How do you make good hashbrowns?

Question

Help! I made hashbrowns tonight and they came out pretty terrible. They were discolored (gray), sticky and mushy and didn't brown like they should have. I used Idaho potatoes, grated and fried them in vegetable oil....What did I do wrong??

Answer 1

Probably grated them much to fine. Next time try a larger shredder and it will work!

Answer 2

Ingredients:
1 lb Russet baking potatoes, peeled and grated
3 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Equipment needed:
Large stick-free frying pan (at least a 9" diameter bottom)
Potato ricer


1 Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stick-free frying pan on medium high heat.

2 While the pan is heating, use a potato ricer much like you would a garlic press, and press out as much moisture as you can from the grated potatoes. If you don't have a ricer, you can use paper towels to absorb some of the moisture from the grated potatoes.

3 When the oil heats up to the point of shimmering, but not smoking, add the grated potatoes. Spread the potatoes out along the bottom of the pan. They should not be too thick in any one place, no more than 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the poatoes. After a few minutes, lift up one edge of the potatoes and see how done they are. When they have fried to a golden brown they are ready to flip. Use a large spatula to flip the potatoes over all at once, or divide the large potato cake into halves or quarters and flip. Again, when golden brown, they are ready to serve.

Serves 4.

Answer 3

I am from Idaho, and used to manufacture hashbrowns. So here are the possibilities to your problem:
How long did you wait between shredding and cooking- do it immediately- the long the spud is exposed to air it will oxidize- usually turns a pink and then when you cook it has a dull grey appearance.
Make sure your oil is good and hot- too low of a temp will get you soggy nasty hashbrowns.
How old were the spuds- you would think with it being december that you have new crop- but there is the possibility you got last years crop, this could affect it.
The stickiness: if they were this years crop- either you waited too long between shredding and cooking, or the oil wasn't hot enough. If they were old spuds- you were just SOL from the start!!!!

Answer 4

Your oil wasn't hot enough and you probably put too much
in. I always grate the potatoes and mix them with fresh
ground pepper and quite a lot of Italian seasoning. I
press out the extra liquid between two towels before
frying to keep it all from getting too soggy. The temperature
sould be hot enough to cook the insides and brown the
outsides to a crisp. It's trial and error with your own
pans, but I found the best hashbrowns come from an
iron skillet. Cooking them in a Teflon pan doesn't work
at all.

Answer 5

It sounds like you need something to hold them together better, and maybe use higher heat. I use the following recipe (but I leave out the onion):

2 medium russet potatoes, shredded
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 cup oil for frying, or as needed
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse shredded potatoes until water is clear, then drain and squeeze dry. Place shreds in a bowl, and mix in the onion, flour and egg until evenly distributed.

Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is sizzling hot, place potatoes into the pan in a 1/2 inch thick layer. Cover the whole bottom of the pan, or make separate piles like pancakes. Cook until nicely browned on the bottom, then flip over and brown on the other side. It should take at least 5 minutes per side. If you are cooking them in one big piece, it can be cut into quarters for easier flipping.

Remove from pan, and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Answer 6

I would try Russet potatoes. Try this recipe....they will come out great..

INGREDIENTS
2 medium russet potatoes, shredded
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 cup oil for frying, or as needed
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Rinse shredded potatoes until water is clear, then drain and squeeze dry. Place shreds in a bowl, and mix in the onion, flour and egg until evenly distributed.
Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is sizzling hot, place potatoes into the pan in a 1/2 inch thick layer. Cover the whole bottom of the pan, or make separate piles like pancakes. Cook until nicely browned on the bottom, then flip over and brown on the other side. It should take at least 5 minutes per side. If you are cooking them in one big piece, it can be cut into quarters for easier flipping.
Remove from pan, and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper and

Answer 7

Because potatoes take a while to cook properly, if you threw them straight in oil they wouldnt come out good.

There's a couple things you can do...

I like "real" hash brown, not shoestring. So normally if I have roasted potatoes left over from the night before (usually from a beef or pork dish), I just warm em up in a frying pan with some butter, onions and peppers.. but obviously you dont have leftover roasted potatoes, so...

a good way to "cheat" is to microwave your potatoes before you cut em up. Make sure to poke some holes in em, get them wet and toss them in the microwave (skin on) for a few minutes, until tender (not mushy!). Then slice em up however you prefer (I thinks lil cubes are better myself, but shoestring if you want) and then fry them in a good amount of butter or margarine (better than oil). Be patient and stir often...takes a good 15-20 minutes or so to get em crispy like you want... add some onion and/or peppers midway through.. and of course season with salt and ground pepper.. maybe some onion powder and/or paprika if you like.

Dont be afraid to microvave potatoes, its really the same as boiling and it saves you ALOT of trouble... they come out fine, especially if your frying em right after.

oh..and you can roast em as I said earlier... put em in the oven at 350 (little cubes/triangles) with a good amount of butter, salt, pepper and paprika.. stirring/resetting every so often. You can do that the night before and them warm them in the pan in the morning.

Good luck, I love hash browns :)

Answer 8

The secret to perfect hash browns is to use cold baked potatoes.

3 tablespoons butter
1 cold baked potato, finely grated
salt and pepper to taste

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in cast-iron or other skillet. Evenly distribute potatoes in pan. Fry potatoes slowly and dot with rest of butter as they cook. Cook on only one side. Remove from pan when potatoes are cooked through and bottoms are browned.

Answer 9

If you grate potatoes, grate into the skillet and use salt and pepper, onion and butter but not much, never oil! Keep the potatoes bunched together piled up. I make my hash browns by dicing the potatoes in small squares and add bell pepper, onion and salt and pepper. They come out good

Answer 10

tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large baking potato, baked, peeled, and diced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

In a heavy medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until softened and caramelized. Remove onions from skillet. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and heat. Add diced potatoes in an even layer in the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook until the potatoes begin to brown on the bottom, 6 to 7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent sticking. Add onions back to skillet, press into a pancake. Season with salt and pepper.

Answer 11

This in my specialty.

Here's my recipe:
Tip: Grease need to be hot when placing adding hash browns

Cover skillet with oil. Shredd and onion in the oil, let them cook until translucant. Add your hash brown. Cook until brown on one side then flip over and brown on the other side. Add a package of chopped cubed ham and shredded cheese. Cover skillet and turn off fire and let the cheese melt. ENJOY!!!!