Hash Browns Q - April 2011 Issue

[BarbaraS]

Okay, so tonight we're having '"Breakfast for Dinner and I'm going to try my hand at making my own hash browns. The April issue says to soak the shredded potatos in water, but the article didn't say for how long.

What say all you hash brown cooks out there? How long should I soak the potatos?

Barbara

[Gourmet_Mom]

Barbara, I was hoping to try one of those recipes also, since I've never been successful at making them. That means I'm no help at all, but I'll be cheering you on in hopes that you can offer advice after you've mastered the thing!

[BarbaraS]

Will do, Daphne!

Barbara

[cjs]

Depends on the typeof potatoes, how long or if I soak them. Huh, just looked at the recipe and now I'm confused. I rinse them to lose some of the starch and the articles says russets are good for hash browns because of all their starch....

I'd say a very brief soak, since the article does say some rinses away allowing residual starch to swell (hmmmmm) I'd say no more than 10 or 15 minutes. For fries, I soak for about an hour and you should see all the residue starch in the bottom of the bowl.

Good luck with your project.

[BarbaraS]

Yes, I bought russet potatos for this. I guess I'll soak them for 15 minutes, then spin dry in my lettuce spinner and let them dry out pretty good so they'll crisp up.

Fingers crossed...

Barbara

[Gourmet_Mom]

Cool idea to use the salad spinner. Taking notes here!

[labradors]

It's hard to tell, without the context of the rest of the recipe, but potatoes are sometimes "soaked" in water just for storage until you have processed them all or finished preparing other ingredients. It's just to keep them from oxidising and turning brown.

P.S.: Since it was just St. Patrick's Day, if you still have any corned beef left, you could make corned-beef hash, too!

[BarbaraS]

We didn't do anything for St. Pats. I worked 12 hours that day and neither of us really likes corned beef.

I know about soaking the taters to keep them from discoloring, so I'll figure to soak them and dry them out just before cooking them.

Barbara

[iBcookin]

Years ago I watched a rabbi make latkes on Good Morning America. He shredded the potatoes, soaked them in water (to remove the starch), then wrung them out really well, and added the rest of the goodies (onion, flour, egg AND the starch from the potatoes that was left in the bottom of the bowl). And since it was demo-ed by a rabbi, I've always done potatoe pancakes that way. Maybe something to consider given that latkes are just a step away from hash browns.

[cjs]

I do them that way also, Linda - when I shred, I always wring them out in a towel. Now that I think of it, I do always use a towel to dry them out.