Traditional All-American Hash Browns
Servings 4 people
Equipment
- large pot for boiling the potatoes
- food processor or box style hand shredder
- flat top grill or 8" non stick pan
- spatula or non stick spatula
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes, whole skins left on (Idaho, Maris Piper, Kennebec or even Yukon Gold)
- 1 gallon water, for boiling
- 2 tbsp salt and black pepper or general purpose chef's seasoning General purpose chef seasoning mix recipe: (6 tbsp Sea Salt, 3 tbsp Granulated Garlic, 3 tbsp ground Black Pepper, 1 tbsp ground Cayenne, 1 tbsp ground Cumin. Mix together and use as needed.)
- ⅓ cup butter, clarified/vegetable oil or more as needed Most any high-temperature oil will work.
- ½ whole onion, grated and juice removed (optional) Yellow/white onion or minced shallots will work best.
Instructions
Preparing the Potatoes
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. For those at high altitude, add 2 tbsp of salt to increase the boiling temperature of the water. (Leave the potato skins on.)
- Add the washed and cleaned potatoes to the boiling water. Gently boil for 20 minutes.
- Remove the potatoes from the boiling water by draining them into a large colander or removing them with a long set of tongs.
- Allow the potatoes to cool for 20-30 minutes before attempting to shred.
- If preparing hash browns right away, place them in an ice bath. (Once cooled you can keep the potatoes, skin on, in this form refrigerated for 24 hrs.)
- Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the the potato skins with a peeler or paring knife. The skins should come off easily.
- Shred the potatoes using a food processor or box grater utilizing the medium to large grate setting. Do not rinse the potatoes! You need the remaining starch to hold the potatoes together. Reserve. (Shredded potatoes in this form will only last about 10 minutes before oxidizing and becoming discolored. Make sure you are ready to cook them right after shredding.)
Cooking Traditional All-American Hash Browns.
- Heat up a non-stick skillet/large flat grill or plancha. Oil/butter the surface liberally. When the oil/butter is shimmering hot but not smoking, add a handful of the shredded potatoes.
- Press lightly to form a patty. Add seasonings and shredded onion or pepper if desired.
- Cook until the edges turn gold brown.
- Using a spatula, lift the hash browns and flip to brown the other side.
- Once the hash browns are cooked on both sides serve immediately.
Notes
Two methods for cooking in advance or preparing many servings at once.
Unpeeled Potatoes
Potatoes can be prepared a day or two ahead of time by keeping the skins on for storage in the refrigerator. When ready, remove the skins, shred the potatoes, cook and serve.
Peeled and Cooked Potatoes
To prepare several servings of hash browns at the same time, place several portions of the cooked hash browns on an oiled sheet pan and keep warm in the oven at 145°F/65°C.
This method can also be used to make them in advance as well. Store the cooked and cooled hash browns, wrapped with plastic wrap on the sheet pan in the refrigerator until needed. (For best results for 1 day.)
To reheat, place in a 400°F/205°C oven for 10-15 minutes. The internal temperature should be at least 145°F/65°C with an instant read thermometer.