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How to Make Classic Hash Browns

Chef John shows you how to make diner-style hash browns with a perfect crust. See more

READY IN 20 mins

Classic Hash Browns

Read Reviews (33)

"These classic diner-style hash browns are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside." — Chef John

Ingredients Edit and Save

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Original recipe makes 2 servings Change Servings

2 russet potatoes, peeled
3 tablespoons clarified butter
salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 pinch paprika, or to taste

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Directions

Shred potatoes into a large bowl filled with cold water. Stir until water is cloudy, drain, and cover potatoes again with fresh cold water. Stir again to dissolve excess starch. Drain potatoes well, pat dry with paper towels, and squeeze out any excess moisture.
Heat clarified butter in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Sprinkle shredded potatoes into the hot butter and season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
Cook potatoes until a brown crust forms on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook and stir until potatoes are browned all over, about 5 more minutes.

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PREP 10 mins
COOK 10 mins
READY IN 20 mins

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Great method for cooking hash browns. I grated the potatoes into my salad spinner full of cold water - used that to triple rinse the potatoes and then drained them and spun the water out. The clarified butter is perfect for these as it can cook at a higher temperature than whole butter. I used a cast iron pan and don't flip or stir until you get a nice crisp bottom - then flip and stir and crisp up the rest. Excellent!

—Baking Nana

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Jun 03, 2012

While I thought the recipe was wonderful, I found that the inside of my hash didn't cook very well at the times specified. I chose to cook it for 10 minutes and then bake it for another 10 minutes and chose to sprinkle some cheddar and mozzarella cheese on top while it baked. I served it with fluffy scrambled eggs and a little ketchup!

—minimoongurll

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52 Ratings

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Mar 21, 2012

I watched Chef John's video on this recipe & realized that my fresh taters always turned brown. I had given up on using fresh potatoes for hash browns & had turned to frozen. I used my food processor to grate an entire big yellow onion. Next I grated 8 russets & added that to the onion. Yum - I kept flipping these to make sure all of it turned brown & yummy! Rinsing potatoes in cold water, like rice. Who knew! Love that I learn something new all the time on this site!

—Jewels

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May 14, 2012

I cooked them longer than the recipe calls for because i like my hash browns crunchy. Easy and very good.

—lala071

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Oct 19, 2012

Very good. A tip that I learned long ago is to press the shredded potatoes in a potato ricer, after soaking & rinsing time, while holding the ricer upside down, you're pressing a lot of water out this way. Then pat dry with paper towels. You're not going to press the raw potatoes through the ricer, you're just pressing more water out of the potatoes more efficiently. I used 1/2 shortening and half butter to fry the potatoes in, like my mother always did.

—Dale

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Apr 08, 2012

Worked perfect, rinsing out the starch made all the diference. Thank you for the great recipe!

—shane6884

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Apr 13, 2012

Yeah, i can finally make yummie hash browns, now more wasted potatoes! Mine didn't get as brown as the ones in the video, but they tasted great. (And even better with a little ketchup.) Will make again. Thank you Chef John

—mommietotwo

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Nov 11, 2012

Rinsing out the starch and squeezing the moisture out with a ricer worked great. Didn't even need to pat dry. Always wondered why my fresh hash browns got so mushy. Used canola oil and seasoned salt with great results. Thanks for your tips!!

—Abaco

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Nutrition

Calories
334 kcal
17%

Carbohydrates
37.5 g
12%

Cholesterol
49 mg
16%

Fat
19.4 g
30%

Fiber
4.9 g
20%

Protein
4.4 g
9%

Sodium
207 mg
8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Classic Hash Browns

Serving Size: 1/2 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 334
Calories from Fat: 174

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 19.4g 30 %
Saturated Fat 12g 60 %
Cholesterol 49mg 16 %
Sodium 207mg 8 %
Potassium 911mg 26 %
Total Carbohydrates 37.5g 12 %
Dietary Fiber 4.9g 20 %
Protein 4.4g 9 %
Sugars 1.7g
Vitamin A 18 %
Vitamin C 71 %
Calcium 3 %
Iron 18 %
Thiamin 19 %
Niacin 27 %
Vitamin B6 41 %
Magnesium 18 %
Folate 19 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.