Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

  • 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.

Like every red-blooded American, I love hash browns. What's not to adore about a heaping plate of golden-brown, extra-crispy potatoes? The answer isnothing. I've yet to encounter anyone who truly hates hash browns, and if I ever run into such a person, I will let you all know (and properly scold them, too). They're a staple of basically all worthy American breakfast menus, from bare-bones diners and fast food joints to lavish breakfast buffets and Continental spreads.

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Though the awesomeness of hash browns may be a settled matter, not everyone agrees on what hash browns are. While potatoes are a must, how those spuds are cut varies wildly—for some, hash browns are a mess of precisely cubed potatoes, while others prefer oddly shaped wedges. Many diners like to cut their potatoes into half-inch-thick slices, while some fussy joints prefer to julienne them.

For me, hash browns are always made with shredded potatoes. When fried, the jumble of tangled strands forms an intricate lattice of crispy, golden-brown potato. There is a trade-off, of course—this method seems to maximize crunch at the expense of pillowy interiors. But that's a trade-off I'm willing to make.

Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe (2)

While this is the style I grew up eating, I never ate it much at home; like most people, I usually left the hard work of making hash browns to the pros behind the griddles. Fortunately, shredded hash browns are actually pretty simple to make at home.

In fact, if time is your only concern, a decent version can be cooked with a minimum of fuss. Just grate a potato on the big holes of a cheese grater, toss it in a skillet with some fat, and cook until golden. They won't be great—they'll brown unevenly and won't stay crisp for long—but they will get the job done.

Which raises the question: How do you makegreatshredded hash browns?

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First,start with the right potato. I knew I didn't want waxy potatoes, because they don't crisp up very well, and crispiness is the name of the game when you're making shredded potato hash browns. So I went with the good ol' russet potato, which just loves to form crackly crusts. From there, I had a few ideas which I needed to test.

Dry Potatoes = Crispy Hash Browns

Most recipes for shredded hash browns advise squeezing the potatoes to release as much liquid as possible before they're cooked. This makes sense—potatoes are loaded with moisture, which makes browning difficult. By getting rid of excess water, you enable the potatoes to brown more evenly and quickly. In hisguide to great latkes(which aren't exactly hash browns, but they're definitely in the same shredded-potato family),Max Falkowitzmentions that "moisture is the enemy of a crisp latke," and it's reasonable to expect that the same would apply to hash browns.

What's the best way to expel water? The most common method is to wrap the shredded potatoes in a kitchen towel, then squeeze to release as much liquid as you can. But that's just one way to get it done. Max had a lot of luck bundling the shredded potatoes in cheesecloth, then threading in a wooden spoon to create a sort of vise to help squeeze. I was out of cheesecloth at the time, so I went with the towel method, which does take some effort, but it works.

Microwave = Even Crispier Hash Browns

If I'm making any other version of hash browns, especially the cubed or sliced version, I start by cooking the potatoes, then crisping them up in the skillet. I'd always thought that this is just a way of speeding up the process, but, as Kenji explained in his post on thebest potato hash, this initial cooking process is actually crucial for crisp potatoes. I'll let him explain:

"By par-cooking chunks of potatoes, you help create a thick layer of gelatinized starch around their exterior that, upon frying, subsequently dehydrates and browns. It's this dehydrated layer of gelatinized starch that gives potatoes a lasting crispness."

He recommends boiling cubed potatoes for his recipe, but the idea of boilingshreddedpotatoes sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. How would I know when each of those little strands was properly cooked, but not overly so? Plus, with all that surface area, wouldn't they get waterlogged? Fortunately, Kenji also mentions that microwaving is a great option, and that sounded like the better route here.

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Does Rinsing Potatoes Help Hash Browns Crisp?

Would it help if I rinsed the potatoes after shredding? After all, many recipes, including Kenji's recipe forUltra-Crispy Roast Potatoes, call for rinsing the potatoes after you cut them. But did I really want to rinse off the excess starch, or would I need it to help bond the hash browns together?

Testing Different Methods for Making Shredded Hash Browns

The only thing left to do was buy a big bag of potatoes and get to work. For each one, I cooked an eight-ounce potato in one and a half tablespoons of canola oil in anonstick skillet. Here are the six different versions I tried:

  1. Shred potatoes and cook in skillet.
  2. Shred potatoes, squeeze dry, and cook in skillet.
  3. Shred potatoes, rinse under water, squeeze dry, and cook in skillet.
  4. Shred potatoes, par-cook in microwave for two minutes, and cook in skillet.
  5. Shred potatoes, squeeze dry, par-cook for two minutes in microwave, and cook in skillet.
  6. Shred potatoes, squeeze dry, par-cook for four minutes in microwave, and cook in skillet.

