How do y'all make loose/patty hash browns?

[BAPyessir6]

I never cook hash browns, and it shows. As I didn't grow up eating breakfast, I've only ever made hash browns like twice in my life.

I wanted to make loose shreds of hash browns today, and that really didn't go well. After grating (a raw potato), I threw the potato in the pan and moved it around and then it got gluey and almost. . .gloppy?

So I used my "this is what my mom did for hash browns once" knowledge, I grated 2 more potatoes and tried hash brown patties/cakes instead (which are for some reason easier for me). All 3 successive hash browns used raw potatoes.

I did one hash brown squeezed out of all the water, one hash brown patty with nothing done to it, and a third soaked in water 15 minutes then rung out. All 3 were cooked with a staggering amount of oil in cast iron on very low until golden brown.

Me, my sister, and my husband sampled all 3, and we found that there was very little difference between the one soaked and squeezed and the one just squeezed. (The soaked one was shatteringly crisp and super thin, while the squeezed one was just crispy). The nothing done to it ranked last.

I've also done hash browns taking squeezed raw potatoes and nuking them in the microwave about a minute, to evaporate even more moisture.

How do y'all make hash browns? Got any tips and tricks to making patties? What about loose shreds? Do you need to let them get golden then just break them up?

Pictures of the soaked one is more golden, the darker colored potato is the one that had nothing done to it, just thrown raw shreds in a pan. I forgot to take a picture of the just squeezed potato.

 

[taxlady]

I have never been very happy with my attempts at hash browns, so I want to see people here suggest. Thank you for doing that test and reporting on it here @BAPyessir6

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

That is exactly why I make what some call country hash browns and some call southern hash browns. They are diced potatoes (I have both frozen and canned), fried until browned and crisp. Sometimes I will buy the frozen diced potatoes with onions and peppers called Potatoes O'Brien for a special treat, and sometimes I will add my own onion and peppers.

And please don't tell me those are not country or southern hash browns. I didn't label them, I just cook them!

Just for all y'alls edification, there is country in places other than below the Mason-Dixon line. My mother used to love to have my father take her for a drive in the country in Western New York on a warm summer afternoon. Oh, and I live in the south now. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, which is where the majority of this country's commercial produce is grown. I'd call that country!

 

[HeyItsSara]

I buy them in a bag! I find the baby ones get crispiest in the toaster.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Personally, I find made-from-scratch hash browns to be kind of putzy. The frozen ones tend to come out perfect, and with a lot less work.

But since you asked, here is what my grandmother did. Hers always came out great. Use russet baking potatoes and shred them. Then put the potatoes in a bowl and cover with cold water. Stir them up with your hand a bit and put them in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight. This removes the starch from the potatoes and will eliminate the gloppy results.

Rinse the shredded potatoes, toss with salt and pepper, and wrap them in a towel to remove as much residual water as possible. Heat 2 tablespoons oil (you don't need to drown them in oil) over medium high heat. Add the potatoes and smash them down with a spatula to make a cake of sorts. Then let them brown on one side for about 10-15 minutes without disturbing them. Carefully flip them and do the same for the other side.

Easy peasy... but time consuming.

I still prefer the frozen ones.

 

[pepperhead212]

I like the kind with the shredded potatoes, too. I just rinse them briefly, then drain for a while, and proceed like SK does.

 

[caseydog]

Personally, I find made-from-scratch hash browns to be kind of putzy. The frozen ones tend to come out perfect, and with a lot less work.

I'm with ya' 100 percent. They are way easier to get a good result.

The other thing I've found is to toss your HBs on whatever fat you are using, and do not flip them until the first side is completely done and brown. Then flip.

CD

 

[Andy M.]

I defrost some Tater Tots in the microwave, break them up and fry them in butter is a hot skillet until browned on both sides. Tater Tots don't break down into strands of potato like real hash browns but they're pretty darned tasty and simple.

