Cook_s_Country_-_October_2019

12 COOK’S COUNTRY • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

ORDER UP! HASH browns! Prac-

ticed short order cooks keep a mound

of these crispy shredded spuds cooking

on their flat-top griddles all through

the breakfast rush. But a home cook

has two options: using frozen super-

market hash browns (convenient but

not very good) or shredding potatoes

and cooking them in a skillet. Skillet

hash browns are great, but you need

to cook multiple batches to serve more

than two people—not ideal. Could

I find a way to make enough hash

browns to feed four to six people in a

single batch at home?

In most home kitchens, a rimmed

baking sheet is the closest thing in

size to a flat-top griddle, so that’s

what I decided to use. This meant I’d

bake my hash browns in the oven. But

my first tests weren’t very promis-

ing. They variously yielded starchy,

clumpy tangles; anemic browning and

a leathery texture; burnt edges; and

undercooked interiors. I wanted hash

browns that were deep golden brown

on both sides, with a satisfying mix of

crispy and creamy textures.

There’s no getting around shredding

potatoes for hash browns, but luckily

the food processor makes it easier. But

you still have to peel the potatoes—or

do you? A side-by-side test showed

that the skins aren’t a problem here as

long as you wash the potatoes prior to

grating. My tasters preferred Yukon

Gold potatoes to starchier russets, and

3 pounds proved the right amount.

I did find that a little pretreatment

of the potatoes was necessary for the

best results; first you need to soak the

shredded potatoes in water to remove

some excess surface starch (so the

shreds don’t fry up gummy), and then

you need to wring out the raw shreds

in a dish towel to remove excess mois-

ture that would inhibit browning.

Tossing the potato shreds in a little

fat kept them from drying out in the

oven; I chose oil over butter because

butter contains water, which I’d already

worked to minimize. Greasing the

baking sheet lightly with vegetable oil

spray ensured that no stubborn bits of

potato stuck to the sheet. And lightly

distributing the mass of shreds into an

even layer ensured even cooking.

As for the oven temperature, my

tests showed that I needed enough

heat to crisp the hash browns, but too

much heat caused deep browning on

the top and bottom before the interior

cooked through. It turned out that

450 degrees on the middle rack was

perfect; after about 30 minutes, I re-

moved the hot sheet and used a spatula

to flip the hash browns in segments.

Then I popped the sheet back into

the oven for about 8 minutes to finish

cooking the potatoes and to crisp the

top. Order up!

SHEET-PAN HASH BROWNS

Serves 4 to 6

We prefer to use the shredding disk of

a food processor to shred the potatoes,

but you can also use the large holes

of a box grater. These hash browns

are great topped with sliced American

cheese, chopped ham, and sautéed

onions and peppers.

3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes,

unpeeled

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position
   and heat oven to 450 degrees. Fit food
   processor with shredding disk. Halve
   or quarter potatoes as needed to fit
   through processor hopper, then shred
   potatoes. Transfer potatoes to large
   bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit
   for 5 minutes.


2. One handful at a time, lift potatoes
   out of water and transfer to colander;
   discard water. Rinse and dry bowl.


3. Place one-quarter of shredded
   potatoes in center of clean dish towel.
   Gather ends of towel and twist tightly
   to wring out excess moisture from
   potatoes. Transfer dried potatoes to
   now-empty bowl. Repeat 3 more times
   with remaining potatoes.


4. Add oil, salt, and pepper to po-
   tatoes and toss to combine. Lightly
   spray 16 by 11-inch rimmed baking
   sheet with vegetable oil spray. Distrib-
   ute potatoes in even layer on sheet,
   but do not pack down. Bake until top
   of potatoes is spotty brown, 32 to
   35 minutes.


5. Remove sheet from oven. Flip hash
   browns with metal spatula. Return
   sheet to oven and continue to bake
   until deep golden brown on top, 6 to
   8 minutes longer. Season with salt and
   pepper to taste. Serve.

These tasty spuds are crispy

and brown on the outside

but tender within.

Sheet-Pan Hash Browns

It took 138 pounds of potatoes and more than 40 tests, but we found a better

way to make homemade hash browns. by Cecelia Jenkins

Keys to Diner-Quality Hash Browns at Home

1. Shred wedges of unpeeled Yukon Gold
   potatoes in a food processor.
   2. Soak the shreds in cold water, and then
   squeeze them dry in a dish towel.