Heaping Helping Hash Browns

What are some of your favorite family memories? If you are like me, many of them revolve around food. When I was a girl, my dad and I often went out for breakfast on Saturday mornings. I loved it because it was just the two of us. I talked, and talked and talked and he listened. Those memories are some of my most cherished, so I like Saturday morning breakfasts to be special at our house. To me it is the carrying on of a beautiful tradition. No cereal or toast will do. We have the standard favorites like pancakes (chocolate chip of course), waffles, and french toast pretty often. Sometimes we go out for donuts. But one of our most beloved meals is down home bacon (have you tried oven baked bacon yet?), eggs and hash browns. When I kept seeing pins for hash browns cooked in a waffle iron or panini press, I had to give it a try. Could they compare to my husbands preferred method of making them? Honestly, I doubted it. His hash browns get everybody to the table in a hurry, because you don’t want to miss them. They are the highlight, the main feature, the heavy hitter. Want to know which method we liked best? Here are the results:

Hash browns in a waffle iron:These browned well, albeit unevenly.  It also made the texture uneven because waffles have thick parts and thin parts. So some parts were more crunchy than others.

The were also a little hard to get out of the pan for serving. As you can imagine, clean up was a bit of work.Hash browns in a Panini press:

Press it did. It really smooshed the potatoes. The browning was wonderful, but the middle was squashed to mush. What there was of it. This was mostly a thin layer of potato crunch.

Clean up was better though!

So, you guessed it, we are sticking with our tried and true method. Would you like me to share the technique? Want to know why I call them Heaping Helping Hash Browns? These hash browns are so good, everyone is going to want a heaping helping of these bad boys. One bite, and you will be amazed that these potatoes were once frozen in a bag.

That is the first step. Open the bag of frozen hash browns. Woohoo! You are a culinary wiz kid. Microwave them in the bag for 6 minutes to soften. We are really building up skills here. Pour them in a bowl and add 1 stick of melted butter. If you have a problem with using a whole stick of butter, you can use less or none, but your hash browns will not be as amazing as they should be. Throw caution to wind. Use the whole stick. One bite of these fabulous potatoes and you will not regret it. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to suit your taste. We like a lot. Stir it up. Heat a nonstick skillet on medium and melt a little more butter in it. Pour the hash browns in the pan and press them down. It should look something like this:Do not stir the potatoes! Let them be. They are happier with minimal fussing from the cook. When the edges begin to get brown, put a plate over the skillet like this.Holding the plate tight to the skillet, flip the potatoes over onto the plate.See how beautiful and golden brown they are? You are going to want to dig into them right now. Resist the temptation. They aren’t done yet.

Melt a little more butter in the skillet, and carefully slide the potatoes back into the skillet. When the edges are brown on the underside, they are ready. We gently lift them with a spatula to check for brownness.

Flip them onto a clean plate and serve.Enjoy!

This Pin Rocks!

Sherri – The baby of the family

Today we are pleased to be linked with: Hun – What’s for Dinner? – Memories by the Mile – Chef in Training – Nap Time Creations – Blessed with Grace – Ladybug Blessings – Inside Bru Crew Life – Mandy’s Recipe Box – Sugar Bee Crafts –  Cupcakes and Crinoline – The Rustic Pig – A Bowl Full Of Lemons – The Funky Polka Dot Giraffe – Homestories A to Z –