Want breakfast potatoes that are velvety-smooth on the inside and extra crispy on the outside?
The Secret to Crispy Breakfast Potatoes
It really boils down to one thing: parcooking your potatoes to remove excess moisture.
This matters! and there is a little food science behind it too.
A potato is 80% water. It is also starchy (a complex carb). Because it's starchy, it caramelizes (or browns) gorgeously when you toss it in a hot pan with oil.
However! Because our potatoes have so much water inside them, if that water gets in the way .. instead of a beautiful caramelized potato, you get a steamed potato, in which case you are left with cooked but mushy (kinda like mashed) potatoes.
So! The easiest way to remove that extra water (moisture) inside your potato is to do the following
#1 - lightly salt your shredded potatoes and let them sit in water
This will remove excess water and some of the starch. It doesn't need to be a long process 10 minutes is just fine
#2 - Rinse, Drain and Wring Out
After you have rinsed your potatoes, drain them and then pour your potatoes onto a tea towel and wring the heck out of the potatoes so any excess water is removed.
#3 - Par Cook Your Shredded Potatoes
Place your dried potatoes onto a paper towel lined plate. Cook them on high for 2 minutes in the microwave. No microwave? Boil them for 2 minutes. And just like in step 2, you need to wring the potatoes out again to dry them off one more time.
#4 - Fry em up!
Fry your hashbrowns in a pan wth a little oil. You'll end up with perfect restaurant-quality breakfast and brunch hashbrowns