The Best Path to Extra-Crispy Shredded Hash Browns

Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe (6)

As I briefly mentioned above, you'll end up with some solid shredded hash browns if you just grate them and go. But, for the most part, the adjustments do make noticeable improvements.

The only bust was rinsing the potatoes. This made the strands too distinct, so that when I tried to flip the hash browns, they just collapsed into a mess of different pieces, making it nearly impossible to cook them evenly. This suggests that you really do need some starch to help them stick together.

Squeezing the potatoes helped in a number of ways: The potatoes cooked more evenly and developed a more consistent golden-brown crust. The squeezed potatoes also maintained their crispy exterior for longer. Even after 20 minutes, they had a good crust.

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Cooking the shredded potatoes in the microwave for two minutes helped with the final cooking time—they browned very quickly in the skillet, making it much easier to get a beautiful golden-brown crust with softer insides. Cooking for four minutes, on the other hand, dried the strands out too much.

Combining the two methods left me with my ideal shredded hash browns. They had an even golden hue and a crispy, crackly exterior (that stayed that way for a long time), and they were lighter and airier inside. This is definitely the way to go.

June 2014

Recipe Details

Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe

Prep15 mins

Cook10 mins

Active10 mins

Total25 mins

Serves2 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (450g) russet potatoes, peeled

  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) canola oil

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Shred potatoes on the largest holes of a box grater.

  2. Wrap potatoes in a kitchen towel or several layers of cheesecloth and twist to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

    Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe (8)

  3. Transfer potatoes to a plate lined with 2 layers of paper towels. Cook in a microwave on high for 2 minutes.

    Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe (9)

  4. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add shredded potato. Season with a large pinch of salt and pepper. Using a spatula, press potato into an even layer. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip potatoes with spatula and brown on the other side, about 2 minutes longer. Remove and drain on a paper towel–lined plate. Serve immediately.

    Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe (10)

Special Equipment

Nonstick skillet, flexible spatula, box grater

  • Russet Potatoes
  • Stovetop
  • Stovetop Vegetables
  • Hash Browns
  • Vegetable Sides
Crispy Shredded Hash Browns Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my hash browns get crispy? ›

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.

How to get a good crust on hash browns? ›

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.

What will prevent the hash browns from becoming crispy? ›

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!

Should you soak shredded potatoes for hash browns? ›

Most recipes require soaking your raw, shredded potato in cold water to rinse off the excess starch, then squeezing every last bit of moisture out before tossing it in a pan.

Should hashbrowns be cooked on high or low heat? ›

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.

How to keep hashbrowns from getting mushy? ›

7 Tips for Crispy, Totally-Not-Soggy-at-All, Hash Browns
  1. Shred the potatoes. A box grater works, but ideally you still know where you put the shredding disc attachment for your food processor. ...
  2. Rinse the potatoes. ...
  3. Dry the potatoes. ...
  4. Season the potatoes. ...
  5. Clarify the butter. ...
  6. Non-stick FTW. ...
  7. No touching.
Mar 26, 2015

How do restaurants get hash browns to stick together? ›

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.

Should you cover hashbrowns when cooking? ›

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.

Should you use butter or oil for hash browns? ›

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.

Why are my hash browns always soggy? ›

Too much oil can leave hash browns soggy

There are plenty of tricks for ensuring crispy hash browns — among them parcooking the potatoes first — but another one suggested by Eat This, Not That! is making sure to use only a moderate amount of oil.

How do you keep crispy potatoes crispy? ›

Keep potatoes crisp in a warm oven if you're serving them in 1-2 hours. If there is a slight wait before everyone eats, don't cover the crispy potatoes—this traps steam which will make the potatoes soggy. Just keep them in the oven, but turn the temperature to the lowest setting.

Why aren't my potatoes getting crispy? ›

If you over-crowded the pan so that there isn't enough space for the potatoes to rest on the pan without touching each other, it will prevent the water from evaporating and making the potatoes crispy. You can always try to broil the potatoes for 1-2 minutes to crisp them up at the end of baking if necessary.

How do you keep frozen hashbrowns from getting mushy? ›

When you try to cook frozen hash browns at home, be sure you put plenty of oil in your pan and get it sizzling hot before you put in your hash browns. Then resist the urge to fiddle with them and don't flip them until the first side is brown and crispy.

Why are my potato chips not crispy? ›

If your oil is too hot, the chips will burn. If the oil is too cold, the chips will become soggy. Sheet Pan with Paper Towels: A sheet pan with paper towels sops up the extra oil and keeps your potato chips crisp and not soggy. Parchment paper can also be used, but it won't soak up the oil as well as paper towels.

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