# Hash Browns. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039 "2010-07-26T13:33:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/21 "2010-07-26T19:52:38Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There seem to be three different ways I’ve seen them cooked: > > 1. Shredded. Some of the shreds are crunchy and some are soft. > 2. Chopped potatoes. Not shreds, but many different sizes. Again, some of the pieces are cooked to a crunch, while others are not. > 3. Individual chunks. Each is browned on the outside. > > There are also potato pancakes, which are shredded and fried as cakes. Again, #3 are actually home fries, not hash browns. Potato pancakes were originally known as latkes and have egg and onion mixed into them. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/22 "2010-07-26T20:21:00Z")
Mmmm. Hash browns. I’m lazy. I buy the pre-chopped frozen kind that comes in a 2-pound bag. They work for me. Sometimes I spice things up and buy the potatoes o’brien just to keep things interesting. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/23 "2010-07-26T20:56:04Z")
I too am lazy. There was an unfrozen brand of shredded potatoes. I added matchsticked green onions and bell pepper with some garlic. Unfortunately I can’t find them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/24 "2010-07-26T22:15:04Z")
Hash browns + 2 or 3 kinds of shredded cheese (often Beemster and something else) + garlic + onion + crumbled bacon. Cook in a large frying pan. Such a wonderful way to start a Sunday. Because of the shear weight of them, it also became an immediate end to Sunday as well (or at least naptime). ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/25 "2010-07-26T22:59:06Z")
I’m more a fan of home fries than hash browns. Maybe because I’ve never had good hash browns. Restaurants around here don’t make them well (bland and unevenly cooked), and I’ve never tried making them on my own. When it comes to fried potatoes, I find it simple to chunk them up, season and fry until golden; parboiling (!) and shredding and patting the spuds dry = way too much work for any meal. I should buy some of those frozen ones and experiment. And thank you, **Chefguy** , for standing fast on the difference between the two. I was watching Ina Garten’s show last week. She was frying big chunks of potato with ham or something and kept calling them hash browns! (If you’ve ever watched **Barefoot Contessa** , you know how she keeps repeating the very specific name of the dish, including when she serves it up to her douchey Long Island friends.) I actually yelled at the TV – “Those are home fries, not hash browns, you idiot!” ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/26 "2010-07-26T23:03:09Z")
I dont do hash browns. But home fries are one of my favorite weekend breakfast side dishes. Boil potatotes let them cool off dice them up. Spoonfull of collected meat fat (grease) in a skillet set to medium to high heat Add home fries salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Fry for 15-20 minutes flipping occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/27 "2010-07-26T23:03:58Z")
> [@Proudest\_Monkey](#): > > she keeps repeating the very specific name of the dish, including when she serves it up to her douchey Long Island friends.) I actually yelled at the TV – “Those are home fries, not hash browns, you idiot!” They’re foreigners. Yankees. They can’t help it. 🙂 Inspired by this thread, I dug some “Kroger Country Style Hash Browns” out of the freezer for dinner. Fried in butter with garlic and match sticked green onions. Not bad. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/28 "2010-07-27T00:33:15Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > I dont do hash browns. But home fries are one of my favorite weekend breakfast side dishes. > > Boil potatotes let them cool off dice them up. > Spoonfull of collected meat fat (grease) in a skillet set to medium to high heat > Add home fries salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. > Fry for 15-20 minutes flipping occasionally. Something seems off here. You boil them until cooked and then fry them for 15-20 minutes? I make home fries from fresh uncooked potatoes nearly every week, and they are done in about 10 minutes. Granted, I cut them fairly thin, probably about 1/4-3/8" thick. I can’t imagine it taking 20 minutes, especially if they’re already boiled. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/29 "2010-07-27T00:37:42Z")
I’ve cooked diced potatoes as hash browns by just frying them quickly. I stand corrected, they are fried potatoes, not hash browns. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/30 "2010-07-27T00:43:38Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Who was the marketing genius to take a panful of potatos and make them into smaller, retangularish bits of yumminess? > > When did this first happen? > > Did they receive a Nobel Prize for Awesomeness? This would have been in the mid to late 1800s, when they were called "hashed brown(ed) potatoes. Adding–these were probably more like our small cubed potato chunks of today. I doubt that they were shredded. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/31 "2010-07-27T00:58:54Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Scattered, smothered and covered. And nothing is better drunk food at 0230. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/32 "2010-07-27T01:01:43Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > > [@StGermain](#): > > > > Scattered, smothered and covered. > > And nothing is better drunk food at 0230. Say what? ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/33 "2010-07-27T01:05:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > [@dogbutler](#): > > > > > [@StGermain](#): > > > > > > Scattered, smothered and covered. > > > > And nothing is better drunk food at 0230. > > Say what? Waffle House hash browns: scattered" (spread on the grill), “smothered” (with onions), “covered” (with cheese), “chunked” (with diced ham), “diced” (with diced tomatoes), “peppered” (with jalapeño peppers), “capped” (with mushrooms), “topped” (with chili) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/34 "2010-07-27T01:11:59Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > Waffle House hash browns: > scattered" (spread on the grill), “smothered” (with onions), “covered” (with cheese), “chunked” (with diced ham), “diced” (with diced tomatoes), “peppered” (with jalapeño peppers), “capped” (with mushrooms), “topped” (with chili) Yuck! Shredded potatoes, pan fired in a pile, brown and crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. If you wish to get fancy, as is my wont, cooked with garlic, onions and bell pepper. One might alternate oil with butter or bacon grease, but I suspect purists would frown upon that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/35 "2010-07-27T01:58:24Z")
Yuck my ass! I get them all the way every time! Well, not all the time. I go for the chili maybe every third visit. But you have to have the rest. It’s required. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/36 "2010-07-27T02:29:43Z")
Heavenly with pepper on them. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/37 "2010-07-27T02:33:12Z")
> [@BigBertha](#): > > Heavenly with pepper on them. Are you peppering mine or his? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/38 "2010-07-27T13:26:19Z")
I wants some hash browns. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/39 "2010-07-27T14:08:10Z")
I made myself some hash browns this morning, some scrambled eggs… yum… delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039/40 "2010-07-27T17:22:58Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > [@dogbutler](#): > > > > And nothing is better drunk food at 0230. > > Say what? I was having trouble parsing that sentence, too, until it occurred to me that “drunk” is an adjective, not the active verb: Nothing is better “drunk food” at 2:30 in the morning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hash-browns/548039.md?page=3)