How do I make good hash browns?

Are you frying or baking?

Either would work. I was actually unaware that I could bake them.

@johnpowell you can bake anything that you can fry, more or less. Doesn’t mean it will taste the same, though.
What are you using to fry them? The key is to make sure the pan/fryer/oil is hot enough.

This is how my husband makes his, and they’re awesome. Heat up some oil in a cast iron skillet. Shred the potatoes with a cheese grater, mix in a little flour, add salt and pepper, and smoosh them into the bottom of the hot skillet. He usually turns them about twice until they’re crispy.

@ANef_is_Enuf :: Just a cheap Teflon skillet.

@augustlan :: I have tried that method (minus the flour) and they seem to take forever.

Are you using paper towels or something similar to remove some of the moisture from the potatoes before you fry them?

@ANef_is_Enuf :: Nope. I need to find a girlfriend.

That might be the trick you’re missing out on, then. Try squeezing the extra water out of your potatoes before you fry them. Make sure the oil is simmering, if your oil isn’t hot enough you’ll end up with greasier hash browns and a longer cook time. If they are still softer or soggier than you like them after that, toss them under the broiler for a few.

Place the shredded potatoes on a couple of sheets of paper towels or a kitchen towel and press heavily. Heat the oil until it sizzles when you put a drop of water in it.

Cook it until the bottom is brown, then turn it over and cook some more. Drain on a towel. Don’t stop cooking it too soon.

Follow @ANef_is_Enuf‘s and @YARNLADY‘s advice, and shred some onion in there too. Poi-fect!

The secret to great hash browns is a potato ricer.

What happens if you simmer the potatoes in butter? Do they turn out differently?

@Brian1946 Mushy.

This is the best recipe I’ve used:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Traditional-Hash-Browns-21-Club-10869

@PupnTaco Great to see you in these environs again. That sounds absolutely delicious!

I have a suggestion for you to bypass hash browns altogether and go straight for the awesomeness of crash hot potatoes photo – recipe.

@CWOTUS those look amazing, thanks for the recipe.

@CWOTUS Once again, I must declare my love for you!

Aw, I would blush. If I could.

Oh, @CWOTUS < Those are just…well…words can’t express. I’m already overwhelmed and I haven’t made them yet.. I can’t wait. Blush some more.

I just sent that recipe to KatawaGrey. She’s gonna go nuts.

Rock one of these and deep fry taters, hash brown patties, or even O’Briens (in a deep fry basket). Quick, easy, little clean up. With two kids, I gotta think on my feet!

Even I can make these .

Almost all of my miserable frying failures have been caused by my fear of heating the oil up too hot. Have you tried turning the heat up?

What is it about hash browns that induces activity in dormant accounts? ;-)

Well, what i love to do is pour a bit of vegetable/canola oil in a pan, chop up potatoes in small hunks, and let them cook on a middle heat for a while. Then I whip out some garlic salt, wait til they all turn a nice golden brown, take them out and serve next to ketchup! :)

@Brian1946 Flutherers love to talk food!

@sndfreQ Nice to see you fluthering!

@marinelife Thank Ya :) never met a hash brown I didn’t like!! Missed you guys ;)

@Brian1946: I guess it’s a topic we can really sink our teeth into.
(Har har har!)

The trick to making anything good that you will later on deep fat fry, is to freeze it before using it.

Take potatoes, Russet are the best, peel wash, dry and grate on a box grater. If you like it, you can also grate an onion the same way another good tip is to get yourself some cheese cloth and hard press out as much of the liquid as you can get out of both after blending them together.

When they are dry, add whatever spices and seasonings you like S & P, parsley whatever? mix that in with just a touch of egg to moisten *Egg is protein and it is binding where water is not, then dredge them in a mixture of flour and corn starch and form them into patties and freeze them on a baking tray flat and as thick or thin as you like them to be.

You can make them fat like latkas, or as thin as Mickey Deez.

Take them out of the freezer when you want them and deep fat fry in oil that is preheated to avoid them breaking apart as they cook.

Many people love the taste of these things when store bought but they fail to remember that these things are almost always flash frozen first.