HEAVENLY HOMEMADE HASH BROWNS

Potatoes are delicious for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. I don't think that I have been posting enough potato recipes, mainly because I've been mostly paleo for a while now. The starchy, carb laden potato doesn't fall into the paleo lifestyle. But don't you find that as the holidays approach a good potato dish goes a long way? I agree. I've got a couple more potato recipes to share with you. Or, you can check out this recipe for my Sinfully Delicious Smashed Potatoes which will flip your top!

For this recipe, we're going to make some real homemade hash browns. I've had the frozen variety that you just reheat in the oven. The potatoes never taste delicious and the flavor always falls flat. I'm not a fan. Plus, frozen hash brown take about 3o minutes to reheat. For an additional 10 minutes you can make these super tasty homemade breakfast delights!

For breakfast, I love adding a bright yellow, sunny-side-up egg right on top of a pile of hash browns. I've also added poached eggs. Or you can make a breakfast scramble. A breakfast scramble is simple: make the hash browns recipe first. While they are cooking, mix eight eggs in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to medium-high and pour the eggs over the hash browns. Stir well and serve once the eggs are cooked. Seriously delicious breakfast treat.

I found that these hash browns are not only wonderful at the breakfast table, but are soul satisfying next to a pan seared steak or perfectly cooked pork chop. They're so versatile because they are so savory. The bacon and rosemary flavors ring true for so many dishes. Yum.

HOW TO COOK HASH BROWNS

The secret to cooking hash browns correctly all comes down to adding in the ingredients in the right order. Believe me... it makes a difference! Here's the scoop:

1. The potatoes are going to take the longest to cook. They need to go in the pan first over high heat and build flavor while their sugars caramelize.
2. When we add the onions, they are going to release moisture. This will help to soften the onion, but will slow the caramelization of the potato.
3. We add in the aromatics in the middle of the cooking so they don't burn.
4. Rosemary and bacon are added toward the end of the cooking process. Bacon imparts lots of flavor, but we don't want it to take over the dish. The second sprig of rosemary is added to really punch of the aroma.

Over the years I've tried to cook hash browns so many different ways. At my catering company, I had a "grill man" who was a short order cook for 15 years show me how to make delicious homemade hash browns. His advice was simple: get the order correct and everything will work out. So that's how to cook hash browns.

CUBED POTATOES VS. SHREDDED POTATOES

For this recipe, we are using cubed potatoes. Hash browns can be made with cubed, shredded, sliced or even riced potatoes. I like using cubed potatoes simply because they take a little longer to cook. During the longer cooking process, they pick up more flavor. We have lots of opportunity to add in aromatics and other interesting ingredients to make this recipe really versatile.

My recommendation is to not substitute shredded potatoes into this recipe. Shredded potatoes cook completely different than cubed potatoes. This is particularly true if you have shredded a baking potato. The water content will be way too high. Usually you have to squeeze the moisture out of shredded potatoes in a tea towel or cheese cloth to get the really good browning that we look for in pan fried shredded potatoes.

When you are cubing your potatoes, try to make them about 1 cm x 1 cm. Any smaller and they will cook too quickly. A little larger is fine, but if they are too large they will take a lot longer to cook. We're looking for nicely sized cubes. Oh, and leave the skin on the potato!

QUICK COOKING TIP: Using the right potato is really important!! We are going to need a yellow or red, waxy potato. Here's the quick deal with the three types of potatoes:

1. Starchy: These are light and fluffy. They love to absorb butter but don't hold their shape while cooking. They will fall apart quickly and have a high water content.
2. Waxy: A little more dense than starchy potatoes. They hold their shape when cooking and work great in the fry pan, in soups or when roasted.
3. All Purpose: These will work well in most applications as they have less starch than starchy potatoes. I don't like them for home fries simply because they don't hold up as well as waxy.

If all you have in your pantry are baking potatoes... well... put this recipe on hold until you can pick up some waxy potatoes. The recipe just won't work without the right potato.

Ok. It's time to get cooking. Let's take a look at the recipe and step-by-step instructions.