Why can't I make hash browns?

[KitchenQueen]

I'm not a kid. All my life my hash browns are garbage.

Little cubes of potatoes, a little fat , salt and pepper, maybe some onion,right?

Nope.

Never mind the pan. Nonstick ,cast iron, or anything in between. I cannot flip the pan.I am not a chef. If I try the flip thingy, the contents first hit my chest, then the floor. Ok, I need a spatula.

Now that we have established my ground rules.

No matter what I do, I get this.

I want little cubes of potato, soft inside, crispy outside. I try to turn potatoes, crispy sticks to pan, soft gets mushed into center. I end up with semi-crunchy mashed potatoes with all the good stuff stuck to the pan. All in one ball that cannot be separated.

I an damned determined to do this right before I die. At least once.

Help?

If I don't get good answers within one week,after that date , I WILL consider sleeping with anyone who can answer this question?

But the resultant taters would have to be REALLY good.

[Marlene]

To me hash browns are grated potatoes, then fried. Have you tried tossing the cubes in oil first? That helps a lot with the sticking. Also I use a metal spatula with a stainless steel pan. I find a metal spatula gets under the potatoes easier. And I've never done the flip in my life. It would probably end up on my head!

[Ling]

Perhaps you're not using enough oil or grease in the pan?

[Kerry Beal]

Little cubes of potatoes, a little fat , salt and pepper, maybe some onion,right?

Are you starting with raw or cooked potatoes?

[KitchenQueen]

To me hash browns are grated potatoes, then fried.    Have you tried tossing the cubes in oil first?  That helps a lot with the sticking.  Also I use a metal spatula with a stainless steel pan.  I find a metal spatula gets under the potatoes easier.  And I've never done the flip in my life.  It would probably end up on my head!

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Equipment I've tried, but I haven't tried tossing the cubes in fat first.

Something to think about.

[KitchenQueen]

To me hash browns are grated potatoes, then fried.    Have you tried tossing the cubes in oil first?  That helps a lot with the sticking.  Also I use a metal spatula with a stainless steel pan.  I find a metal spatula gets under the potatoes easier.  And I've never done the flip in my life.  It would probably end up on my head!

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Honey, I 've tried everything from a few tablespoons to things that would qualify as deep frying.

[Chris Amirault]

I roast potatoes in the oven frequently, and the trick is getting a cast iron pan really hot (450F) then tossing in the oiled and seasoned potatoes. You also have to shake frequently -- and, yeah, scrape once in a while!

[Marlene]

To me hash browns are grated potatoes, then fried.    Have you tried tossing the cubes in oil first?  That helps a lot with the sticking.  Also I use a metal spatula with a stainless steel pan.  I find a metal spatula gets under the potatoes easier.  And I've never done the flip in my life.  It would probably end up on my head!

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Equipment I've tried, but I haven't tried tossing the cubes in fat first.

Something to think about.

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I learned this when I started roasting potatoes. I noticed that even though there was fat in the roasting pan, potatoes would stick when I tried to turn them. Once I started coating them in oil first, it was never a problem again.

[highchef]

I've never had any luck with the kind that come chopped and frozen in the bag, they're good for a quick soup, but never cooked crunchy/soft enough inside for hash browns. I started using left over baked potatoes from Sat. night chopped up, skins and all instead for sun. brunch. Throw some seasoning blend, s&p in there, and for some reason they cook up just fine..if you press them into the pan they'll stick together and the seasoning vegetables cook through while the outside crusts. And they'll flip fine, if you have a pan with sloping sides!

[srhcb]

Little cubes of potatoes, a little fat , salt and pepper, maybe some onion,right?

Are you starting with raw or cooked potatoes?

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This is a very important question!

SB (honest)

[jsolomon]

I have generally had the best luck with par-cooked potatoes of one form or another.

Lately, I have taken to using my vegetable steamer to steam 3 or 4 potatoes at a time and then grating them with the largest holed grater I own... after they have cooled!

Also, a hot pan is very important. You want the outside starch to go through its gelatinous phase and then crisp as quickly as possible to keep from sticking.

[Badiane]

It's just like cooking meat or mushrooms or anything else you want to brown. Use some fat in the pan, put your spuds in and LEAVE THEM ALONE. Just let them sit, getting brown and crispy. When they are ready to let go, they will let go. Don't poke, don't shake, don't try and flip. Trust me. When they are brown, they will release.

[Jason Perlow]

You totally gotta use potatoes that have already been cooked. Leftover baked potatoes are great for this.

[jsolomon]

Leftover baked potatoes

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What're those?

Seriously. I've never seen a leftover baked potato.

[Jason Perlow]

Leftover baked potatoes

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What're those?

Seriously. I've never seen a leftover baked potato.

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Well, the key is to make more baked potatoes than you actually need for a particular meal. So when I am grilling outside, I throw 10 potatoes on the Weber instead of say, four.

Edited May 10, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[MGLloyd]

Pre-cooked and cooled potatoes, cut in 0.5" dice, a generous amount of oil in a hot pan: toss in potatoes, stir quickly to coat in oil and leave them alone until they get crisp on one side. Quickly stir again and let crisp up on the other side. Repeat as necessary until crispy enough for your needs. If the pan is not hot enough, there is not enough oil, you stir them too much or the potatoes are too mushy, then you won't have good luck.

And thanks for the offer, but Mrs. Lloyd here frowns on me sleeping with people from the boards. Go figure.

