChesterV]

I am glad I am not the only one who has had issues making fresh hasbrowns. I have had issues with them clumping and getting too greasy as well. It makes sense to freeze them before frying them and I am going to give this a try. This is why frozen hashbrowns you buy at the store always taste so good.

Well....yes and no.

If your potatoes are getting too greasy when you cook them, then your oil/grease isn't hot enough.
This means the potato is cooking too slowly, and the slower it cooks and the more time it takes to get it brown, it will soak up a lot of oil/grease.

OR

You didn't dry your potatoes enough before putting them in the hot oil/grease. If there is too much water in the potato, then again...it will take longer to cook and get it brown....but in that time, the water is cooking OUT and the oil is getting soaked IN.

For really good hash browns, you pretty much have to "flash fry" them.

Like a lot of things done in the kitchen, it takes practice!!!!

 

[justme4910]

well the pan was starting to smoke when I dumped the last batch of hash browns in the oil,it was in a cast iron skillet,i did dry them with some paper towels,probably not enough though,I did use a cloth towel on time,they said to place the taters in it and roll them up and twist till the water was out of them

I did make on major mistake doing that,i didn't rinse the towel out and it turned black lol it took several washing's to get the black out

can you just freeze them and have them ready to be fried when they are needed ? and them hash cakes sound great

 

[Marya Afzal]

All this talk of hash browns really makes me want to try them, I'm going to have to try everyone's suggestions and see if I can get it right on the first try

 

[justme4910]

getting then dry is important,I've figured out that much and I will try Chester's advice on getting them cold next time

 

[ChesterV]

well the pan was starting to smoke when I dumped the last batch of hash browns in the oil,it was in a cast iron skillet,i did dry them with some paper towels,probably not enough though,I did use a cloth towel on time,they said to place the taters in it and roll them up and twist till the water was out of them

I did make on major mistake doing that,i didn't rinse the towel out and it turned black lol it took several washing's to get the black out

can you just freeze them and have them ready to be fried when they are needed ? and them hash cakes sound great

LOL, yeah my granny always used the "twist in a towel" method. I always use paper towels, as I can just throw them out when done.

You can have your oil TOO hot. If I remember right, the perfect frying temp for hashbrowns is 300 degrees.

Of course it has helped me out that I worked in fast food for some years, as well as bakeries.