Crispy Hash Browns

45 minutes/easy but easy to burn/7 servings
nutrition per serving:
234 calories, 2g protein, 22g carbs, 15g fat, 1g sugar

ingredients

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• olive oil or bacon grease*, divided
• 20 oz bag of shredded potatoes or 2 russet potatoes
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt
• paprika
• thyme (optional)
• green onions (optional)

Gather your equipment:

Use a cast iron skillet to get a nice even crust on your potatoes. You can also use a griddle!

I use a box grater to shred potatoes but you can use a mandoline slicer or a food processor.

directions

1. Make sure you squeeze out the moisture from the potatoes, especially when using your own potatoes.
2. Drying out your potatoes will help them get nice and crispy when they are cooking. Soggy potatoes do not cook well and will take FOREVER to cook and crisp up. Use a strainer or paper towels to get rid of as much moisture as you can.
3. Shred your onion to a medium size. I use the biggest shredding side on my box shredder. If you shred the onions too small, they turn to mush. And if you don’t like onions, you can leave them out.

The cooking part of the program:

1. Preheat your skillet using medium heat.
2. Add 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of oil.
3. Once the butter is melted into the oil and things are bubbling, place the shredded onion in the butter and cook them for a minute or so. No need to cook them too long – they will cook with the potatoes
4. Add your shredded potatoes into the pan with the onions.
5. Add seasonings to taste. You’ll be adding seasonings throughout the cooking, so don’t dump too much salt at this point. A little at a time!
6. Mix all the ingredients, making sure that all the potatoes are coated evenly with the seasonings.
7. Flatten the potatoes evenly on the bottom of the skillet or griddle.
8. Let the potatoes cook for @6 minutes without moving the potatoes. You want to create a nice crust on the bottom of the potatoes.
   You’ll see the edges starting to darken and crisp a little. And you will smell the goodness!
9. Flip that “potato pancake” over to let the other side cook!
10. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of oil around the edges. It’ll move underneath the potatoes and help crisp things up.
11. Add a little more seasoning to this side of the potatoes. Add what you like, but not too much salt.
12. Mix the potatoes with a spatula and flatten them again.
    Wait 5 minutes. Repeat the crisping process until you get the desired crust on the potatoes.
13. Add any other seasoning to taste. I love adding more paprika to the pile of goodness!
14. Taste your potatoes and add more salt to taste.

Serve with eggs, bacon, sausage, ketchup, hot sauce, coffee … anything you like!

notes

*You can adjust the amount of the ingredients to your taste.

*YOU NEED THE FAT (butter/oil, grease) in order to get the crispy potatoes. When you don’t use enough (and I just did this, I know!) you’ll be waiting a long time for those potatoes to crisp up. I know many of us are trying to cut our fat when we cook, but this is NOT a recipe to skimp in terms of flavor. Use a healthy oil instead of the butter and grease if you really want to be heart-healthy.

*The serving size for this recipe says 7 servings, but that can go up or down, so keep that in mind when you are looking at the nutritional info.

*You can leave the potatoes as a pancake or you can break them up and serve them shredded. I’m not the greatest flipper, so they break up while I flip them anyway!! You can cut the pancake in serving portions or not – your potatoes will taste wonderful, however you “slice” them!

Can I just say that we LOVE the shredded hash browns at a local diner here in Connecticut. Jimmy’s of Watertown is a little gem! I haven’t watched the cooks make their hash browns, but we ALWAYS order them there! Lou and I have constantly talked about their hash browns and I wanted to try my hand at making my own version of this wonderful breakfast side. They were my inspiration, for sure!

Check out Jimmy’s in person if you live close by – and check out these fine people on their website, on Facebook and/or Instagram. It’s a wonderful diner that serves the best breakfast!