Hash brown potatoes almost qualify for a comfort food. I did try to make hash brown potatoes one time long ago. First a caution: the details are coming from 40 year old memories so they may be a little off. But this is what I have gleaned from them: On a trip to Billings, Montana - I believe it was a school baseball trip - the family ate at a local restaurant several times. The only part of the menu I recall is the hash brown potatoes. I’ve never eaten any as good since. They were crisp, light and perfectly browned. Don’t know how it happened, but I was able to speak with the cook who told me ‘It was easy.’ She may even have given me a bit of explanation. There’s a blank spot about that quite important piece. Once home, I decided to try my hand at this ‘easy’ dish. What I achieved was a gray, unpalatable slurry that in no way resembled those delectable hash brown potatoes. I’m certain they were full of nourishment, but that would have been all. I’ve never tried again. But tonight, for the sake of this blog post, I asked Professor Google for assistance. I was rewarded with a short video of Gordon Ramsay preparing potatoes for hash browns. I immediately saw my mistake from all those years ago. After grating the potatoes they are to be drained. Not only drained, but the starchy potato water gently squeezed out and drained through a colander. So I’ve had my cooking lesson for today, from the comfort of my sofa with my feet up.
I can bake quite nice cookies and pretty fair bread, make passable roast chicken and roast beef but something as ‘easy’ as hash browns, I’ve been afraid to try again. I’ve made many, many mistakes and missteps over the years but still enjoy cooking. This weekend, I’ll be trying hash brown potatoes again.
“When you have made as many mistakes as I have
then you can be as good as me.”
~ Wolfgang Puck
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