Hash Browns: Attempt #1

 

Introduction

In general, I feel like I have to preface this post by saying it seems all over the fucking place. My apologies. I don't know if it's because that's the way my cooking went, if it's because I'm still vaguely getting over being sick, or if it's because it's the end of a Monday. Regardless, here's my mess of a thought process. Maybe I'll edit this at some point? Doubt it. Going through the process is 1/2 the fun.

Hash browns are something that is supposed to be easy but they trip me up every time.  Part of the problem is I tend to ALWAYS overdo it on the potato front.  Part of the problem is I have  no idea what I'm doing so I try to guess... Which isn't always the best way to go on the potato front. Hence the name of this post, attempt #1.

Part of my goal for doing this blog is to learn more about potatoes over time.  They are by far my favorite food but when it comes down to the actual science and getting things right? I'm actual pretty much a n00b. Do people even still say noob?

Hash browns always bring up a fond memory when I made them one time with my friend Gretchen whilst I was sleeping over on my way back to Missouri.  We made like a bajillion of them and *fun fact* potatoes brown over time. So use a bit of lemon juice or something if you don't like that.

I had a sudden impulse after work. I'll make quick little potato patties. Fry them. Have them with eggs and sausage. Voila! Done. HA. I was wrong. I shredded too many potatoes and ended up with a mess. As I first sit down to type this, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with what I've done. Edit: Finally figured out a plan and I think it works. My directions might be a little complicated this time around but I want to stay true to exactly how I made them.  Anyways, without further ado. Here's my first attempt at hash browns.

Food Items:

  • Potatoes
  • Spices
  • Egg? I don't know why I added one in retrospect.
  • Flour- Don't ask. I had a lovely idea.
  • Green Pepper 
  • Onion
  • Oil
This picture looks so odd right here
but I also kind of love it. Also see that
bowl? Too small!

Utensils Needed:

            • Grater
            • Knife and cutting board
            • Bowl for mixing. (I used one too small on accident and had double the dishes... Whoops.)
            • Pan for frying
            • Spatula/Flipper
            • Plate for drying
            • Paper towels/something to get out water

 

 

 Directions

  • Shred potatoes using the grater. 


  • Use paper towels (or a regular one) to squeeze the heck out of those potatoes to get all that water out. I probably didn't do that enough.

  • This is when I got off the rails. Next I added the egg, flour, and spices to the potato mixture. Probably skip most of this step in the future. I saw it on tv before. Whatever. Anyways...
  • After stirring all day, I tried to make molds of it and fry it. (Add oil to pan now.)
  • Fail. (Potatoes didn't mold like I wanted.)
  • Give up and put the entire container of potatoes into pan.
  • Realize you are instead making weird fried potatoes/soft hash browns.
  • I decided I wanted some veggies so I added an onion and a green pepper. Cut up and add to weird potato mixture.
  • From there I just let it fry for a little bit. The mixture tends to run dry so add a little bit of butter or oil or water as needed. I added water and a bit of butter.
  • Let it cook til done. For me I covered the pan and my potatoes were pretty well cooked in about 25-30 minutes.
  • From here I decided to do a last ditch effort to get some fried little disks so I scooped everything out of the pan and into the bowl.


  • I put more oil in pan. Spoons out small clumps of now cooked potatoes and let them fry for about 2 minutes per side.
  • Voila. Messy sort of but not really hash brown patties. 

Perks:

The potato is a versatile friend, so even though I messed the fuck up they still turned out okay? Definitely not at all where I want my hash brown game to be at but also not as bad as I initially thought it would be. I do think, if done in the future, these could be quick and easy.

Variations:

Much like my potato wedges, you can add whatever spices you want (if any) to the mixture. I tend to go towards a mix of chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. But do whatever your heart desires. If you are a quitter half way through (which is totally fine) you still have some half-way decent hash browns. (Meaning you can go without the frying.) Obviously it's easy to make these things gluten free and vegan friendly. Just skip the part I wanted to skip (the eggs and flour.)

Final Thoughts:

In the future, I wouldn't have done 3 potatoes. I think 1-2 would have plenty (for just me. So size up or down as needed.)  Obviously would do something different with the flour and egg bit. Maybe more? IDK. They still kinda fell apart. I'll consult my resources and try and make a post about tips and tricks for making hash browns at some point. The end product, although not entirely what I wanted, ended up being okay. A little oily and I give myself like a 2.5 out of 5 overall. A final sprinkle of salt afterwards definitely helped. Here's hoping attempt #2 whenever that may be is better in the future.

Please let me know if you all have any personal endeavors in potato hash brown land. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cheesy Potatoes from a Lovely Friend

Image
Introduction: This recipe comes from my dear friend Mel, so I planned to post this one on International Mel Day (aka her birthday! Happy Birthday Mel!)  This one is SUPER EASY.  The first time I had cheesy potatoes is when my friends threw a going away party for me.  We had a potato party, where we ate like 5+ different types of potatoes. It was amazing.  In that party, we had these cheesy potatoes, which mesmerized me.  The other good memory of this dish is learning how to make it when I was hanging out a week in New York with my friends Mel and Rachel.  Mel showed me how to make the dish and I was in awe about how easy it was. I've personally always had mixed feelings about mixing cheese with potatoes. It ends up being pretty heavy and sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes not. After this dish though, I fell in love with cheese and potatoes.  This cheesy potato dish is like if you mixed mac and cheese with breakfast potatoes.  They're amazin...
Read more

"Good and Cheap" Potato Salad

Image
Introduction: This recipe was mostly taken from Good and Cheap, the super cheap and awesome cookbook from Leanne Brown.  I highly encourage you to check out all of her recipes and website, here.   The reason behind this one was because I needed a super easy, quick recipe on hand for work.  We were doing a training on "Eating on an AmeriCorps Budget" and Leanne Brown is the boss in this area. Potato salad can be done a thousand ways, so I stuck with this simple recipe, which didn't have mayo, which I believe makes it vegan friendly? But honestly I'm not sure, so my vegan friends should check and make sure. Food Items: 2 lbs of potatoes. (I used about 1/2 of a 5 lb bag) 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp vinegar (or citrus-y thing you might have around) 2 tsp dijon mustard Salt and Pepper Green Onions Other seasonings you might want to add, such as dill or parsley Utensils Needed: Mixing bowl Pot Something to stir with Something to whisk with, such as...
Read more

Potato Wedges

Image
 Introduction Happy first recipe blog post!  I figured a great way to dive into this process would be to start off with an easy recipe and go from there.  I'd love to give myself some sort of goal, but I don't want to fail so (for now) I'll just post recipes as I feel like doing them. Hopefully I'll be more proactive and consistent in the future.  Regardless, let's get into it! Potato wedges are without a doubt one of my favorite variations of the potato, but I tend to only make them this one way.  They have all the makings of the things I like about potatoes: easy to put together, plenty of variations, fun to mess with, and can be scaled up to cook for as many people as needed. Below is my first attempt at creating a somewhat recipe with pictures.  I'll try to list out food items, utensils, and directions.  Below that you'll find perks, variations, and my final thoughts on the item cooked. Thanks for reading! Whoever you are. Food Items G...
Read more