Haha, I was afraid that would be the response. :)

My significant other will probably never learn to dice, but I thought if I showed up with a gadget he might be convinced to use it. Oh well.

one that's way faster :-)

You know Joe, that is the best thing I've learned from Rouxbe. I used to hear people (chefs) talk about how much faster it was just to use a knife, and I'd just think "Oh sure" well, it's true, and I actually learned to do it well...ok, for me, I do it well.

Someone may have answered this already, but I am wondering if the potatoes for this recipe should be baked FIRST and THEN sauteed...the reason is that my mom always used to make "dill potatoes" where she would first bake completely, cool down, then cut into small pieces and sautee in butter with salt and fresh dill. But the secret is that the potatoes MUST first be cooked in order to really brown nicely. In this recipe, are the potatoes raw? If so, how does that work? Do they really cook this way? Does it take longer?

...where is the video for this recipe? I've searched for it a bunch of ways but all I can see is the text. Is there a trick to making the video for this one appear?

The potatoes in this recipe/technique are raw and indeed they do cook. When using cooked potatoes the cooking time is obviously shorter as they are already cooked. In this case, you are merely reheating them and giving them more texture etc.

As for "where is the video for this recipe?" there is an entire lesson on this technique in the cooking school called "How to Saute". Cheers!

Thank you! Is there a video for the actual recipe of making hash browns?

Here at Rouxbe we are not so much about recipes. We are more about teaching you skills and techniques that will free you from recipes. If you watch the video and then practice sauteing you should be able to make these hash browns without a recipe. Much of the sauteing of these hash browns is also covered in the lesson. Good luck and let us know how it goes for you. Cheers!

Oh! Ok, sorry. I thought I remembered watching specific videos for recipes before, like the gnocchi video, the chicken saltimbocca, etc. Without those recipe-videos I would never have been able to make those items--they are great!

Indeed, many recipes do have videos with them, like the ones you mentioned; however there are many recipes that do not need a video once the technique has been learned.

I would suggest that you start going through the cooking school part of Rouxbe and you will see that once you learn the skills and techniques behind cooking that the recipes become less important. At least in a "must always need and/or do what the recipe says" kind of way. Once you know how to really cook recipes, are used more for inspiration and ideas. Hope this makes sense. Cheers!

Thanks for this simple yet delicious practice recipe. I did this this morning and I added the same size chunks of green pepper. I put it in about 5 minutes into cooking so they wouldn't get done too soon before the potatoes. And best of all I ACTUALLY pan tossed and saw it mix! woo hooo. Up until I started taking these classes thanks to cooking club of America, I would never have even considered trying to make hash browns. Thank you for all of your great ideas. I'm having so much fun in my kitchen now. By the way, this says to season right at the end of the cooking. What is the reason for that?

Taken from Topic 5 of the "How to Saute" lesson. "Starchier foods are often seasoned at the end of the cooking process to prevent the nice, golden crust from softening." Cheers!

Made these this morning simply following the guidelines of the lesson and the text recipe using raw russet potatoes that were beginning to sprout. Yummm! My wife was impressed -- which is a very important component of my cooking!!

As for shredded hash browns that Jude was asking about, I hope you don't mind me sharing my experiences with hash browns. There are probably more, but I have seen and tasted five different styles.

1. My mother used to make the worst fried potatoes ever and then chop them up and refry them to make the worst hash browns ever. (Sorry mom!)
2. leftover cooked potatoes (baked, or boiled), mushed with a fork and seasonings and fried. (Second worst hash browns ever -- sorry mom!)
3. shredded hash browns.
4. hash brown patties (a' la McDonalds)
5. Diced hash browns. (a' la Rouxbe)

I like the shredded hash browns the best of all. I have done them very successfully with both raw and precooked or left over potatoes as long as the cooked potatoes aren't mushy and are stone cold from the refrigerator.

I will detail what I do for raw potatoes:

Step 1: Wash or peel the potatoes
Step 2: Shred and soak shredded potatoes in a large pot of water.
Step 3: Rinse several times until water runs clear
Step 4: Put shredded potatoes into a large strainer, rinse again, and allow to drain completely.
Step 5: While still in the strainer, dry potatoes with a large fan on high speed blowing through the strainer. The drier the potato the better. This should only take a few minutes. The potatoes may begin to turn color a little, but this won't matter as they will soon be crispy and golden. I don't like to squeeze the shredded potato to extract water as I like the shreds to remain completely separate. I want them light and dry.
Step 6: Prepare your stainless steel saute pan following the instructions in this lesson, and add equal amounts of grapeseed oil and butter to the hot pan
Step 7: Add shredded potatoes, toss to coat and then spread to cover the bottom of the pan to a thickness of about 3/8ths of an inch. Follow the same procedures, pan temperatures, etc as described in this lesson from Rouxbe
Step 8: Resist the temptation to stir or saute the hash browns until they have had time to crisp to a golden brown. If the temperature of the pan and the oil/butter is just right, you should be able to flip the entire potato 'pancake' onto its top side in one motion. If the idea terrifies you, then cut into quarters, and flip each quarter with a spatula.
Step 9: Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy

My mother would be proud!

