Grate Canned Potatoes For Hash Browns With Less Prep Time

Whipping up a batch of homemade hash browns doesn't have to be a lengthy affair if you employ a clever, time-saving shortcut: Using canned potatoes. Simply drain and shred your tinned taters to bypass the hassle of cleaning and peeling fresh spuds. With this convenient move, you can assemble a stack of crispy hash browns with all those moreish, craggy edges in under 15 minutes.

Traditional hash brown recipes call for raw shredded potatoes to be placed in a clean cloth and squeezed so the natural moisture in the tubers can be removed. This is because eliminating the extra liquid in the potatoes creates crispier and less greasy hash browns. Other recipes call for the potatoes to be peeled and parboiled first, because, as the vegetables cool, the moisture inside them naturally evaporates, creating a dry layer on their surface that's prone to crisp up at speed when introduced to a hot skillet.

Using canned potatoes, that are both partially cooked and fully cooled, does away with the need to parboil the spuds. This saves heaps of time, which means you can lazily make several hash browns for breakfast hardly doing any prep work beforehand. Tinned potatoes also have a long shelf life and a single can is enough to make just enough hash browns (or oniony latkes) to serve a couple of people, without creating any waste. All you need to do is drain the potatoes, dry them with absorbent paper towel, and grate them before adding your seasonings.

Canned potatoes are easy to shred with a box grater because they're cold and firm, unlike just-cooked taters. However, if you're using small, fiddly varieties of canned spuds, such as new potatoes, you might find it easier to toss them into a processor with the grater attachment.

If the potatoes are overly wet after shredding, gently squeeze out the excess moisture before adding flavorings and binders. This will prevent them from spitting in the pan once you've shaped them into patties and placed them in hot oil.

A quick tip to create the crispiest hash browns is to leave them well alone as they cook. Don't be tempted to move them around and flip them early because this will prevent them from developing those golden brown, crackly edges. For total textural nirvana, fry your potato patties in fat that has a high smoke point, such as ghee, or toss your hash browns in a skillet of bacon grease. The spuds will absorb all of the savory goodness from the fat as they develop an unbelievably crispy crust. To retain as much crunchy texture as possible, place your hash browns on a cooling rack instead of a paper towel so air can circulate around them, keeping the edges uber-crisp.