What was up with them?
I had a look and apparently brushed potatoes are often Sebago which are floury. They would get crispier than a waxy potato but maybe not hold together as well.
Thereâs also other stuff people do like rinsing the starch off the shreds, squeezing them bone dry with a tea towel or a ricer, and pre-heating the oil before frying.
Using enough oil also makes potatoes crunchier, as well as using a type of fat that can be heated higher. (Not butter, more something like tallow or ghee.)
Iâm not an expert and havenât really made hash browns so thereâs no criticism here. Just curious about the science of the process and see people talking about different methods.
TheWitchofThornbury@aussie.zone â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
They should be ideal. What recipie did you use?
useless_modern_god@aussie.zone â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
I followed this one to the letter and it really doesnât work well. Itâs also pretty time consuming
Hash Brown
TheWitchofThornbury@aussie.zone â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Recipie uses russet spuds - which are not common here. Also they recommend Idaho spuds, also not easily found here. Both of these are extreme âflouryâ spuds and used for french fries and mashing. If your brushed spuds were a bit more waxy, then I can see that this recipie wouldnât work so well. Brushed spuds are usually a good allrounder variety, mashes and bakes fairly well, but are not extreme floury or waxy though they do tend more towards the floury sort. I also use a salad spinner to remove moisture rather than the towel method, as Iâm lazy and it works very well. I usually add a couple of heaped tablespoons of plain flour and an egg to the shreds (well mixed in) before frying as I find this works to hold the shreds together reliably with practically any potato, and gets nicely crispy.
Also, the heat in the pan matters for getting that nice brown crust. A hotter pan and use a mixture of butter and oil so it doesnât burn as quickly, then let the hb sit on the heat for a good 5 mins to get a nice crust on it before turning. Cast iron is perfect for hbs, as it holds the heat so well. I think the recipie is probably very good indeed for extreme floury spuds, but might be difficult to adjust for less floury spuds unless you add a bit of flour and an egg to bind.
useless_modern_god@aussie.zone â¨2⊠â¨weeks⊠ago
Interesting thank you đ