Note: Even if the patty doesn't stay together, you will still end up with deliciously crispy hash browns simply by tossing occasionally and allowing time for the hash browns to come to a golden brown between tosses.

The shredded vs. diced is a matter of debate as has been discussed earlier. Neither need to be par cooked, its a matter of texture preference. If you choose to cook or prefer to eat shredded hash browns I would recommend baking them instead of frying. In a typical dry heat home oven you can get a crusty texture on the surface while maintaining a creamy texture on the remainder of the potatoes, just bake them in a hotel pan or casserole dish at 350 for 15-20 minutes. This works especially well if you prefer your hash browns with cheese and/or cream because you're basically doing a quick au gratin.

The recipe calls for 1/2 " X 1/2 " X 1/2" pieces, but I found it hard to get all of them to be the same size unless was willing to discard some of the potatoe as they were all different sizes etc..., in ordrer to make it a uniform shape before starting to cut.

Am I wrong to think I need to waste some of the potatoe in order to get the uniform size the recipe wants, so all the pieces have the same cooking time?

I have watched the knife skills video, just was trying to waste less if there was something I could be doing differently

thanks

You are correct, when cutting ingredients into even sized pieces there is often some waste. However, it is not actual waste. The leftover or uneven pieces can be used in other things, such as soups or stocks (depends what it is really).

Things are cut evenly so they cook evenly and also so they look visually appealing. The more you practice the more comfortable you will become. Also, the more you practice the less you will waste. You will also learn where and when you can use the leftover pieces the more you cook and experiment. Hope this helps. Cheers!

Thanks Dawn

I tried the recipe and it turned out okay but took about 25 minutes to get completely done. most likely due to my uneven size pieces :)

Question: I did not have clarified butter or Grapesee Oil so I just used 2 Tbsp of Vegetable oil as I thought 4 would make the dish too greasy.

I wanted to see what flavour the butter would have added, and I was wondering if I could have used 2 Tbsp of normal butter with the 2 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil to get the smoking point of the Butter up to prevent any burning of the Butter. Would that have worked do you think?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks
Mark

Yes using a bit of butter and oil would have worked to bring up the smoke point. Feel free to experiment Mark, after all, they are just potatoes and in the end this is how we all learn. Good luck and keep on practicing. Cheers!

there are many types of potatoes
whats the best ones to use for hash browns ?

I just use what i have at the time or the oldest ones ?

The ideal potatoes for hash browns are potatoes that are floury. Meaning, potatoes that are high in starch with a low water content. These types of potatoes become fluffy when cooked, which makes them the best choice for frying, roasting, baking, mashing and for things like French fries.

Since there are over 4,000 varieties of potatoes, it's hard to say exactly which potato variety you should use. "Russets" (also called "russet Burbank"), are quite readily available and very common potatoes that would certainly fall into the "floury" or "mealy" category. Hope this helps. Cheers!

A few people were interested in grated hash browns. Here is a video link of a chef making them.

Personally I am non ecumenical with my hashbrowns and will eat them either way :)

Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYhiIrlXY7I&feature=g-all&context=G2a473e0FAAAAAAAAGAA

Hi,

I live in Thailand and the potato's tend to be high in sugar and tend to burn rather easily and go soft, imported ones are quite expensive.

Do you have any tips that i can try so i can crisp up these potato's without them burning or going soft?

This can be challenging. You will need to experiment with this particular ingredient. Maybe try using a bit more fat and keep an eye on the heat, etc. Potatoes that are sweeter/have a higher sugar content are often just harder to pan fry (like sweet potatoes for instance). It can be done, but you just need to keep an eye on them. You also cannot expect the exact same results because you are using a different product. You may need to use other cooking methods that better suit this type of potato. Cheers!

Is the clarified butter used just to prevent burning vs regular butter?

Are there any alternatives that would be flavourful besides clarified butter?

Thanks!