Help wanted for making hash brown potatoes golden

[Aunt Bea]

I agree with Greg on the moisture if you are using raw potato. Read a couple of recipes for potato latkes and use some of the techniques in your hash browns.

Get the water out, a little flour, salt and pepper, hot pan, hot oil, and Don't play with them!!!

I actually prefer to make mine using leftover baked potatoes because they tend to be dryer and brown much nicer like home fries.

 

[Addie]

Another thing diners often do is put a weight on the cooking potatoes to ensure maximum contact with the hot grill surface. You can buy cast iron ones either round or rectangular in shape with a wood handle.

Known as a bacon press. Love mine.

 

[Addie]

Ore Ida sells frozen loose hash browns in addition to patties.

I use them sometimes; they are pretty good. But then tater tots are one if my 4 food groups.

Good ole Jenny!!! Ah yes. I remember it well.

 

[Zereh]

Shred your raw potatoes onto a tea towel. Wring the water of them. Put them onto your George Forman- or panini-style grill. Place a pat or three of butter over them. Close the grill. They come out with a perfect crunch on the outside.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I agree with Greg on the moisture if you are using raw potato. Read a couple of recipes for potato latkes and use some of the techniques in your hash browns.

That's probably what I was making. I like the additional spiciness added by onion. That's probably not for everybody though. And I admit they're definitely not hash browns if onion is added.

I serve mine with sour cream and chopped green onions, pretty much the same way many people like their baked potatoes.

 

[Addie]

Moisture is one of the problems. You might want to try squeezing your grated potato in cheesecloth to squeeze out moisture, and/or dry the grated potato by wrapping in a clean cloth towel (instead of paper).

Does anybody else add grated onion to their potato? I know it won't be hash brown potatoes any more but I like mine this way, up to 50:50 onion:potato. The onions have a lot more moisture so that's how I came up with my moisture reduction ideas mentioned above.

Then you have potatoe pancake. Which I will do every so often for my self. Flour absorbs the moisture. Then you end up replacing some of it with the egg. (Can't win) I also will use the grater on my FP for them instead of the box grater. If I am using the box grater for the potatoes, I use the largest holes.

Diner frozen hash browns are like their French Fries. Partially cooked in fat, drained, and flash frozen. The cooks that prep their own, blanch the potatoes in water, cool, grate, and then finish cooking them on the grill. And they do use the large holes on a box grater. Our all-night diner over near the South Station has a prep person in the back room that does all the prep work for the next day. The another one comes in at five in the evening to do it for the night shift. That is one reason their mashed taters are lumpy. Between hash browns, mashed taters, home fries, etc., they go through at least 200 lbs. in a 24 hour period. Can you imagaine sitting there peeling all those potatoes? They do have an automatic peeler. But they get cut one by one for FF. Then blanched in the deep fryer in back, then frozen.

My first husband worked in a Jewish Deli in Chelsea. The restaurant and our house shared the same back yard. Every night the kids would go into the back door, get a big tray of FF and bring them home. To this day, I can't stand to eat them. YUK

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Not everybody peels their potatoes. I prefer hash browns, latkas or mashed potatoes with the skin left in. Not only is it less work but I prefer the taste. I'll admit that most people probably don't like or want the skin.

 

[FrankZ]

Sometimes those processed potatoes (french fries or hash browns) are soaked in sugar water during processing. The sugars aid in that golden color.

 

[Addie]

Sometimes those processed potatoes (french fries or hash browns) are soaked in sugar water during processing. The sugars aid in that golden color.

Also, soaking them removes some of the starch. And that too helps in the browning. Let them sit long enough in the water, and you will see a lot of the starch in the bottom of the bowl.

 

[Zhizara]

If you have ever watched a cook in a diner /QUOTE]

Making those kind of golden hash browns in about 15 minutes is what I'm going for. I will use fresh or frozen, whatever gets me there to enjoy with a Breakfast Jack (egg ham and cheese on hamburger bun).

I might quicken up the hash browns by pan frying Ore-Ida Shredded Potato Patties. Gonna see how that goes. I might nuke em a bit first, or thaw them. I realize those ARE precooked, not just blanched and frozen.

