Any Hash Brown Junkies Here?

For the last couple years I’ve been on a mission to find the best hash brown method/recipe out there.

I’ve tried all sorts of things starting with raw potatoes.

The vast majority of the ways I started was with a normal box shredder with either peeled or unpeeled.

Then from there I’ve rinsed them quick and fried, soaked and fried, soaked/boiled and fried, soaked microwaved and fried, soaked dehydrated/rehydrated and fried, etc. With various seasonings (or lack there of), adding cheese and onions etc. And I always squeeze out as much water as possible.

My wife recently picked up a julienne slicer and I’m digging it so far. It makes finer strands more similar to store bought shredded hash browns.

An overnight soak with julienned taters in water (with a few sprinkles of salt) has turned out the best so far. I like adding some onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper just before cooking.

A buddy of mine told me he likes to boil whole potatoes first then goes from there. I haven’t tried that yet.

What’s your favorite method?

My favorite is when I order them off the menu. That reminds me, I need to get to a keys cafe one day this week.

After rinsing the water out, spread them out on paper towels and pat them down to get them as dry as possible. I then heat up a frying pan with some Avacado oil and butter and drop them in. Once they have a good char I place a plate in the pan and flip it over, then put them back in the pan uncharred side down. I then sprinkle some Cajun Seasoning and garlic salt, take out once the bottom has some char on it. I then drizzle on some home made Raising Canes sauce and light ketchup. Its money!

Leftover baked potatoes out of the fridge The next day or two. I Run them over a cheese grater and fry.

I just boil them with the jackets on. Cool peel skin off, grate in I cake pan pay down run a knife thru it to make square freeze. I spray the cake pan with Pam. Take out nuke for 30 seconds. Break apart bag up and refreeze..

Peel ’em, Boil ’em, Drain ’em, soak ’em in ice water for an hour, Shed ’em into a glass bowl with a strainer screen top and flip them onto another bowl and place in fridge over night or no more than 12 hours in advance of frying them. Kind of alot of work, but they come out very good. The 2 bowls and strainer lets the excess water and starch run off and keeps the bottom of the potatoes from soaking it all back up.

Dave maze wrote:

My favorite is when I order them off the menu. That reminds me, I need to get to a keys cafe one day this week.

Keys is delicious, especially the one in white bear. Only been for breakfast though.

As for the hash brown method, I melt 1/2 to 3/4 stick of butter in my pan. Peel shred 4 potatoes or how ever many fill your skillet. Cook on one side till perfection and flip to other side for 3 or 4 minutes, comes out the perfect mix of crunch and soft.
Place 4 over easy eggs on top with some shredded bacon and 35 shakes of tobasco, make 4 pieces of toast and you have my favorite breakfast ever. Also makes a great dinner

Shred raw potatoes and the dunce the living heck out of them till rinse water runs clear. Squeeze all the water out and fry in salted butter with a couple tablespoons avacado oil added till golden brown both sides and enjoy!

Anybody cook them in a waffle maker? Very crispy.

best method is to go to a tiny diner out in the sticks. love my hashbrowns but they never turn out like the small town spots up north…..EVER. i have heard that you need to use a flat top and a very generous amount of grease to make it happen. i bet one of those black stone griddles would kick out some amazing hashbrowns!

eyeguy507 wrote:

best method is to go to a tiny diner out in the sticks. love my hashbrowns but they never turn out like the small town spots up north…..EVER. i have heard that you need to use a flat top and a very generous amount of grease to make it happen. i bet one of those black stone griddles would kick out some amazing hashbrowns!

They do. When I was young I cooked at Perkins and made some awesome hashbrowns on the big flat top, right on all the bacon grease

Just that you are starting with fresh real potatoes is great-you definetly can taste the difference and it is worth the extra effort. I like to soak, pat dry fry in good quality oil, kosher salt, grind some pepper, yum.

I have a crock pot hash recipe where the base is hash browns. It is spectacular…in fact the wife just bought the ingredients yesterday. Going to make it today.

I grate raw, rinse then put them in a cheese cloth and ring them out. Then pat them dry with a paper towel.

More than anything, the cooking fat makes the real difference. I hate when a cafe uses margarine in their hash browns. Disgusting.

Butter, beef tallow and or bacon grease. Janes Crazy Mixed Up Salt and pepper for seasoning.

I shred raw white potatoes with a food processor, then soak in ice water for a half hour. I strain the shredded potatoes and while they drip I heat butter in a wide saute pan, then add the potatoes. While that pan is browning I heat butter in another pan and have it ready and hot. When the first pan has browned up nice I flip the pan into the other so the second side browns up without breaking the potato mass up..

Jimmy Jones wrote:

I shred raw white potatoes with a food processor, then soak in ice water for a half hour. I strain the shredded potatoes and while they drip I heat butter in a wide saute pan, then add the potatoes. While that pan is browning I heat butter in another pan and have it ready and hot. When the first pan has browned up nice I flip the pan into the other so the second side browns up without breaking the potato mass up..

