Hash Browns for Two
The best hash browns have the perfect combination of crispy and tender shreds. It’s one of those things that seem easy but proves elusive. I've found that resisting the impulse to go big is the key, perfect when you're cooking for one or two. Start with just a few small potatoes, then form individual small patties that are easy to flip. Fry them up in olive oil till golden and crispy.
EQUIPMENT
- large non-stick skillet or griddle
Ingredients
- 8 ounces potatoes, preferably small, yellow or white
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh the potatoes. Whether you're using several small potatoes or a single medium sized potato, weighing them helps to confirm about 8 ounces (1/2 pound). With experience, you can eyeball it. Without a scale, you can gauge that you want to end up with about a cup of shreds.
- Peel the potatoes if you like. Then use the large holes of a box (or similar) grater to shred. To save my fingertips from the shredder, I slice up the little potato nubbins that remain and add to the shreds. I end up with about 1 cup of potato shreds.
- Put the shreds in a strainer and rinse well with cold water for about 20 seconds.
- Then dry the rinsed potatoes. Either transfer the shreds to a clean, dry dish towel and squeeze out excess water (please note the potatoes may stain dish towel.) Or press the shreds between layers of clean dry paper towel. When you’re done, the shreds should look and feel dry to the touch.
- Toss the dry shreds with the salt. (If you prefer, salt the hash brown to taste once they’re on the pan.)
- Add oil to a non-stick pan or griddle. Heat to medium. (If cooking on a griddle, I use a heat proof brush to spread the oil thoroughly over the surface. With a pan, just tilt for even coverage.)
- Put potato shreds in the pan or griddle forming several small patties, batching if needed. Make each hash brown patty by scooping about 2 tablespoons of shreds onto the pan and spreading the shreds into a 3-to-4-inch round, creating a thin, lacy patty. This recipe yields 6 rounds of hash browns, each about 3-4 inches in diameter.
- Using a griddle, I’m able to cook all the hash browns in one batch. With a 12-inch skillet, two batches are required – divide the oil between the batches, using more as needed.
- Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side until you start to see golden brown color, then flip and cook on the second side until potatoes are cooked and hash browns are golden brown and crispy to your liking. Repeat for second batch if necessary.
- Serve as soon as possible, adding salt to taste if needed.
Notes
- Cut the recipe in half to make hash browns for one. Starting with 4 ounces of potato will yield 3 hash brown patties (each 3-4 inches in diameter). Making a half recipe means you'll only need one batch with a large enough skillet. Obviously, serving size is subjective so scale the recipe as you like. Please note however, I've only tested this recipe for small scales, starting with either 4 ounces or 8 ounces of potatoes.
- "Baby" potatoes work well, often available as yellow potatoes or Yukon Golds. Depending on their size, you'll probably need several small potatoes to achieve 1/2 pound. Russet potatoes work well, but tend to be large, so look for small to medium ones. If shopping for bagged Russets, check the bag for some smaller sized potatoes. Medium to large potatoes typically exceed 1/2 pound, so are best saved for another use.
- Peel the potatoes or not as you prefer.
- Shredding small potatoes on a grater requires some care to protect your fingertips. Rather than get too close to the perforations, I stop while I'm still holding a small nubbin of potato. Then slice up the nubbin and add to the shreds.
- I've called for olive oil in this recipe. You could opt for a different type of cooking oil, butter, or a combination. I tend to cook eggs in butter, so I choose olive oil for the hash browns to add some unsaturated fat to the plate.
- Hash browns typically accompany eggs so the question of which to prepare first becomes a consideration. In theory, I’d cook them simultaneously but that type of multi-tasking is outside my skill set. Plus I'm typically using the same cooking surface for the eggs. So I make the hash browns, plate them, then tackle the eggs. As long as I'm quick about it, the hash browns are still warm and crispy.