Hash Brown Recipe | Air fryer Recipe | Vegan Breakfast Hash Browns - Twinkling Tina Cooks (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my hash browns get crispy? ›

If you don't eliminate enough liquid (from the potatoes that you, again, just soaked in water), they will get soggy instead of crispy, a.k.a. a total bummer.

How Waffle House Does Hash Browns Best. Here's what you should know about how they make hash browns at Waffle House: They start with dehydrated potatoes (not flakes for making mashed potatoes). The reconstituted potatoes are well-drained and cooked on a flat-top griddle with a generous amount of butter-flavored oil.

The biggest culprit that's making your hash browns come apart is moisture. You need to make sure the potatoes are dry before adding them to the flour and egg mixture. Whether you squeeze them out in a dish towel or use a salad spinner, get the potatoes as dry as they can be.

You'll want to remove as much moisture as possible because this will prevent your hash browns from getting as crisp as possible. All the water will just create steam and as any additional starch is released from the potato it's going to get gummy, just not as gummy as before. So get them dry!

I say low-medium for cooking these hash browns because you want to heat them evenly to cook through and cook evenly from the middle to the edges. If you cook it too high you'll get a middles that's darker than the edges, and a soft center.

To make their fried menu items healthier, McDonald's began cooking potato sides with vegetable oil in 1990. But the fast-food joint wasn't willing to sacrifice that signature flavor: McDonald's added natural beef flavoring to the oil to preserve the taste customers had come to love.

Flour and starch are commonly used to help hash browns stick together. You can add an egg if you like, but the flour mix is sufficient.

What is the difference between hash browns and Southern hash browns? Hash browns are shredded potatoes that are fried until crispy and brown with no soft interior. Southern-style hash browns are diced potatoes that are fried until the exterior is crisp and the interior is soft, essentially home fries.

Butter helps both browning and flavor, while oil lowers the smoke point, allowing your pan to do the steady, even cooking needed for perfectly crisped potatoes.

Hash browns, also spelled hashed browns and hashbrowns, are a popular American breakfast dish consisting of finely julienned potatoes that have been fried until golden browned.

Should I soak hash browns before frying? ›

Soaking or rinsing grated hash browns before cooking can increase the potential for excess water to wind up in the pan. Once those dry, grated potatoes hit the skillet or cast iron pan, they can work with the fat to become golden brown. As the surface becomes crunchy, the inside softens.

Cover and cook just until the perimeters start to get golden, about 5 minutes. Use a spatula to press the top down. Season with salt and pepper and flip. Cook, uncovered, until the bottom is golden and crispy, another 3 to 5 minutes.

Squeezing the shredded potato in a towel or cheesecloth to remove as much moisture as possible helps it brown more evenly. Cooking the shredded potato briefly in the microwave helps it develop a better crust that remains crispy for longer.

Starchy potatoes like Russets work best for hash browns. Waxy potatoes like red new potatoes have a higher moisture content and tend to hold their shape better than starchy potatoes, and as such do not develop the crispiest of edges when fried.

The potato pieces are blanched. This trick can be used with fries to make them extra crispy on frying, so it could be this that makes the hash browns so good. After being in boiling water for several minutes, the potatoes are cut up and seasoned, with cornflour and potato flour added.

Remove as much moisture as possible. In order to get evenly crispy hash browns, you need to squeeze out as much water as you can.

Too much oil can leave hash browns soggy

Many cooks tend to douse their hash browns in oil, hoping for a crispier result. But counterintuitively, too much oil weighs the potatoes down, leaving them heavy and moist.

This sure sounds a lot like potatoes that have been stored too long, in too cold of an environment before cooking. When potatoes are held below 41°F for too long a period, the starches convert to sugar and it changes the cooking chemistry.

The difference lies in their starch content and structure. Waxy potatoes are amazing for boiling as they keep their shape, but floury potatoes fry up crisper. Use a floury (also called mealy) potato such as Russet or Shepody for your chips and you'll have better success.