hashbrowns?

[beerorkid]

The lifepartner and I are gonna have breftest for dinner and I wanna make hash browns. I am gonna google, but thought yall might have some of them there suggestions.

Gonna shred up my own taters. Figure oil in a pan. Looking to get the crispy brown on the outside. Figured I will cook pretty low and for a long time to make sure they are cooked all the way through. Would rinsing them off or boiling them a bit first make a diff?

[2fingerdave]

bake the potatoes first(not completely). . . . cool them completely. . . . .then shread them. . . this helps make them brown and crisp









edited a couple times cause i'm an idiot

[beerorkid]

Oh man on the google I am finding all sorts of differing ideas. Most say it is necessary to dry them out, or at least squeeze the water out of them. I picked up a 20 pack of tea towels so that should not be a problem.

I am kinda perplexed on the cooking them first part. Like a baked potato? I figure if I use enough oil and cook them slow I will get what I want.

I think a combo of oil and clarified butter will be the best way to go. I mean this is breftest in the evening. It aint gonna be all that healthy anyways.

I have attempted this before and it did not come out too well. Not enough oil and the temp was too high. Burnt outside and raw in the innards.

I worked at village inn for 4 years and they took frozen shreds and a big ol scoop of grill grease. I think a bunch of oil is necessary.

[Clervis]

wash the potatoes(duh)

Shred the potatoes (for 2 people 4 or 5 lg. ones should do) with a good cheese grater( use the bigger holes, not the tiny ones)

take the big pile of shedded potatoes and squeeze all the moisture out of them that you possibly can.

med. heat, large pan, 2 tbls. oil

place the shedded potatoes in the pan and don't touch em' for 10-15 minutes, check for crispy browness, when crispy browness has been achieved, flip as best you can (it's usually not perfect)

when that side reaches crispy browness...

EAT!

OR you could co to the store and buy the bag of shredded potatoes and follow the directions....that turns out really well too.

[2fingerdave]

by baking them you are helping turn the starches into sugars which makes them brown

[2fingerdave]

Yeah, but I'll be you dollars to doughnuts (nice, hunh?) that those shreds were coated with something. I think you're right about the oil - poss. instead of butter. Something like canola with a higher smoking point would hold up better to it I betcha...

and they are pre-cooked

[funky4u]

Man...I think I'm going to have to try and make my own hashbrowns.

Everytime I go out and order hashbrowns at an eatery, I always ask for "crispy" hashbrowns and never get them! I consistently seem to get hashbrowns that have only been cooked properly on one side. I mean how difficult is it to flip the hashbrowns?!? BTW, this doesn't seem to be just a regional thing. I had the same problem on the west coast.

Correct me if I'm wrong but "brown" is in their stinking name!

Ranting aside, I wish you luck. Let us know how they turn out.

[beerorkid]

man I felt dumb for even posting this, but lots of helpful hints. gush...

Well I guess i have a plan. I think Clervis splained what I am gonna do tonight. But I am so gonna do a cooked and then cooled batch here soon. I have lots of bacon at the moment and breftest rules.

I will let you know how it turns out.

[beerorkid]

I think I recall that you sue cast-iron, no, BorK? That would help too, I think, though I'm sure folks would disagree. There's NOTHING that can't be well-cooked in c.i., I say!!!!

Oh man that makes it even more complicated. Cast iron would work pretty good, I do have a wide non stick, but was figuring my 12 inch stainless skillet would do good as well. I would like to use the stainless, but will have to test if I will have sticking issues first. Non stick would be easy, but cast Iron seemes much more manly.

Dammit.

[funky4u]

place the shedded potatoes in the pan and don't touch em' for 10-15 minutes, check for crispy browness, when crispy browness has been achieved, flip as best you can (it's usually not perfect)

when that side reaches crispy browness...

EAT!

That's some good advice. When I cooked for a small cafe the hashbrowns were the first thing on the grill in the morning, even before the bacon.

[Clervis]

I would go with a large non-stick or a cast iron.

For your first time, stainless might be a little too sticky.

Watch the temp. in the cast iron though...those can get hotter than you want to be real quick.

[2fingerdave]

do me a favor and throw a couple potatoes in the microwave bake them for a while . . . cool them . . . .shread them . . . . them try making them along side the others and see if there is a diff. . . . . science is fun!!

[Clervis]

Oh, and fill that pan up good with potato shreds. They really shrink down when you cook em. If you don't, you'll end up with just a small pile of exremely crispy bits.

[jsin]

i am so totally getting CFS and hashbrowns for dinner tonight....

[beerorkid]

OK the results are in.

If you care here is how stuff is laid out.

left top, cast iron skillet:
Left side cooked potato
right side raw potato

right bottom,non stick pan:
Left side cooked potato
right side raw potato

veg oil and a bit of butter in each pan

I cooked the tater in the microwave for 4 mins. It was pretty much baked. Easy to shred, but came out a bit snooshed

The pan really did not matter. The cast iron cooked the taters much faster and resulted in a crispier texture. I used a bit too much oil, but if I made a whole batch of hash browns it would of been about right.

so besides the pan they were cooked in, the raw potatoes were the favorite of both of us.

Raw:
- Crispier
- looked better
- rigid
- more potatoesque

Cooked:
- mushy prob from over cooking
- flavor not too potato like
- held the grease

Thanks for all the advice. I think if I did not cook the potato in the micro as long it would of been closer.