Griddle/Pan Fried: hash browns / home fries

Subject: hash browns / home fries
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Gabriel Simon (psimon at magpage.com)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 00:46:46 -0700
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Can anyone tell me how to make hash browns or home fries the way they make them in diners?
From: Jill McQuown
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 00:42:44 -0500
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I don't measure much for this. Dice up a yellow onion; chop 4-5 potatoes in a medium-dice and mix with the onion. Season with pepper and salt. Heat vegetable oil very hot in a large cast-iron skillet. Pack in the potatoes. Fry until golden brown on one side... resist turning or stirring them (you'll want to) for close to 10 minutes... then turn them with a wide spatula, stirring only slightly, and cook another 5-10 minutes. The potatoes will be tender inside but well-browned and crispy on the outside.
Yummy!
From: Robb (rddg_takemeout_ at 1st-uspride.net)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 02:11:46 -0400
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These sound a lot like my mom's, but she used to dust the half-cooked potatoes with 2-3 teaspoons flour and a slight drizzling of milk...this before turning to cook the other side. I think it made them crispier.
From: sammy4-paws at webtv.net (sammy)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 00:26:29 -0700 (PDT)
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Hi just happened to stop tonight and check out this site, sure love home fries, I will have to try thie milk after turnig, got my own reciept to share , (cast iron fry pan make them best) Olive oil ,fresh garlic, onion, pepper (grn-yel, red, your choice ? I like dried crushed chilis also. start with oil,garlic nice and hot ,add potatoe put onions , peppers on top,do not mix in, sprinkle with dried crushed chilies, cover for 10 min, remove lid & mix together and turn 10 to 15 min all depending on size of potatoes you cut , I like to make gravy to g over them salt & pepper to your taste I use no salt. well enjoy hope you like them
From: ALICIADIANNE at webtv.net
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 16:44:28 -0500 (CDT)
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I always just buy the frozen ones. LOL I find the hash browns with green peppers and onion are great. Sorry not much help.
From: lscanlon at erols.com (Leo Scanlon)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 21:27:29 GMT
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I've always made them in a non-stick pan, but Jill's recipe, sounded so easy that I tried it this morning with two potatoes. I must have done something wrong, though, because in 10 minutes the bottom of the potatoes were absolutely *black*. The potatoes were done, however, and pretty tasty, I must add..

I used enough oil (a mix of peanut and olive oil) and had the electric range on medium high heat. Heat too high? Cooked too long (10 minutes)? What?
From: Jill McQuown
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 14:15:32 -0500
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Leo Scanlon wrote:
>I've always made them in a non-stick pan, but Jill's recipe, sounded
>so easy that I tried it this morning with two potatoes. I must have
>done something wrong, though, because in 10 minutes the bottom of the
>potatoes were absolutely *black*. The potatoes were done, however,
>and pretty tasty, I must add..

Well, I did say "close to 10 minutes" (smile). I wing it; just don't want people turning them too soon. I used to have that problem with potato pancakes... always tempted to turn them too soon. My SO has the same problem with rice, wanting to take the lid off and stir it (shame on him, being Cajun!) whereas I can cook rice perfectly in 20 minutes. (Just keep yer cotton-pickin hands off the pan!)

Everyone's stove is different. I have electric as opposed to gas. Might be your flame was too hot, or (oh, you said electric) maybe your burner gets hotter than mine. I don't use the High heat setting to get the oil hot, more like medium to med-high and let the oil sit longer to heat up.

At least they were "pretty tasty" :-) Please don't give up on my recipe, it just needs some adjusting to your cooking environment!
From: gaterkeeper at webtv.net (gatekeeper at webtv.net)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 02:39:25 -0400 (EDT)
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there are so many waay and so many. solets go the easite peel 8pot, put in cold watetake bacon and chunk'chop the bacn brond in lg iron skilleeet while doing this clan an onion, Lg, and sweet take mellldin and slice poto by now the bacn is ccrispy, add the pit and thin slicedonion, keep firee hot, Turn as needed, cover'let cook turn as need, lovel,r
From: Chris Stromberger (cstromberger at earthlink.net)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 10:39:46 -0500
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I like the shredded variety, as opposed to diced. I've found that you have to pre-cook the potatoes. Boil or bake 'em the nite before and throw 'em in the fridge. Don't overcook or they won't stand up to the grating -- best to undercook them a bit. To cook the hash browns:
grate the precooked taters with a cheese grater, put a layer in hot oil and let 'em crisp/brown on one side before turning. I ususally turn down the heat at the end and throw in some diced onion until it gets soft.

Good stuff. Serve with eggs up and grits so you can mix the yolk in with the potatos!
From: notbob (notbob at home.com)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 15:59:09 GMT
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Well, most places, these days, either use dehydrated (yep, dried ..gotta soak 'em) or frozen hash browns (just like Or-Ida). But, the way the classic old dinners did it was to shred or cut up the un-used baked potatoes from the night before or par-bake or par-boil potatoes the night before for use as hash browns in the morning.
From: woody (woody730 at northnet.org)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 18:42:56 GMT
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Where I'm from hash browns and home fries are two different things. For home fries I chop up left over boiled potatoes or left over salt potatoes and a little onion and throw some spices in there for taste. Put that in a fry pan w/ a little bacon grease and brown. Even better if ya have a little ham to cut up and throw in there and then some nice ham gravy over top. Man oh man! Somebody call my Momma!

As for hash browns. Shred up some raw potato (you could use cooked but I prefer raw) w/ some onion. Put whatever spices ya want w/ just a little bit of flour. Mix that together. Heat some oil or bacon grease in a fry pan. Scoop out a good heaping spoonful of potato mix and put in fry pan. Spread it out a little to make like a patty. Brown real well on both sides. Mister man that's some eating. For a brunch you could let them cool a little and top w/ tuna salad(try a little hot sauce in the tuna salad for a little extra bite.) Good golly Miss Molly I'm a startin' to slobber on myself!
From: Alan Boles
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 21:36:52 GMT
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If you soak the shredded tater for about 15 minutes; then squeeze them dry with your hands, they taste even better.