Hash Brown Potatoes

It took us the longest time to figure out how to make really good hash browned potatoes. I cannot tell you how many innocent potatoes suffered unnecessarily in our attempts at finding the perfect hash browned potato. In an effort to stop the needless suffering of future generations of potatoes, I would like to share our technique.

Now the first thing you are going to think when you hear hash browned potatoes is that this is a decadent, fattening dish that should be avoided by people who are watching their calories. Well, let us take a look at that.

First off, remember that with every dish the key to maintaining your diet is portion control. If you were having baked potatoes, you would easily understand that one medium potato was the proper serving size, but for some reason, while making hash browned potatoes, people get the idea that they should prepare two or three potatoes per person. Do you think that because you are changing the shape of the potato that it suddenly has fewer calories? Do you think it is going to cook down? Have you ever seen a potato cook down? No! Plan on one medium potato per person.

Now let us take a look at that potato. Thanks to our friends at the United States Potato Board we know the nutritional information for your typical potato.

Take a look at that. Only 100 calories. No fat. High in fiber, potassium, and vitamin C. Heck, it’s practically health food!

The next question is “What kind of potato makes the best hash browns?” Well, what kind do you have? Wow! What a coincidence. That’s the best kind to use. No, seriously. I don’t think it matters. Use whatever you have. If you try it a few times and you think one kind works better, use that. This isn’t rocket science, after all. It’s just a potato. Our garden was prolific last year, and the root cellar has kept our potatoes really well since the winter has been so cold, so we’re still using red skin potatoes.

One thing to remember when you are making hash browns, or when you are browning anything for that matter, is to avoid overloading the pan. You need to have the pan good and hot in order to get that good brown color on the potatoes and the wonderful flavor that comes with it. If you overload the hot pan with cold food, the pan will not be able to keep the heat up and you will just end up warming the potatoes, not browning them. So, if you are making a lot, make them in batches.

I cannot over-stress the importance of this. Remember that the potato will brown where it touches the heat of the pan. The more you can spread out the potatoes in the pan, the more of it will touch the pan, and the better the browning will be. As such, the pan selection is almost as important. We only make hash browns for two. That is, we are only cooking two potatoes at a time, and yet we want so much surface area to brown our potatoes that we do not trust it to our traditional cast iron fry pan. It’s too small. We actually use a 12-inch chicken fryer. It may sound excessive, but the delicious results say otherwise.

Most hash brown recipes call for shredded potatoes. That’s fine, but it’s not best. The best thing to do is to julienne the potatoes. The thinness of the julienne slices help the potato cook rapidly, while the length helps them bind together into that satisfying mass like you get from the corner diner and fast food restaurants.

So now you are thinking I am truly insane. Who on earth is going to get out their knife and julienne potatoes for a whole family? Nobody, and neither would I. There is an easier way. We use a really cheap mandoline slicer with a julienne blade and we can zip through a whole potato in about 15 seconds, and we are left with a big pile of perfectly uniform, long, thin julienne potato slices, perfect for hash browns. You can pick one up online or at your local kitchen store for around ten bucks — cheap, and worth it!

Before we get too far, let us list our ingredients (per serving):

• 1 medium Potato, any kind
• ¼ medium Onion, any kind, or ½ tablespoon Dried Onion Bits
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, not extra virgin
• ½ tablespoon Butter, unsalted
• 1 pinch Coarse Sea Salt

Notice that we are using olive oil. Olive oil contains no cholesterol. Around 77% of the fat in olive oil is monounsaturated fat, the highest percentage of any edible oil. Monounsaturated fat is healthier than the polyunsaturated fats found in corn oil and much healthier than the saturated fats found in butter. It is the most desirable type of fat in the diet because it helps to decrease the LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood and helps to increase the HDL (good) cholesterol. Some people do not like to use olive oil for frying because it has a low smoke point. Remember though, in this case we are not actually frying, we are using a frying pan, but we are only using it to brown the potatoes. The oil is just here to keep the potatoes from sticking. The butter is just for flavor. We are not going to use a temperature high enough to reach the smoke point of the oil. Just enough heat to get the Maillard reaction to occur. You could use extra virgin olive oil if you really like the taste, but we are really just using it here to keep the potatoes from sticking. There is no need to go to the expense of using extra virgin.

A lot of other hash brown potato recipes will have you peel and blanch, or even microwave your potatoes before you grate them. Let’s see… I am going to scrape a hot, slippery ball of starch across a grater with my bare hand. Yeah, right. That’s an accident waiting to happen. At best, an uncomfortable mess. Again, there is an easier way. Just wash off your potatoes and run them through the mandoline with the julienne blade. Leave the skins on. It’s easier and better for you — a lot of the good stuff in a potato is in the skin.

Now that you have your pile of julienne potato slices, stick them on a microwave safe plate, drape a piece of paper towel over them, and microwave them. You actually want them to cook, so that you can simply concentrate on browning them in the fry pan. We have a 1,250 Watt microwave and we use around 2½ minutes per potato. You will have to adjust your time according to the power of your microwave.

While the potatoes are in the microwave, mince a quarter of a medium onion per potato. If you want, you can use those dried onion bits you get in the spice aisle at the grocery store. They will re-hydrate just fine in the fry pan. If you are using dried, a half tablespoon will do, per potato.

When you take the potato out of the microwave, you will notice the they have sweated quite a bit. You want to take some paper towel and pat off as much of that as possible. Wet food will only steam in the fry pan. Dry food will brown. You want them to be as dry as you can get them.

Heat your pan to a good medium high heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil — two turns around the pan — add one tablespoon of unsalted butter — just for flavor — and add your potatoes¹. Spread them out as much and as evenly as you can. Now let them sit. If you insist on getting in there with your utensil and stirring, poking, and prodding, it is not going to brown. Just be patient and let them sit. They know what they’re doing.

In three or four minutes, start giving the edge of the potato mass a poke and lift it enough to check the underside. When it is brown enough for you, add the minced (or dried) onion, put another two tablespoons of olive oil on top, and use a spatula to flip it over. Again, let it sit for about as long as you did for the first side.

When the second side is browned to your liking, use your spatula to extract it from the fry pan to your plate and add a pinch of salt. We like to use a coarse sea salt so that our tongues can have a unique saline encounter with each individual grain.

Serve it beside your favorite breakfast egg dish and porcine product, or just by themselves. Enjoy!

---

¹ In the interest of full disclosure, I must point out that each tablespoon of oil you use adds about 120 calories. The ½ tablespoon of butter adds another 50 calories. As this recipe stands, about three-quarters of the calories come from the oil and butter. However, if you cut down too much, the potatoes will stick. This seems like the ideal balance to us — two tablespoons of olive oil and one half of a tablespoon of butter per potato. That makes about 390 total calories per serving, or a little less since some of the oil will stay with the pan.