Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these hash browns are quick and easy to make and taste amazing. Add a dollop of sour cream, a crumbled strip of turkey bacon, a sprinkle of cheese, and a pinch of scallions, and it’s like a baked potato but even better.
I love hash browns. If I’m at McDonald’s early enough, I buy myself not one, but two, because they’re that good. Not that I’m advocating eating breakfast at McDonald’s. Because I’m not. The food there is so terrible for you. But I have to admit, their hash browns are amazing. Guilty pleasure.
I wanted to make hash browns at home so I could have them whenever I want. I went out and bought a box of Ore-Ida’s hash browns from Safeway, but when I fried them up, the potatoes lacked color and were not crunchy at all. I was so disappointed.
Then I decided that I wanted to try making them from scratch. I’m so glad I did. It’s quick and simple and it’s exactly what I was looking for.
All you need are large Russet potatoes and a little bit of olive oil. One potato makes three servings. Isn’t that great? Optional ingredients are sour cream, turkey bacon, cheese, scallions, and salt and pepper.
First, wash the potato. You’re going to peel the skins off, but potatoes are grown underground so it’s better just to wash them.
Peel off the skin of the potato using either a peeler or a knife.
Using a mandoline or a knife, cut the potato into the size of matchsticks. If you’re using a mandoline, be careful where you place your fingers. The blades are very sharp.
Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet or use cooking spray. Add a handful of potatoes to the skillet. But be very careful. Potatoes contain a lot of water so it’s very likely that the oil will crackle and spray everywhere.
Using a spatula, flatten the shredded potatoes against the skillet so that it becomes a thin layer. If you like your hash brown more circular, use the spatula to move the shredded potatoes in that general shape. The shredded potatoes should form a diameter of about 5 inches, more or less.
Once the side faced down turns golden brown and crispy, flip the hash brown to the other side. Cook until both sides are golden brown and crispy to your liking. If one side isn’t crispy enough, you can flip it over and fry until it is.
Place the finished hash brown on a plate and dab with a paper towel to drain the oil. Repeat with the rest of the shredded potatoes.
Now, fry the bacon strips until crispy as indicated by the directions on the package. Place the bacon on a paper towel to drain.
Place a dollop of sour cream on top of the hash browns. Tear or cut up the bacon strips and place about one bacon strip per hash brown over the sour cream. Sprinkle on the cheese and chopped scallions. Add salt and pepper on top, to taste.
Enjoy!
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Great pictures and recipe! Can’t wait to try it. Love Hash Browns
Thanks, Christopher! I love hash browns too, especially crispy ones on the outside. =)
Oh goddamn, that looks good! 🙂
Thanks!
Crispy is awesome. I like to experiment with different textures, colors, flavors.
Looks amazing! I can almost smell them! Yummmmm.
Thanks! They were really good and crispy, just the way I like them! I actually later made it so that there are eggs on top of the hashbrowns too. =)
I think I’ve had something similar and its really good.
Wow. Your photos and explanations are really detailed even for someone like me. A person who doesn’t like cooking. Great post!
Thank you!
this’ll make the best meal of the day even better.
I agree! And I’ll have another post up soon with hash browns =)
Nice photos! Try grating onion and adding chopped fresh rosemary and a good pinch of black pepper, goes brilliantly with a full English breakfast. Thanks for dropping by on my blog!
Yum! I’ll have to give it a try =)
Those look great! I’m definitely going to try them this weekend. I was just wondering about par boiling the potatoes first. I’ve read that this makes the potatoes crispier, but I would imagine would make them messier to grate as well. Have you tried that?
I haven’t tried par boiling the potatoes first, but I would think it’d be harder to grate. I think to make the potatoes crispier, squeeze out all the liquid before you fry them. =) I’m actually working on another hash brown recipe and I can’t wait to share it! =)
I never thought of using a mandolin for the spuds! I tend to use a course grater and pat dry the gratings before frying. And because I’m a dumb Aussie please tell me what turkey bacon is?
Turkey bacon is just bacon made out of turkey. It’s lower in fat content. You don’t have that in Australia? It’s just an alternative to pork. =)
This looks yummy!
Thank you!