The Absolute Best Type Of Potato To Use When Making Hash Browns

Homemade hash browns are tricky to get right. They tend to turn soggy in the pan or come out with a weird, semi-toasted texture — nothing like what you'd get from the local diner or even McDonald's drive-thru. Restaurant hash browns taste so good because they have the right equipment, but there are other reasons. The experts have dialed in the right kind of potatoes to use for hash browns, and we got some insight on what to use from one of them. Joanne Gallagher, the recipe creator and co-founder of Inspired Taste, shared with us a key secret to the best homemade hash browns: starchy potatoes like russets.

"They are higher in starch and lower in moisture content, which helps them brown beautifully and crisp up instead of turning gummy in the pan," Gallagher said. "You get that golden, lacy crust on the outside and a tender, almost fluffy inside. It's exactly what you want when you slide them next to eggs and toast!"

So, avoid waxy potatoes like Yukon golds; they won't crisp up as well. Russets are generally bigger than most potato varieties, too, so you'll get more hash browns from a single spud.

Starchy potatoes are best for homemade hash browns, but excess starch is an enemy. As such, one of the biggest hash brown mistakes is not rinsing the potatoes in cold water after you've shredded them using the large holes on a box grater. After rinsing, " ... squeeze them very well in a clean kitchen towel to remove excess starch and water so that you get crisp, not soggy, potatoes," Joanne Gallagher instructed. 

However, if you're dicing the potatoes instead, the steps are slightly different. "For chunkier, home-style hash browns, dice the potatoes into small, even cubes and par-cook them, either by briefly boiling or steaming, before pan-frying so they cook through without burning," Gallagher said. 

Lastly, don't forget this very important step of drying them to make the world's crispiest hash browns. Gallagher said, "In both cases, thoroughly drying the potatoes and cooking them in a hot pan with enough oil or butter, without stirring too much at the start, helps build that deep golden crust that makes hash browns so satisfying."