These homemade hash brown patties are crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and the perfect side for any breakfast.
If you read my last post for homemade sandwich rolls, you’ll know that it was my sister-in-law’s birthday a few weeks ago, and I went all out making her breakfast. She requested bacon egg and cheese sandwiches, and those rolls were the perfect vessel to serve them on. But no sandwich would be complete without some kind of side, preferably potato in nature. We often buy the frozen packs of hash brown patties for quick breakfast sides, and they’re both easy and delicious. But because a special occasion like a birthday calls for really special breakfast (and because I already had a bag of potatoes that I bought to make the rolls) I decided to try my hand at making homemade hash brown patties, and they came out just as delicious and crispy as you would expect.
LIKE A POTATO LATKE… WITH SOME DIFFERENCES
These hash brown patties are super similar to potato latkes; shredded potatoes, formed and shaped and then fried in hot oil until ultra crispy. If I’m being completely honest, I actually think I prefer potato latkes, but these are really delicious too, and maybe fit more with the “breakfast” theme. There are two main differences between these and latkes. One is that for these hash brown patties, you partially cook the potatoes first before shredding them (in latkes you shred them raw). Partially cooking the potatoes first gives these patties a slightly different texture, somewhere between a shredded potato and a mashed potato. This makes for a really great texture contrast between the crispy shell of the outside, and the soft, fluffy mash of the inside.
The second big difference between these hash brown patties and potato latkes is of course the shape. Potato latkes are very freeform in their shape. The batter you make for them is loose, and the latkes come out round-ish, but with little potato shreds sticking out all over the place. These hash brown patties are much more uniform in shape, and can be made into whatever shape you choose. I went with a rectangle with rounded corners, the classic hash brown patty shape. But because they still use a loose, messy batter, you’ll want to form them into shape on a sheet of parchment, and then freeze them for about an hour. This will allow the patties to retain their shape when you fry them, making them perfectly shaped as if you’d bought them in the store.
FREEZE YOUR HASH BROWN PATTIES
Even if you’re making these hash brown patties for the same day, as I mentioned above, you’ll need to freeze them before you fry them, ensuring they maintain their shape. But if you wanted to, you could make a huge batch of these, fry up a few for breakfast that day, and let the rest of them stay frozen for future use. You’ll want to let them freeze flat for about an hour initially, but after that you can store them in a zip lock for months and have the perfect breakfast side ready to go whenever you want.
So while they may still take a lot more effort than the ones you can buy in the freezer section, if you make them in bulk and freeze them, it’s worth it for the leftovers. Or, if you really want to go all out making a special breakfast for someone, or just because you feel like being extra, these hash brown patties are the perfect side.
Crispy Hash Brown Patties
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb potatoes
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- oil, for frying
Instructions
- Peel and slice your potatoes in half. Partially cook them either by cooking them in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or microwaving them for 5-8 minutes, until softened slightly but still firm.
- Allow potatoes to cool slightly. Then grate them using a box grater or shredder.
- In a large bowl, combine shredded potatoes, egg, flour and salt. Mix well.
- Line a baking sheet (or large plate/platter that will fit in your freezer) with parchment paper. Divide the batter roughly into 8, and form 8 patty shapes on the parchment paper. Place in the freezer and freeze for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Fill a large skillet with about 1/4 inch of oil. Fry the frozen patties in batches until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Move them a paper towel lined plate or cooling rack and sprinkle with salt.
- Serve the patties hot, or reheat in a 450 oven or air fryer. Alternatively, after freezing the patties flat, you can store them in a zip lock in the freezer for up to 6 months,
These sound good. Have you ever tried baking them in the oven?
I haven’t tried it but I would imagine it would work well! I would spray them with some oil spray before baking to get them nice and crispy, and bake on a high temperature just keeping an eye on them as they bake to be sure they don’t burn; probably something around 20 minutes. Would work well in the air fryer too!
I must try them,