I just dug up my bed of red potatos and I’ve got about 50 lbs of huge reds, I mean some of these things weigh a pound or more. It is just my wife and I so they will get old before we can eat them all.
I was thinking of shreading some and freezing them for hash browns. I understand it is better to partially cook, parboil, bake them first.
Any input or advice about what to do is appreciated. Or other methods for freezing potatos. I am not up to pressure canning yet, that is a project for next year.
I will be outside for the remainder of this beautiful late summer day. Any suggestions?
I remember the instructions in one recipe for potato pancakes were to shred the spuds into ice water so that they don’t brown upon exposure to air. Then you squeeze the water out, and mix them with eggs and seasoning, scoop it, drop the scoop in the hot oil in your frying pan, press, and brown. Voila! Potato pancakes.
Sorry, but I cannot help with hashbrown specific, but the ice water thing should help with them not browning once you shred them. I also cannot help with freezing.
Heh - as per my usual standards, my answer is close but not quite what you wanted!
Red potatoes for hasbrowns? I use russets. Red potatoes have a different texture. Almost waxy.
I peel the potatoes and shred them, putting them immediately into cold water. (As said, it keeps them from turning ugly.) I let them sit in the cold water for a while, then put them into a large sieve/collander and rinse them well to get rid of a lot of the starch. Fry them in butter.
That’s pretty much the way, Johnny L.A. And the kind of potato (and I never heard anything about pre-cooking them in any way).
OP, I’m not sure what to tell you. Particularly wrt freezing the shredded potatoes. Have you tried making a serving of hash browns with the spuds as they are, just to see if they’re suitable to be HB’s in the first place? When I see redskinned potatoes, my stomach is programmed to make my brain think of mashed, roasted, and salad. I wouldn’t know anything about freezing any of those, either.
Put the shredded potatoes in the center of a clean towel, then pick up the corners of the towel and twist them together. Hold the towel over a sink while you twist the whole thing tightly, like you were trying to wring out some wet socks. You will squeeze out a lot of water, which will make for dryer, crisper hash browns.
I agree with Johnny L.A., though - red potatoes aren’t the best for frying. These types of waxy, low-starch potatoes are better for salads and stews. You might try cutting some up, tossing them in olive oil and roasting them.
I’m going to take a different tack and just suggest you replant them. I keep apples in my root cellar, and since apples and potatoes don’t store well together, I keep the potatoes in a separate area. I just dig holes in my garden area and put about a month’s worth of eating in each one. Then fill it loosely with dirt and cover the whole works with a heavy mulch to keep from freezing. If you get snow in your area, I suggest putting a dry cover of some sort over the top of your mulch and mark the locations for ease of access.
I keep all kinds of potatoes from harvest until the following May.
I make home fries mostly every day, using all kinds of spuds, including unpeeled reds. I nuke them or bake them first, toss 'em in the pan with onions, garlic and green pepper if I have any. Topped with a couple fresh eggs, it’s a meal that will last you all day!
I don’t know who you’re asking, but mine are already cooked and I’m just frying them to get them crispy. Takes probably five minutes if that, on my propane range on high. YMMV depending on how crispy you prefer them. I brown on one side, flop 'em and brown the other.
In Incan times, they would slice them thick and plaster a fresh patch of sunny side Andean Mountain snow with the patata. Let them slowly freezedry in the snow and sun. Hydrate and grind them anytime they wanted, probably be good in a winter soup or stew.
If you’re talking hash browns, start with a hot pan with some olive oil, well coated all over, heated to the smoking point. Spread a layer of shredded potatoes, about more 3/4 inch thick across the pan. Push down with a spoon or spatuala to compress the shreds somewhat, and turn down the heat until it there is just minimal sizzling. The initial high heat should brown the bottom, and the lower heat continues to cook. After about 10 minutes, spread a little oil over the top of the potatoes, turn the heat up again, and flip the whole thing when the pan is good and hot again. Reduce the heat again, and cook for about 10 more minutes. I usually shred onion into the potatos, and add salt and pepper on top before the top is browned.
Actually, just YMMV concerns, because the jerks here, think I’m a jerk. You would probably be better off freezedrieng, whole, small potatoes in the snow. Only under the absolute perfect conditions could you slice. If I lived on a Mountain I would try it, because I think beyond the sun and snow you need convection as experienced on a slope.
I also couldn’t guarantee the waxy Redskin variety… I’d go with a dense and dry poatao. Idaho Russets would work, but I trhink there are better more primitive varieties.
You could donate half of them to a local food bank or homeless shelter? Sure, you don’t have a freezer full of convenient hash browns (which would be nice), but why not share your bounty? A little easy good karma.
Or, you could send them to my house. Wouldn’t last a week.
IME, potatoes tend to become grainy and mealy after freezing. I never freeze any soup or stew or anything that has potatoes in it. (I used to and stopped when I noticed that mealy texture. Ick.)
That said, somehow Ore-Ida does it because I buy bags of frozen hash browns. I’m guessing they either flash freeze at ridiculously low temps, or they put the potatoes through some freeze-drying process, neither of which you’d be able to accomplish in your home kitchen.
This is likely the best idea. Potatoes and carrots store remarkably well. It only takes a minute to shred up a whole potato for hashbrowns or cut one up for home fries. Shoot, you can do it the night before, if you wish, and just put them in a bowl of water until morning. I prefer russets, but have used reds in the past. They tend to be a bit watery. I like to use reds for roasted spuds, cut up, tossed in olive oil and rosemary and roasted or grilled (in a grill pan) at about 400 degrees.