 

[grumpyoldman]

big fan of waffle house hash browns here ,
use russet potatoes shred them any way you like ( i use a food processor) put them in a colander and rinse with cold water , then i fire up the black stone griddle ,add just enough margarine to cook on to the griddle , , temp on the griddle should be about med heat , put on the loose potatoes and cover for 5 minutes , remove the cover flip the potatoes over and turn the heat to high, cook till golden brown .....if you like waffle house hash browns you will love these they are just like em !!

 

[caseydog]

big fan of waffle house hash browns here ,
use russet potatoes shred them any way you like ( i use a food processor) put them in a colander and rinse with cold water , then i fire up the black stone griddle ,add just enough margarine to cook on to the griddle , , temp on the griddle should be about med heat , put on the loose potatoes and cover for 5 minutes , remove the cover flip the potatoes over and turn the heat to high, cook till golden brown .....if you like waffle house hash browns you will love these they are just like em !!

I don't know anyone who's been to WH who doesn't like their hash browns. I love that place, especially after a weekend of camping.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

I've always added an egg and some flour - worked for me.

 

[caseydog]

I've always added an egg and some flour - worked for me.

That's more like a potato pancake than a hash brown.

CD

 

[grumpyoldman]

mine come off the griddle loose brown and crispy
try them like this CD, i think you will be very pleased with the results

 

[caseydog]

mine come off the griddle loose brown and crispy
try them like this CD, i think you will be very pleased with the results

I rarely make hash browns, but make them the same way Waffle House does, so I guess I'm already making them like you do.

Wait, I don't use margarine, AKA corn oil pretending to be butter. Otherwise, the same.

CD

 

[msmofet]

I make these potatoes for breakfast or whenever. I guess most people call these home fries. Much easier than the shredded stuff. Cut potatoes (cubes or slices), microwave till just tender. Add butter, onions (sometimes any color bell pepper and/or mushrooms) to pan and cook till just tender. Throw potatoes in, season, turn up heat a bit and brown.

 

[dragnlaw]

Cut potatoes (cubes or slices), microwave till just tender. Add butter, onions

If you don't want to add egg then this is how I do it. The potatoes are precooked - either leftovers or as msmofet, micro'd.

 

[caseydog]

I make these potatoes for breakfast or whenever. I guess most people call these home fries. Much easier than the shredded stuff. Cut potatoes (cubes or slices), microwave till just tender. Add butter, onions (sometimes any color bell pepper and/or mushrooms) to pan and cook till just tender. Throw potatoes in, season, turn up heat a bit and brown.

View attachment 72773

View attachment 72772

As a Texan, I love me some home fries. I order mine extra crispy. Down here, they usually have some green peppers in them. I'm okay with that, but can't say I can't do without them, either. The peppers need to be cooked to the point of having some bite to them.

if I make home fries, they are leftover diced potatoes that have been around the block enough to be somewhat dried out. Put them in a cast iron pan with some kind of fat, which to me would be butter, and cook them until crispy on the outside.

CD

 

[HeyItsSara]

oooo green peppers! lovely!!!

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

To me, home fries are sliced potatoes, thicker than for potato chips, pan fried until browned, but not crispy. I usually slice them on my mandoline, but I got a can of sliced potatoes from the food bank and they worked just fine.

 

[medtran49]

I grate large baking potatoes, salt and pepper them very generously, toss, then let them sit for at least 10 minutes or so. They will exude a lot of liquid and turn a darker color. Don't worry about the color, it will be fine after cooking. When you are ready to cook, heat a nonstick skillet, big enough to hold all the potatoes in a 1/4 inch or so layer, over medium high heat, with enough vegetable oil to coat entire bottom. Pick up a good handful of potatoes, then squeeze, using both hands, all of the liquid out of the potatoes, and place in skillet. Repeat until all are done. Flatten out the potatoes with a spatula and then leave them alone until the bottom layer is brown. Then, flip the entire thing if you are able, break up into sections if not, then let that layer brown.

The drier the potatoes the better they will brown and not be gluey. While cooking, peek every once in a while at the bottom to make sure it is not browning/burning. Turn the heat down if you think it is cooking too fast.