Homemade Potato Hashbrowns

by amvandenhurk | Breakfast, Sides

Best Sunday Morning Homemade Hashbrowns

It is Sunday morning and the birthday husband fancies an American breakfast, which requires a fried potato product and in our house it would be hashbrowns. We were suppose to have snow; however, it rained and rain then the temps dropped. Everything is covered in ice: the cars, sidewalks, and roads. No throwing on clothes, piling into the car driving over to Waffle House for an American breakfast. We are not going anywhere anytime soon though the gallon of milk is almost finished. So either I will be walking to the Walgreens or attempting to drive to Food Lion.

Back to the hashbrowns. I will be honest, mornings can be slow going for me so the idea of making a huge breakfast is not something I prefer to do. When I was grocery shopping for the weekend, I went to buy hashbrowns. They were out. Bummer. I did not think about it until this morning when my husband asked how we can make hashbrowns.

Hashbrowns are very easy to make, so I don’t know why I buy pre-made ones from the grocery store. Weekend morning laziness I guess. To make them you’ll need potatoes, butter, salt, pepper, paprika, and red pepper. For equipment, a food processor, large bowl, and colander will make your fried potato endeavor easer and quicker.

There are some keys to making good ones:

• Soaking the shredded potatoes in cold water helps remove the extra starch in the potato. Do it at least twice.
• Getting the excess water out of the potatoes is key that requires you to drain the potatoes well. We have a linen tea towel we use for making frite and use that for our potatoes to dry them off. (It is stiff as board from all the starch, but works better than paper towels.)
• Giving the potatoes enough space in the pan. This is not a time where heaping mounds of potatoes in the pan is a good ideal. A tin layer helps with drying out the potatoes more when cooking.

Hashbrowns aren’t just for breakfast. The Europeans have their rösti. It served at dinnertime making for a hearty and warm meal on a cold winter’s evening.

Once you make your own, it will be hard to go back to the pre-made grocery store ones.

Homemade Hashbrowns Recipe

Ingredients

• 3-4 Russet potatoes
• 3-5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• paprika to taste
• red pepper to taste

Preparation

• Peel then half or quarter potatoes.
• Set up the food processor with the shredding blade.
• Shred potatoes.
• Place in bowl covering with cold water. Rise once the water is cloudy. Then do it again.
• Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Sprinkle potatoes onto the skillet.
• Season with salt, pepper, paprika, and red pepper.
• Cook until a brown crust has formed then flip or stir cooking for another 5-10 minutes.

Serves 4 people.