The Trick to Great Hashbrowns

My first job as a cook was at The Hitchin’ Post Café in Dayton, Wyoming. Looking back, I think it was one of my favorite jobs of all time… I was in high school and worked with a great bunch of people – I was learning a lot about food, and I was doing something I enjoyed for money! I took it all for granted back then – I thought all jobs were like that. Oh, how wrong I was.

A picture of some of the staff at the Hitchin' Post at Prom in 1990

I learned a lot at that place. The first lesson I learned about food was how to make crispy hashbrowns from real potatoes. Before this lesson, every time I would attempt hashbrowns I would end up with a grey gooey mass at the bottom of my pan – the polar opposite of the crispy brown bits of heaven I wanted to serve up next to my eggs in the morning.

But there is a trick to making any fried potato become crisp… (this goes for French fries, too.) The potatoes need to be pre-cooked in order to get the crispiness out of them. For hashbrowns the best bet is to use leftover baked potatoes, or just boil whole potatoes and then cut them up or shred them when they are cooled.

These are my husband’s absolute favorite food when mixed with bacon and cheese. Feel free to add what you like – they are good with sour cream on top, too!

Hashbrowns
5 potatoes, washed and cooked whole (boiled and cooled)
1 medium onion, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
4-5 tbsp olive oil

Heat a skillet at medium high heat. Add the oil, and then the vegetables. Turn occasionally and cook until brown. Turn them only every 5 minutes or more so they get a nice brown crust. Cook until they reach the desired doneness.