I’ve been given the list of items to make homemade McDonald’s hash browns, no recipe, just the list used. To my surprise there was no eggs or standard flour so I had to get a bit creative and use my imagination with some steps. They turned out super good with an amazing crunch and soft centre! Considering they are 99p at the moment it’s not something i’ll be making often, but was certainly a really fun challenge!
Homemade McDonald’s Hash Browns
Before we start it’s good to know that these need to be frozen before frying to help them hold their shape, but also can be frozen longer once made and then fried once needed. Also approximately 1 potato makes 1 decent sized hash brown.
Start off by peeling the potatoes and slicing them in half. I did not slice them in half in the video, but I feel that by doing this you will halve the size of the chunks and be able to make them more compact. With each potato half grate it on a standard grater using the largest grater setting (what you would normally use for cheese) plunge the grated potato pieces into a bowl of cold water, and run it under the tap carefully draining a few times to remove the starch.
Bring a medium sized saucepan of water to a gentle simmer, add in a tbsp sugar and the 2tbsp salt. Cook the potatoes for 3 minutes, to just soften them on a gentle simmer. Drain the potatoes and add to a bowl of cold water immediately to stop them cooking longer. Using a cheesecloth (if you have one) or lots of kitchen towel, squeeze the grated cooked potato until as much moisture as possible has come out of it. Once cooled to room temperature and as dry as you can get it, add it to a large bowl with the potato granules, cornflour, pepper and onion granules. Mix well with your hand gently compressing it together to bond it, the firmer and compressed you can get it the smoother the finish will be. Shape into hash brown shapes, do make them thick about ½ inch or so but no more that that, to help get that nice soft centre and crispy outside and freeze for at least 2 hours until very well firmed (or leave for another day). Don’t just put them in the fridge, they won’t hold as they cook. Compress them firmly to pack the potato and freeze them for a good amount of time, it really makes it worth it.
Make the beef stock pot with 200ml water just before getting the oil ready. Stir to dissolve it fully as per cooking instructions. Add it to a large pan with the vegetable oil (you can omit this step if you like but it adds a slight beef flavour!)…. Warm the oil with the stock in it and drop in a small piece of bread, if it sizzles instantly, turn the heat down slightly to maintain a steady temperature and add the hash browns in batches, fry until golden brown, placing onto kitchen paper to drain excess fat before serving still warmed, repeat with all the other hash browns you’ve made, or keep in the freezer for another day.