There is nothing better in the morning than freshly made hash browns! As I do for all of the wintry holidays, I made Mashed Potatoes. But, once the leftovers are gone and you're back to making actual meals? Nothing quite hits the spot like hash browns do. It's a delicious and hearty meal that's great for everyone around.
For these I've been using Yukon Gold potatoes. You can make them with a wide variety of potatoes. However, I'm particularly fond off Yukon Golds. They're a waxier potato that tends to stick together quite well. As opposed to a starchier ones, like Russet, which tend to have a lower water content and crisp up better. Since you're essentially deep frying a giant tater tot in a cast iron skillet? Worrying about crisp level is less important for me than making sure that the hash brown sticks together and can actually be flipped! Although this is a bit of personal preference and you can certainly make smaller versions with a crispier potato.
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Variations of Hash Browns
Potatoes in the morning is nothing revolutionary. But it's a staple for a reason and absolutely one of my favorite ways to start the day! Whether you grew your own produce or are looking to spice things up culinarily speaking, there's a breakfast egg recipe out there. It's a great meal to mix and match what you have on hand. From the simplistic to the more complex, it's pretty tough to go wrong with potatoes and eggs!
Grate the potatoes with a cheese grater.I like to use a rotary cheese grater because it's a fraction of the work. But any cheese grater with the larger-sized holes will do! Just avoid the smaller microplane graters.
Preheat a skillet on medium with high heat oil.You will essentially deep frying the potatoes, so use enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
Rinse the potatoes until the water runs clear.Part of the key to making hash browns is rinsing off the starch. This will keep the potatoes from burning or browning too quickly when you fry them.
Wrap in a towel and squeeze as much of the water out as you can.Although rinsing the potatoes is an integral part! Water and oil do not mix. They will spark and sputter or even explode at high temperatures. So, get as much of the water out of the potatoes as possible. Excess water can also cause the potatoes to break apart and not form a sort of "pancake," if you will.
Add potatoes to the preheated skillet and cook until they have browned and sort of "stick" together as one piece. This should take about 10-15 minutes, although it will vary depending on the amount and type of potatoes, how much moisture remains, and the precise cooking temperature. The hash browns should cook into one another. This means that, if you push it from side to side with a spatula, it will move as one piece. Instead of the individual pieces of potatoes running around willy nilly!If the potatoes brown too quickly without sticking together like this, turn the heat down. Otherwise, it will be quite difficult to flip.
Flip the potatoes and cook for another roughly 5 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Sunny-Side-Up Eggs
Leave the skillet on medium heat and add oil.I use a pretty well seasoned cast iron pan to cook eggs, so I don't add any more than a spritz of oil. You may need upwards of a teaspoon for other types of pans, though. Use just enough so that your eggs don't stick!
Crack egg into the pan.It should be hot enough that the egg sizzles, but doesn't deep fry or brown immediately.
Let cook until golden brown on the bottom and you can flip the egg with ease. The whites should be fairly set on both sides, but not completely cooked.You want to cook this relatively quickly so that the egg yolk doesn't set, though. It should take about a minute or two. Turn the heat up if the egg whites don't cook quickly enough or down if the egg yolk starts to cook. Also immediately flip if this happens!
Flip and turn off the stove. Cook for another 30 seconds, or until the egg white is completely cooked. It should already be mostly set and this should take no time at all!
Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
I used Yukon Gold potatoes because those are what I had leftover from mashed potatoes for the holidays. Although you can use many different kinds of potatoes. Most tend to go to Russet potatoes as the standard. The waxier potatoes, like Yukon tend to stick together better. But Russets have a higher starch content and lower water content, so they tend to crisp better.
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