Hash Brown Potatoes - Easy Peasy

We love hash browns. Not good for us but we love them. But people seem not to be able to make a decent has brown.

Tips for a really good hash brown.

1. Use a nonstick pan
2. Use enough oil
3. The potatoes MUST be dry (see pictures below)
4. And last, KEEP YOU HANDS OFF

That is all you need to know.


Rating:

A 4 since they are just hash browns but we will be doing them over and over.

Notes
I have tied hash browns before and didn't have them dry enough. Lesson learned. My wife has made some excellent hash browns so I got some tips. She was more right then the internet. She likes a large serving and some of the internet instructions were very picky about amount to keep the mass of potatoes down so they would get done. They wanted no more than 8 oz. I used 24 ozs here and was fine with her technique.

4 medium russet potatoes.

Shred the potatoes with a box shredder or food processor. Here I'm using a fork near the end of shredding a potato. I like my knuckles intact. I could use a food processor but I hate cleaning the thing.

 As soon as the potatoes are shredded, get them in cold water. Rinse them well, drain, rinse again and drain.

Now is the time to heat 2 T oil over medium heat in a large nonstick pan. Put the drained potatoes the middle of a dish towel. Use a flat thin one, not the fluffy one.

Squeeze out as much water as possible...

Now wring out more water until you can't get any more. (This is one of the keys)

Dump the potatoes into the hot oil.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

DO NOT TOUCH for about 8-9 minutes until you have a nice "finish browning" on the bottom. Snick a look. Do not cook on high, it will brown but not cook through. Now the hard part is flipping. I used 2 large spatulas. If you have a third hand, add another tablespoon or two of oil while you do this or snick it under after the flip by lifting the sides and then moving it around some to spread the oil.

Cook another 5 minutes or so. Check underneath for done.

Hash Brown Potatoes - Easy Peasy

by DrDan at 101 Cooking for Two February-16-2013

We love hash browns. Not good for us but we love them. But people seem not to be able to make a decent has brown. Tips for a really good hash brown: 1)Use a nonstick pan 2) Use enough oil 3) The potatoes MUST be dry. 4) And last, KEEP YOU HANDS OFF.   That is all you need to know.

Ingredients

• 4 medium russet potatoes
• 3 T oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1) Shred the potatoes with a box shredder or food processor. 2) As soon as the potatoes are shredded, get them in cold water. Rinse them well, drain, rinse again and drain.3) Now is the time to heat 2 T oil over medium heat in a large nonstick pan. 4) Put the drained potatoes the middle of a dish towel. Use a flat thin one, not the fluffy one.5) Squeeze out as much water as possible... Now wring out more water until you can't get any more. (This is one of the keys)6) Dump the potatoes into the hot oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.7) DO NOT TOUCH for about 8-9 minutes until you have a nice "finish browning" on the bottom. Snick a look. Do not cook on high, it will brown but not cook through. 8) Now the hard part is flipping. I used 2 large spatulas. If you have a third hand, add another tablespoon or two of oil while you do this or snick it under after the flip by lifting the sides and then moving it around some to spread the oil.9) Cook another 5 minutes or so. Check underneath for done.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 4 servings

Updated

February 16 2013

DrDan