My method is similar except I do not use a second pan. Just give the first pan a yank upward like you are settling a fish hook.
The entire mass of potatoes flies up in the air while doing a somersault. Catch the somersaulting potatoes in the same pan, when the browned side is up.
Yes, it is a learned technique.

Huntindave wrote:

My method is similar except I do not use a second pan. Just give the first pan a yank upward like you are settling a fish hook.
The entire mass of potatoes flies up in the air while doing a somersault. Catch the somersaulting potatoes in the same pan, when the browned side is up.
Yes, it is a learned technique.

This. My wife makes me flip her hash browns when she’s cooking them.

Thanks for all the ideas guys.

Just got done with breakfast this morning with some taters I peeled and julienned last night. They’re the closest thing I can get to cafe hash browns from scratch.

I’m not the best at flipping a panful and use the stove top griddle with single servings and a giant spatula.

Bull’s-eyes went with them (one of mine and the boy’s favorites)

Attachments:

1. 

   PXL_20230218_143716906-scaled.jpg
   

2. 

   PXL_20230218_143646532-scaled.jpg
   

Hashbrowns are good but reading through this it strikes me that they are tricky to get right. I cook up “American fries”

Dice a few potatoes and put them in a bowl. Wet a paper towel and place on top of the bowl. Microwave for 3-5 minutes. Then fry them in oil. I always like to add rosemary and oregano along with salt and pepper and usually a little cajun spice. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to soak up some of the oil. Sprinkle a little cheese on top

I’m big into styuffed hashbrowns. I use my pan method but I don’t fill the first pan quite so full. When they get flipped, I add chopped browned bacon, chopped browned sausage, chopped ham and scrambled eggs to 1/2 of the already brown potatoes. When the second side has browned to my liking at toss a pile of shredded cheeses on the eggs and fold the potatoes ala a taco and let the cheese melt a bit, then serve. Onion, gr.pepper, you name it can go into this and it simply dynamite.

Jimmy Jones wrote:

I’m big into styuffed hashbrowns. I use my pan method but I don’t fill the first pan quite so full. When they get flipped, I add chopped browned bacon, chopped browned sausage, chopped ham and scrambled eggs to 1/2 of the already brown potatoes. When the second side has browned to my liking at toss a pile of shredded cheeses on the eggs and fold the potatoes ala a taco and let the cheese melt a bit, then serve. Onion, gr.pepper, you name it can go into this and it simply dynamite.

This sounds amazing and I think I gained my weight back just reading!

B-man wrote:

Thanks for all the ideas guys.

Just got done with breakfast this morning with some taters I peeled and julienned last night. They’re the closest thing I can get to cafe hash browns from scratch.

I’m not the best at flipping a panful and use the stove top griddle with single servings and a giant spatula.

Bull’s-eyes went with them (one of mine and the boy’s favorites)

B man’s bullseyes are great hangover relief…
Yes, speaking from experience.

I really didn’t need to come across this thread at 7:30 in the morning. I had plans to start tiling the basement bathroom right away this morning.. Thanks a lot guys. Now I have to cook homemade hash browns.

Do any of you use a Julienne peeler to make hash browms. If so, do you have any recommdations?

Attachments:

1. 

   OXO_Peeler.jpg
   

djshannon wrote:

Do any of you use a Julienne peeler to make hash browms. If so, do you have any recommdations?

Yes, I like it far better than the regular box grater I’d been using.

It cuts the potatoes into nice shoestrings that fry up nicer and turn out more like a cafe’s.

Here’s the one my wife bought, it has multiple other slicers with it, and holds about four potatoes.

Julienned on the right, grated on the left.

Bruzek, I’m glad you enjoyed the bullseyes

Attachments:

1. 

   PXL_20230219_154438270.MP2_-scaled.jpg
   

2. 

   PXL_20230219_152940256-scaled.jpg
   

A favorite way I learned while cooking at a restaurant in my younger years is to add onion, green pepper, cajun seasoning, with shredded cheddar on top. So good.

B-man those hash browns look perfect to me!

MX1825 wrote:

B-man those hash browns look perfect to me!

It’s been a work in progress to find “the best” way for my palate. There’s a hundred ways to do it, but I’m striving for the classic cafe hash browns from scratch.

Using the julienne slicer recently was a big step that I never really heard of or knew people did (every recipe I’ve found just uses a regular grater including me until recently)

Another thing I like to do is blanch them after soaking (to avoid the raw potatoe taste), but have found that you really don’t need to soak if you’re blanching anyway.

I watched a video this morning where a guy just shreds, rinses the crap out of them, then fries in clarified butter and covers them before the first flip (cooks the middle better when raw). The clarified butter has a higher smoke point and looks like it’s worth the little bit of added work.

Gonna try that next

Let us know, like the simplicity of that one

I cook them in a small amount of oil, generous amount of S&P, just use the bags of browns. Then when they are close to flip over time I drop butter in the center and flip when ready to crisp the other side.