Use This Hack To Get Even Crispier Breakfast Potatoes

Who doesn't love hash browns? The perfect accompaniment to a couple of fried eggs and some slices of bacon, this breakfast and brunch classic is a fried-up mix of potatoes and onion. Ideally, they are cooked to a nice crisp outside while remaining soft and creamy on the inside (via Epicurious). Sometimes served as a loose jumble, other times formed into patties, these classic breakfast potatoes are also delicious served with a simple squirt of ketchup or — in fancier applications — with add-ons such as smoked salmon and creme fraiche.

Many of us are accustomed to ordering a side of hash browns when we go out for breakfast, but have you ever made the dish at home? If so, you likely know that achieving perfect hash browns can be a bit trickier than it seems. All too often, the potatoes turn out undercooked, greasy, or — perhaps the most common hash brown issue — not crispy enough. But there's no need to shy away from frying up a pan of crispy hash browns. They are easy to make at home with this simple hack. Read on to discover how.

Do you know what parcooking is? According to Delighted Cooking, this term refers to partially cooking an ingredient before incorporating it into a dish that you will cook further. For example, as noted by The Spruce Eats, one parcooking method involves briefly boiling carrots before adding them into a stir-fry, as they would not cook all the way through with the heat of the stir-frying alone.

The secret to crispy hash browns — parcooking the potatoes first. According to Reader's Digest, parcooking potatoes removes their excess moisture, leaving behind a concentrated amount of starch, which accounts for its crispiness when the potatoes are fried afterward. The best-recommended method for parcooking hash brown potatoes is to shred them, wring them out in a towel, transfer them to a paper towel-lined microwave-safe plate, and nuke them on high for two minutes. Afterward, the potatoes will fry quickly in a hot, oiled pan, taking only about two minutes per side to crisp up.

If the microwave isn't your bag, Epicurious suggests you can always parboil whole potatoes, grate them, and use them to make hash browns. Follow these tips at home, and you can crunch into crispy breakfast potatoes anytime you like.