Hash Browns
It’s never too early to start thinking about what kind of impressive breakfast plate you’re going to make for yourself when you crawl out of bed at 9am this coming Sunday morning. The inspiration for this recipe came to me a few weeks ago, after our failed Devil’s Path hiking trip. We woke up exhausted on Sunday morning after sleeping for 12 hours straight and we needed something delicious for breakfast. Mike suggested going out for breakfast, but since that’s such a pain in the butt in general in the coronavirus times I told him I’d rather not.
Then I got to thinking about what I get most excited about when we do go out to breakfast. I quickly decided that the answer was hash browns. I just love those crispy little bits you get here and there throughout your order that makes them so worth it. I thought they’d be pretty easy to recreate at home, so I decided to go for it.
What resulted that day was not at all what I was expecting. That day I used no parchment paper, too few potatoes, too low of a cooking temperature, and too many seasonings. Mike actually loved the end result and thought they went perfectly with runny egg yolks. He was right, but they were more like spicy potato sticks than traditional restaurant hash browns. It was traditional restaurant hash browns I was after, so I knew I had to give it another try.
I can’t say this with absolute certainty just yet, but I do believe this is one of the few times I will instruct you to overcrowd the air fryer basket on purpose. The first time I made these, the potatoes were spread out very thin which made them cook very quickly and crisp all over. That’s not the hash brown look I was going for, and that might not be the result you’re looking for either. With overcrowding the basket on purpose and keeping a watchful eye to give the potatoes a good toss every five minutes or so, you’re controlling the crisp factor to your preference that particular morning. The tossing creates the crispy bits in some areas and the softer bits in other areas. I’m glad I gave these potatoes another shot because what I got the second time around was breakfast carb perfection. Insert heart eye emoji. Give it a go and let me know what you think!
Hash Browns
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Line the insert of your air fryer with parchment paper and use scissors to cut off the excess paper that extends beyond the sides of the basket.
- Add 1 tbsp of ghee to a large bowl and microwave until just melted.
- Shred the potatoes using your preferred method (I chopped the potatoes into large chunks just small enough to feed into my food processor). Once shredded, place into a large bowl or strainer and rinse with cold water to remove the excess starch. Rinse the potatoes and empty the water several times until the water runs clear. Place the shredded potatoes in a piece of cheesecloth and ring out until dried. This can also be done using paper towels.
- Once the potatoes are dry, place them in the bowl with the ghee and stir to coat. Sprinkle ¼ tsp sea salt over the potatoes and stir to coat again. Transfer the potatoes to the parchment paper lined basket and smooth out so that the potatoes are the same thickness throughout the entire basket. There will be several layers of potatoes and that is okay.
- Air fry at 400° F for 20-25 minutes, flipping the potatoes with a spatula every 5 minutes to ensure they cook evenly and some bits get crispy. Remove from air fryer when crisped to your liking. Serve hot and enjoy!
