Hash browns are essential when enjoying a proper full English, and a handy potato side to swap out chips, wedges or curly fries. There’s something remarkably nostalgic about a hash brown, and they’re always a welcome sight when prepared properly.
Naturally, this comes down to personal preference, but I adore when a hash brown features a deep golden, crispy, crunchy exterior that conceals fluffy, shredded potato within. For me, spotting a pale, lacklustre hash brown means instant disappointment. With this in mind, which technique delivers the perfect crispy hash brown?
While many might reach for the air fryer, I don’t have one and refuse to purchase one on principle. Instead, I experimented with various appliances and cooking techniques using an oven, frying pan and a toaster.
View 4 ImagesOnly use the oven if you want a pale and anaemic hash brown(Image: Ellen Jenne)
Indeed, it appears you can use a toaster for more than simply bread. After trialling these options, one approach proved far more successful and superior. I’ll never prepare a hash brown any other way again.
Ovens are a dependable appliance. Even when you don’t quite stick to the instructions, you can usually intuitively judge the temperature.
Yet occasionally, even when you do follow the instructions exactly, the outcome can still prove underwhelming. That’s the prevailing sentiment when I cook hash browns in the oven.
These frozen hash browns required 20 to 25 minutes in the oven at 200. So naturally, I chose the upper limit of time to guarantee their crispiness. In practice, the oven-cooked method produced the palest and soggiest hash browns of the lot. And if you’re tucking into hash browns, the last thing you want is anything soggy or mushy.
The potatoes did begin to colour around the edges, a very faint golden brown, but they were far from crispy. When you bite into a hash brown, there should be a satisfying crunch between your teeth; this was more akin to biting into a cushion. Absolutely no sound whatsoever.
The hash browns were undeniably soft, but everything about them was. No crunch, no crispness, nothing. They’re passable for those who prefer a lightly cooked hash brown, but to me, they felt borderline underdone.
On this occasion, I’ll be giving the oven a wide berth. NEXT.
Rating: 4/10
View 4 ImagesThe toaster will char the corners, but the rest of the hash brown was left uneven(Image: Ellen Jenne)
When I discovered you could cook hash browns in the toaster, I was genuinely gobsmacked. Ordinarily, my toaster is strictly reserved for bread or crumpets.
Moreover, not being able to properly monitor the hash browns toasting felt rather like placing my trust in a Magic 8 Ball. Dropping the hash browns into the toaster slot felt akin to dropping a mobile down a drain. Would I manage to retrieve it? Would it be completely ruined? At that point, it really was a case of “Jesus take the wheel.”
I came across a recipe that recommended cooking the hash browns on a medium setting (I placed mine between three and four), at least three times to ensure the potatoes are thoroughly defrosted and cooked through. I’m not entirely certain how long each toasting cycle takes on mine, but I’d estimate somewhere between three and four minutes.
The initial round of toasting didn’t alter the look of the hash browns significantly. They appeared somewhat paler than the oven-cooked hash browns.
After toasting them again, I noticed a big difference. By the third round, the hash browns had turned beautifully golden. Yet once removed, the edges appeared more golden than the remainder of the hash brown.
The toaster approach definitely made the hash brown crispy, delivering a pleasing crunch and a reasonably cooked middle. On balance, the toaster technique proved successful but led to an inconsistent cook.
So if you prefer your hash brown somewhat crunchier, I’d give it another round to determine whether the exterior crisps up more uniformly. That said, this isn’t always guaranteed.
Rating: 7/10
View 4 ImagesA frying pan will achieve the perfect crunch and fluffy inside(Image: Ellen Jenne)
The notion of frying a frozen hash brown in a frying pan felt somewhat unusual, but since you can fry various types of potatoes or other foods from frozen, it doesn’t appear farfetched. Simply heat the frying pan – I adjusted my hob to a medium-high temperature – with two tablespoons of oil.
Position the frozen hash browns in the pan and leave untouched for six minutes. Once the time has elapsed, turn over and repeat.
Upon turning, the rich golden exterior I’d been craving had finally materialised. The following six minutes passed quickly, and before long, the café-worthy hash browns were ready and steaming hot. The hash browns boasted a fantastic, uniform crust that the other cooking methods simply couldn’t compete with.
Somehow, the frying pan produced a noticeably thicker crust, meaning every bite offered a satisfying contrast between the crispy outer shell and the fluffy shredded potato within.
Each mouthful was gloriously and irresistibly crunchy. There’s a satisfying snap with every bite, and frankly, I could have kept going all day.
Cooking in a frying pan takes half the time of the oven and produces far superior results. So next time you’re cooking hash browns from frozen, do yourself a favour and reach for the frying pan.
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Rating: 10/10