Not only can you use the hash brown as a base for toppings such as smoked salmon & mustard sour cream, you can stir additional ingredients in with the melted butter. The recipe is endlessly and easily adaptable. Once you have got the hang of making hash browns you can begin to get creative with flavourings. Microwave or bake the potatoes if you prefer – as long as you soften them a little, they'll be fine for grating. When parboiling your potatoes, you should aim to soften them enough to make grating easier, don’t overcook: a sharp knife should go in with some resistance. You want a floury dry potato, such as a Russett, King Edward or Maris Piper. You don’t want a potato with a high moisture content. Using the right variety of potato will also help you achieve that desired lattice of golden, crusty potato. Be brave and fry your hash browns until they are a good golden colour. You can always blot the oil from the hash browns on a sheet of kitchen paper after cooking if you are worried about them being oily.Īs always, wait for the oil to shimmer and become hot before you add the hash browns so that the oil seals the potatoes as opposed to sinking in – which would make them oily and soggy. It should cover the base of the pan without leaving any dry spots. Don’t be shy: add more oil than the recipe calls for if you feel you need to, especially if you are using a large frying pan. The other trick to getting the hash browns lovely and crisp is using enough butter and oil when you fry them. As the grated potato cools, much of the moisture will evaporate.

By cooking the potato first, you create a dry layer of potato. Most hash brown recipes recommend squeezing grated raw potato using a tea towel to extract any liquid, but this becomes unnecessary with the parboiling method. Moisture is the enemy of crisp, golden hash browns. Chilling the hash browns helps them bond together and creates a starchy surface that will help them become crisp and golden when eventually fried. The melted butter will coat the shredded cooked potato and prevent it from the usual discolouration. These hash browns can be prepared a day ahead and chilled until ready to cook.

Hash browns recipe