[pounce]

You totally gotta use potatoes that have already been cooked. Leftover baked potatoes are great for this.

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Hehe. You sound like you are fom California now. Like, totally.

Where I'm from cubed potato's fried to crispy and soft on the inside are called "home fries". Not sure why. I know hash browns as a sort of mound of shredded/grated potato fried into a pancake shaped object that is crispy on the ownside and soft on the inside. Then again I guess you can also call those things you get at the clown or in the frozen food section that look like pucks hashbrowns.

I think the type of potato makes a big difference in additon to pre-cooking before frying. I personally like red potato's, but I'm sure others have more professional opinions based on starch content etc. I cube my red potato's and boil then with salty water until I can stick a fork in them with a slight bit of effort. I drain them and chuck them in a hot pan while covering my face . I use olive oil. Don't use too high of a temp. You have to find the sweet spot. Don't move them around too much and turn them only when they are brown and crispy on the pan side. I use tongs or a fork to flip each one to make sure I crisp each side. It takes some time to do right and you may use a bit of oil. You may also need to add a bit of oil along the way. I don't add salt until the very last second. I throw the salt on and then toss the taters around in the pan. If you cooked the potato's too long in the water they will fall apart during the frying, but I sort of like the crispy bits of over fried tater with the big chunks. Also, adding some onion can be nice. I add rosemary sprigs to mine and server with a grilled salmon steak often.

Let us know how it goes, KitchenQueen.

Edited May 10, 2006 by pounce (log)

[PPPans]

A crucial step when making hash browns is to squeeze out as much of the liquid from the potatoes as possible. I find this works since I can even form patties. Freezing prior to frying helps too. I like my hash browns baked though.

Synchronicity, I just had a hash brown post a day ago.

[beccaboo]

I call the fried grated potatoes "hash browns," and call the cut-up-into-little-cubes kind "fried potatoes." I think they're both best started from raw potatoes. For the cube kind I start them out in my big chicken-frying pan,with lots of grease, covered for the first 15 or 20 minutes--this helps get the insides done. Then I take the lid off and stir them around, and let them keep cooking another 20 minutes or so, stirring infrequently.

[Lordof7]

I also suck at fried potatoes (well anything really.) I used leftover boiled potatoes that were starting to fall apart. Threw them in the fridge, and recovered next day. I grated them, and pressed out as much liquid as I could in a paper towel. Put them in a pan with a LOT of oil (canola I think) and watched as the potatoes proceded to suck up all the oil. They never really browned, and came out a greasy disgusting mess. (And yes, I ate them all anyway!) I think my error may have been that the oil wasn't hot enough so: do I heat the pan first, then add oil and let heat, then add potatoes? heat oil in the pan and then add potatoes? And, the critical point I'm sure, how hot should the oil be?

I agree with KitchenQueen - I WILL get this to work.

[Parmhero]

For homefries, I boil the potatoes first--until firmly-soft, but not mushy. Then you can slice them or dice them. I like to use russets or yukon gold potatoes. I currently use peanut oil, or butter, or mix of peanut oil and butter to fry them golden brown. A few tablespoons of each. You can add more oil or butter if the potatoes are too dry and sticking. Sometimes I sprinkle with paprika and a dash of cayenne, sometimes just salt and pepper.

I also saute thinly sliced onions before making the potatoes, then mix them together.

Cook on medium heat, and let them set, then using a spatula turn sections over and separate the potatoes to get an even browning.

Edited May 10, 2006 by Parmhero (log)

[judiu]

"Hot wok, cold oil, food won't stick." Jeff Smith aka The Frugal Gourmet.

[Marc Olson]

I make 'home fries' at our cabin, mostly. I have a two-burner Camp Chef griddle that's well seasoned.

Start by chopping some onion and sauteeing it on the griddle that's medium hot using butter. While the onions are cooking, cube some Yukon Gold potatoes, cover them with water and bring the pot to a boil. Cook for just a minute after the water boils (you're really just par-cooking them). Once the onion is done, remove from the griddle, turn up the griddle to high and oil with vegetable oil. Once the oil shimmering, add the drained potatoes.

Let the potatoes cook on one side until brown, and then using a spatula flip to cook on the other sides. You won't get every side of every potato crisp.

Once the potatoes are close to being done, add some diced peppers (I use jalepeno or poblano), and then at the very end mix the onion back in (if you add it to early either the potatoes get mushy or the onions get burned).

Turn the back burner off on the stove, pile up the potatoes in the back, and cook eggs-to-order on the front half of the grill, serving up the finished potatoes as the eggs come off the grilll

[Toliver]

Hash Browns: Usually shredded raw potatoes (see Latkes or potato pancakes)

Home Fries: Leftover potatoes, pre-baked or pre-boiled, then diced and fried. Called "home fries" by restaurants because they look like something you'd make at home. Usually the dice is very imperfect, too, lending it a "made at home" appearance.

I've had hash browns made from shredded pre-cooked potatoes and they just aren't that great. Plus you have to add a lot more fat during cooking since you basically have a pan full of dry shredded sponges.

You really shouldn't be able to flip home fries using the old pan flip technique. Part of the charm of home fries is the crust that develops as the home fries cook and get stuck to the pan. Use a spatula to turn the potatoes and scrape up all the crispy crusty bits.

Home fries cooked in a cast iron skillet...ain't nothin' like it.

[Pallee]

I should wear my glasses more. I thought this thread was about hash brownies. Couldn't figure out why you'd be having a problem.