Help an idiot: Cooking question

[jane_pippin]

I'm hungover and starving, and I'm out of key elements in my usual weekend Breakfast of Champions. (Usually it's scrambled eggs, soysages--I don't know how they get them to be so frickin' delicious but man they're good--fruit and a bagel). I'm out of soysages and fruit, but, I do have a potato so was thinking I can go the eggs and hash browns with onions and cheese route and then pretend my kitchen is a kickass greasy spoon diner.

I've never made hash browns, but I found a recipe on the Interweb there. It's simple enough but it says the potato has to be baked. I say nuts to that--it can't possibly be necessary. Who has the time for that nonsense? But I don't know these things--maybe it does.

So, what do you say? (Say no, you don't have to bake it; that's crazy talk. Come on. You know you want to.)

[Maineiac]

1. Baking does make them better

If you try to fry a raw potato, the starchy stuff all leaks out and they're gross. If you don't have time to bake, try the microwave or pare them and blanch them for a bit in boiling water to help set the starch.

[jane_pippin]

3. Aahhh. Ok. I guess that makes sense.

It's not that I don't have time to bake it. It's just that I'm hungry now and I don't want to make a broadway production out of cooking hash browns. I'm going to try the boiling method--that sounds easy enough and like it would get the job done.

Thanks!

[zingaro]

2. I've never baked before I've browned.

OK I had a tasteless joke here but I deleted it.

:rofl:

No, just shred those potatoes up and toss them into some hot oil. Season them and cook them for 8-10 minutes one one side then turn them and season and cook them again for about the same length of time.

[jane_pippin]

5. Ha. Ok, see I'm in such a state that I laughed at that

so your mission was accomplished anyway. :thumbsup:

Now your way is just how I assumed they should be done anyway. Now I'm confused.

I'm flipping a coin and between you and Maineac's advice (Sp?) I'll have some potaters one way or another.

Here goes!

[grasswire]

4. if you want your hash browns to be crispy

then you need to squeeze the grated potato in some paper towels to get the liquid out before you fry it up. As soon as you grate the potato, it begins to make liquid that will make the mess gooey. So you can squeeze the grated tater dry, or you can cube it and make home fries.

[libodem]

9. I even rinse the shreads

and then dry them off well. Cooled, boiled potatos work very well, too.

[Maineiac]

6. Places that make french fries from fresh potatoes

cook them twice. The first time is to cook the potato and drive off a lot of the moisture. The second cooking crisps them. If you shred them then squeeze then in a towel, you will be accomplishing just about what the precooking methods do and that is to drive off some of the moisture and along with it, the starchy stuff.

[jane_pippin]

7. Success! Thanks everybody!

I checked back in time to see the paper-towel advice. I also added onions and cheese, so it's kind of like a hash-brown scrambler. And they are awesome--straight out of a greasy diner. Yay!

[Breeze54]

8. My Mom always used boiled

potatoes and she cut them in small slices.
If you have some bacon fat, use that!
It makes them taste better, add sliced onions and S & P!