I have good luck with the patties. I use the toaster oven rather than heat up my oven. It comes to temperature in a matter of seconds and gives a nice crispy browned crust.

I also have used loose shredded (frozen) hash brown potatoes:

I just have some cooking spray on the pan, press them into the pan, and when the bottom is about done, put under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top. It holds together and I usually cut into quarters to serve.

 

[apple916]

God I love hash browns but it's almost impossible to make them from scratch because when I try to wring out the moisture then they get all crushed then when you fry it it just breaks up and disintegrate into almost nothing. I really don't want to buy it frozen because I rather have "fresh" from my own stash.

What worked better was just to cook them whole in the microwave 1st which removes most of the moisture. Then I let them cool on the counter for couple hrs then I shred them and by then it's dry and ready to fry. BUT they still shrink and don't become nice and fluffy like the ones you get at IHOP. I'm still trying and tinkering with it and hopefully one day they will come out as good as baked potatoes.

 

[Andy M.]

I decided to make some HBs for lunch. I grated a russet potato and wrung it dry by twisting it in a towel (as seen on TV). I pre-heated a non-stick skillet and added a pat of butter. Then the potatoes went in with some salt and pepper over medium heat. Topped that with my ridged bacon press. The ridges applied uneven pressure, causing the potato to brown unevenly but you can see they are brown and I can attest they were crispy. The sausages were good too.

 

[Kayelle]

Shred your raw potatoes onto a tea towel. Wring the water of them. Put them onto your George Forman- or panini-style grill. Place a pat or three of butter over them. Close the grill. They come out with a perfect crunch on the outside.

Now there's a hint worth remembering!! Going out to the garage to retrieve the Geo. Foreman grill from the Goodwill donation box.

Makes perfect sense Zereh!!

 

[Dawgluver]

Shred your raw potatoes onto a tea towel. Wring the water of them. Put them onto your George Forman- or panini-style grill. Place a pat or three of butter over them. Close the grill. They come out with a perfect crunch on the outside.

Zereh, I'm going to try this too! Great idea! Thanks!

 

[Janet H]

Almost every hash house I've seen the back end of uses dehydrated potatoes to make hash browns. They are re-hydrated in bulk and then fried on the griddle with whatever else happens to be cooking. I use these at home (shhhh....) as well and they made fabulous hashbrowns - just the the ones at the breakfast shop
Here's a link of an example

I always leave plenty of time to soak these in hot water - maybe up to an hour and then RINSE them. This removes most of the 'food from New Jersey' processed taste. I cook them in a skillet in a mixture of butter and olive oil and turn them only once. No fiddling with them as they cook.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

That's interesting about the dehydrated hash browns. I'll have to see if I can find them at the supermarket.

Janet you mentioned something that is IMO very important and not previously mentioned in this topic:

Turn your hash browns only once!

 

[Addie]

That's interesting about the dehydrated hash browns. I'll have to see if I can find them at the supermarket.

Janet you mentioned something that is IMO very important and not previously mentioned in this topic:

Turn your hash browns only once!

That's why we have been saying "do not play with them." Let them sit and brown.

 

[Caslon]

Frying hash browns with non stick pans, the oil separates and it's almost like you have to steer the hash browns into the pan to get them cooking properly.

 

[Caslon]

That's interesting about the dehydrated hash browns. I'll have to see if I can find them at the supermarket.

Janet you mentioned something that is IMO very important and not previously mentioned in this topic:

Turn your hash browns only once!

I doubt the post reply about hash browns in greasy spoons being par cooked.
McDonalds DOES partially cook their fries and freezes them, I doubt that's the case with packaged hash brown potatoes of any kind. The only kind of hash browns you can buy frozen are basically just shredded potatoes that have been quick flash frozen, not par boiled, just frozen as they are. They are OK (not as flavorful as freshly grated). I'm gonna try and get better at cooking them to a nice golden brown.

lol, I blames my non-stick pan.

 

[chopper]

My best are made for the breakfast the morning after having baked potatoes. I make extra to use the next morning. Sometimes with bacon grease and sometimes with butter. Always with a little onion. Yum yum!!