Restaurant Style Hash Browns

 Restaurant Style Hash Browns

Most people love restaurant style Hash Browns but when they try to make it in their own kitchen's they always get a mushy mess, instead of the crispy potato goodness they get from their favorite diner. Fear Not! I will show you the quickest and easiest way to get that perfect golden crispy #HashBrowns that everyone is going to swear you got from the restaurant.

You will need...

All-purpose Potatoes
Garlic Powder, optional
Salt and Pepper, optional
Oil

Cheese Grater
Cheese Cloth or Clean White tee shirt
Non-stick skillet
Spatula

Depending on how much hash browns you're planning on making I have a simple rule that I always follow, 1 medium size potato will give me 2 servings. Since most bags of  potatoes that we buy these days come with mixed sizes there's always one thing that runs true, most potatoes that come in bags are medium size. Or just remember this...1 small potato for 1 person, 1 medium potato for 2 people, 1 large potato for 3 people.

Procedure:

Step 1. Peel and rinse potatoes.

Step 2. Using the wide side of your grater, you're going to grate your potatoes.

Step 3. Once you've grated all your potatoes you're going to squeeze out as much liquid as you can using your cheese cloth or white tee shirt. Work in small batches to make this process easier. Than transfer potatoes to clean, dry bowl.

Step 4. Preheat your skillet, do not add oil yet

Step 5. Season potatoes with Garlic Powder and Pepper only! Don't add salt during this process. Adding salt before cooking will only result in a soft hash brown because salt pulls out moisture. So we'll leave the salt for last.

Step 6. To save time, decide how you're going to work with your hash brown and work with small portions at a time. Trying to cook too much potato into one skillet will only leave you with the mushy potato that we are trying to escape from, unless you own an industrial size griddle than be my guest! But for those of us with humble kitchens, lets work with 1/2 cup batches to be on the safe side.

Step 7. Test your skillet to see if it's hot, you always want to do the water test which is the safest. Just sprinkle two or three little drops of water, if the water evaporates quickly your pan is hot, if the water looks like a bead dancing around the pan and it doesn't evaporate in less than 2 seconds, give your pan a bit more time to heat up. Once your skillet is hot, you're going to add about a Tablespoon of oil to your hot pan and immediately add your potatoes by the batch. Remember work small batches at a time, you can't rush perfection, ha-ha sorry had to be lame there :D  Tip: Remember always... hot pan cold oil, food won't stick.

Note: I don't use butter because it contains salt, and salt will give you a soggy hash brown, so try to stick to only using oil, unless you use unsalted clarified butter.


Step 8. Let your hash brown cook on one side, until it's crispy and golden brown, brush a bit of oil on the uncooked side before flipping them over. Than continue to cook until golden brown.

Step 9. Once your hash browns are done, remove and season with salt. Serve Hot!