Restaurant-Quality Hash Browns are not impossible to make at home and are actually pretty simple to produce the best tasting breakfast side dish in the world. In your own kitchen!
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t love hash browns when they are done right.
Ready to make the best crispy-on-the-outside and soft-and-delicious-on-the-inside hash browns in the world? Here we go!
HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD’S BEST HASH BROWNS
There are two schools of thought when making hash browns, starting with par-cooked potatoes, and starting with raw.
We love the par-cooked variety. Watch us show you how easy it is to make these Restaurant-Quality Hash Browns!
If you decide to cook the shredded potatoes raw, that’s fine, just make sure you get all the excess water from the spuds. A rice press or just a good solid squeeze with a kitchen towel will work.
THE SECRET TO CRISPY ON THE OUTSIDE
We are a little nuts when it comes to eating perfectly prepared hash browns and I worked on this recipe until it was absolutely perfect.
Cooking them in a little bacon grease produces the best taste, we think, but you could always go with good ole butter or vegetable oil.
Oh, are these ever so comforting and delicious.
Seasoning is simple. We find about a 1/2 cup of finely chopped onion gives them the perfect flavor of your hometown diner.
Then all you need is a nice pinch of salt and pepper.
Oh, yeah, and a little bacon grease. No bacon grease? No problem! Just cook some bacon, and now you’ve got bacon grease! We save ours in a small container in the fridge…just be sure to strain it first.
RUSSET POTATOES ARE THE PERFECT SPUD
Grab some good ole russet potatoes and you are well on your way!
Don’t worry as you flip them, if they don’t stay perfectly in tact. They’re not suppose to…it’s a hash, remember!
Hashtag: Delicious.
These take a little patience and they typically cook about 15 minutes per side. Remember, if you are cooking them raw, you should cover the skillet for the first 15 minutes to ensure fully cooked potatoes.
PAR-COOKING THE POTATOES MAKES PERFECT HASH BROWNS
But again, we love par-cooking them first. Simply place the potatoes in a pot of water, crank up the heat, bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and let them sit in the hot water for 10 minutes and then remove and let cool. This can be done 24 to 48 hours in advance. Just keep the potatoes in the fridge until you’re ready for them.
You’ll be so happy when you make these Restaurant-Quality Hash Browns, you’ll want to make them time and time again.
You know what would go great with these hash browns? How about our Heavenly Huevos Rancheros? YES!
Or, just a beautiful egg. Breakfast perfection. Another one of our favorite breakfast potato recipe is our Breakfast Potatoes with Peppers and Cheese!
Restaurant-Quality Hash Browns
Ingredients
- 4 medium russet potatoes
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 to 3 tbsp bacon grease, or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Place the unpeeled potatoes in a pot of water, covering them by about an inch. Bring the water to boil over high heat, and then immediately remove from the heat. Let rest in the hot water for 10 minutes, and then, using tongs, remove from the hot water and rest until completely cooled. (This can be done up to 48 hours before cooking).
- Peel the potatoes.
- Using the shredding attachment of your food processor, or the large holes of a box grater, shred each of the potatoes.
- Use a ricer or kitchen towel to squeeze out any excess water in the potatoes.
- Place the shredded potatoes in a large bowl and toss with the onion, salt, and pepper.
- Heat the grease (or oil) in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the potatoes and move them around in the skillet with a wooden spoon, enough to coat them with the grease/oil. Then, flatten with a spatula.
- Let cook for 15 minutes, nudging the potatoes from time to time with the spoon to prevent sticking to the skillet (it's okay if they stick a little, this helps to form a crispy crust).
- Use your spatula to cut the hash browns down the middle of the skillet, then, flip them, adding a little more grease as you do (about another teaspoon).
- Flatten again and let cook until nicely browned on both sides, about another 15 minutes.
- Transfer to individual plates or a platter and serve at once.
Restaurant style hashbrowns are usually frozen hashbrowns! I am going to try this recipe because it looks really good.
Hi Tara!!! Let us know how they turn out. We love ’em so much!! Best, Kris & Wesley
“Restaurant quality” hash browns are garbage. Frozen and partially pre-cooked potato shreds cooked in bulk grill oleo. If you find a restaurant that sells hash browns that start their day as a potato, hold on to it like a fleeting treasure, because it’s a dying event.
Let me know when you’ve got a recipe for “grandma quality” hash browns.
5 points for starting with actual potatoes. -2 for boiling them.
This recipe actually is from my grandmother who ran an amazing diner with my grandfather in Kansas in the 1950’s. She boiled the potatoes first to simply start the cooking process. She passed the recipe onto my father who taught me.
Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day to express your opinions (and give a bad rating) on a recipe that we treasure and you’ve never tried.
I’ve recently been making hash browns very similar to this recipe (I add an egg and a 1/4 cup of flour to my shred/onion mix to be a bit extra) and can say yours leads to a good style hashbrown given the care it needs. Appreciate your grandmother sharing her recipe!
I worked at a truck stop in Medicine Lodge, Is for 18 years. Part of our job each day was to par-cook the potatoes for the next days hash browns. We also found that leftover baked potatoes also make great hash browns. I do this at home all the time. Thanks for sharing!
I’m headed to the kitchen right now to start cooking! News at 11.
After trying to cook hashbrowns several times with the raw potatos method (shredding and washing out all the starch and then squeezing the moisture out) I found this way of boiling first is much better. With the other method It was extremely hard to get it crispy without burning, and this recipe was perfect! I actually think having some starch helps it get crispy.
That is so fantastic to hear, Mike! We are so glad you found success with this recipe. We really love hashbrowns, especially when they are cooked right. Sounds like you nailed it! Thanks so much for letting us know. Best, Kris & Wesley
Wow! These look amazing, and I love the tip about par-boiling the potatoes first. Great recipe!
Turning them over onto a plate and re-oiling the pan for the second side… that made all the difference. That was the best batch of hash browns I’ve ever made. Thanks so much! I love your site, your recipes and your story. Thank you for sharing all of this.
Rick, thank you so much!! Glad the hash browns tip work for you! We just love homemade hash browns!! And thank you for your kind words. Please stay in touch. Lots more on the way!! Best, Kris & Wesley
These look delicious – I’ll take mine with a egg on top, please! Great tips on how to get them crispy 🙂
Ooohh, yes, I beautiful egg on top is nice. April, I love Girl Gone Gourmet! The Loon (Wesley) and I will visit often! (Kris) http://www.girlgonegourmet.com/
I’ve never had much success at making hash browns.. so I definitely must try your recipe. They look perfect!
Give it a whirl. In my early days of cooking, I had trouble, too…but finally found the trick. This recipe looks more involved than it really is. It’s really pretty simple. Let me know how it turns out!