Griddle/Pan Fried: Homemade Hash Browns

Subject: Homemade Hash Browns
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Ardelle Johnson (jd4700 at ndak.net)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 17:26:02 -0500
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Hi,
I am new at this, so hope I post this correctly.
How do you make homemade hash browns?
I have tried with raw potatoes, leftover baked potatoes, boiled potatoes and can never get them to taste like the frozen packaged ones. They always end up mushy.
Can anyone help me?
Thanks in advance
From: baranick at epix.net ((RJ))
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 23:37:14 GMT
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I "nuke" the whole unpeeled potato's til they're about 2/3 cooked. Fry them in a really HOT pan using margarine.

saute your onions in a separate pan, and dont add them until the potato's are "crisped". ( else the onions will burn )

Works for me.....
From: bbqking at bigfoot.com (BBQKing)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 22:06:05 -0400
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Well... COMMERCIAL ones are coated with SUGAR to make them brown and crispy. I soak RUSSETs for a short while then I grate them into a bowl. Using a well seasoned CAST IRON skillet, and peanut oil coating the bottom, heat until just about to smoke, take my thin layered patties and lay them in the hot oil and leave the first side cooking until I can SEE its brown..flip...repeat... You got it!

Good luck
From: May's Pearls of Wisdom (veckerts at kandinsky.hf.intel.com)
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 10:31:03 -0700
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After I grate the potatoes I rinse them in cold water until the water runs clear. I then pat them dry with a clean towel. I have no trouble getting my hash brown crispy.
From: RustyCo at webtv.net
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 23:34:06 -0700 (PDT)
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All I do is shread the things and plop them on an oiled / buttered hot pan. You may have to mash them down a tad (bulges in hash browns are worse than lumps in oat meal) I use medium heat the whole time, Hope you find your answer--good hash browns are worth it.
CYA, Rusty
From: mholt (mholt at cjnetworks.com)
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 13:53:14 -0500
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after you have shredded the potatos soak them in ice water, drain then rinse again. rember to dry them well before adding them to hot oil. cook on one side till golden brown then turn.
From: rdyoung at wcc.net (Bob Y.)
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 23:33:36 GMT
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mholt wrote:
>after you have shredded the potatos soak them in ice water, drain then rinse
>again. rember to dry them well before adding them to hot oil. cook on one
>side till golden brown then turn.
>Ardelle Johnson wrote:

Also, some recipes call for the potatoes to be covered during the frying. Okay for the first side, but you need to take the cover/lid off while doing the second side to let the moisture escape.
From: Ivan Weiss (ivan at blaze.accessone.com)
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 20:41:34 -0700
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Your post was fine, Ardelle.

1. Heat your pan
2. While the pan is heating, grate your raw potatoes. Use the coarse holes in the grater. If you have a food processor, use the grating disc.
3. When your pan is hot, add oil. I use olive oil. Corn or canola will do just fine. I used to use bacon grease till I got religion. Use plenty of oil but not enough so you have a lot left over. You will get the feel of this.
4. When your oil is hot, add the potatoes. With a spatula, form them into a pancake.
5. As the potatoes fry, continue to flatten out the "pancake." When the edges get crispy, lift them with the spatula. Keep sliding the spatula under the potatoes till you can move the "pancake" in one piece.
6. When the whole "pancake" is crisp enough on the bottom, flip the sucker with the spatula.
7. Fry the other side till it's crisp, then remove from pan and eat.

I grate two cloves of garlic for each potato, then slather the whole mess with Bufalo Salsa Chipotle. A couple fried eggs on top and some chicory espresso and I'm ready for the monsoon.

Hope this is helpful. The most important thing is to heat the pan, then add the oil. Only when the oil is hot, add the potatoes. Did I say use medium heat? Too low and your potatoes will be soggy. Too higgh and they will be charred.
From: Marie White (mariew at qualitysince1868.com)
Date: Fri, 02 Oct 1998 10:12:40 -0400
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So far, everyone here has said that - "Grate" your potatoes. I've never seen grated potatoes anywhere except that (IMO) weird stuff at Denny's. (Cream gravy, I've learned to enjoy - half-cooked grated potatoes are just a little too strange). I thought it was just a peculiarity of Denny's, and my husband and I always request home fries or a baked potato substituted. *LOL* I was wrong, right?
From: Alan Boles (boles at escape.ca)
Date: Sat, 03 Oct 1998 19:54:16 GMT
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After you grate potatoes put in cold salted water. Then grab a handful and squeeze out all the water you can. Now fry them. Turn over when golden brown on one side.
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Subject: Re: Homeade Hash Browns
From: Beth Wettergreen (bmwettergreen at ucdavis.edu)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 16:29:15 -0800
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Well, you probably won't like hearing this, but the only way I've ever found to make home fries come out crispy and restaurant-style is to literally "boil them in hot oil" and then drain them. I slice raw potatoes (unpeeled) thinly and onions--and perhaps some green peppers-- and put them in a heavy cast iron skillet with some salt and vegetable oil just to cover the potatoes. Turn the heat all the way up to high and fry the hell out of them. When the underside turns crispy brown, turn them over (very carefully!). Then when the whole batch is nice and crispy brown, , get a lid for skillet and (again very carefully) drain all excess oil off the potatoes into a coffee can or whatever. You can strain and reuse the oil. I also pat them with wads of paper towels. The result is very crispy and tastes WONDERFUL but....

I learned how to prepare them this way from my ex-mother-in-law who is from Arkansas and who is at least 75 pounds overweight (I wonder why?).
From: Al Hemmalin (dogstar at pop.edgenet.net)
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 05:20:20 -0400
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I toss mine in the deep fryer, they get a good crust and are crispy, then I add some sauteed onions and peppers.