I take my shredded hash browns very seriously. Preferably made from scratch and not from shredded potatoes out of a bag from the freezer aisle. Extremely crispy on the outside, pillowy soft in the center. Golden brown and always with ketchup on the side. You might say I’m a hash brown snob. And you’re completely right. I’ve learned a few tricks over my shredded hash brown perfecting years, and if you want the CRISP of the crispiest hash browns ever with today’s breakfast skillet recipe, listen up: 2 Ways to the Crispiest Homemade Shredded Hash Browns (1) First, rid your shredded potatoes of as much moisture as possible. Less moisture = more crisp. Think about a cookie recipe. Take out the tenderizing egg yolks, the moist brown sugar, and the butter. You’ll be left with very crisp hockey pucks. Not something we want in our chocolate chip cookies, but definitely the crisp texture we’re after for shredded hash browns. Potatoes are loaded with moisture, which makes browning difficult. Immediately after shredding the potatoes, place them into a large bowl lined with paper towels and squeeze the heck out of them with more paper towels on top. Grab more paper towels if you need to and just keep squeezing. Alternatively, you could shred the potatoes onto a kitchen towel, wrap them up, and squeeze them out over the sink. (2) Cook them. I learned this from Blue Apron. You could either bake in the oven or cook the whole potato in the microwave until it’s tender. I don’t do it that way. Because I don’t have patience to wait for the potato to cool down before shredding it. So, I shred the potato, squeeze as explained above, and then par cook in the microwave, wrapped in paper towels, for 2 minutes. Why do I do this? It gets the cooking process started and the heat creates a layer of starch around the exterior. When fried, the extra starch dehydrates and creates that crispy crust. This little par bake allows the shredded potatoes to get that brown crust quite quickly, quite evenly, and helps to keep the centers of the potato shreds soft. Ok, now that you’ve read my obsessive spiel on crispy hash browns, let’s get to the breakfast skillet toppings. My crispy potatoes lend the perfect “bed” for sautéed peppers, bacon crumbles, eggs, and smoky gouda cheese. Or any cheese you prefer, really. It’s your typical eggs and hash breakfast, only taken to the next level. I used both red and green peppers to add a little color to the dish, which is actually quite perfect for this time of year! I used thick-cut bacon which was a happy mistake. It was ridiculous……ly awesome. Let’s not forget about the eggs. 4 eggs is plenty for us, but you could easily squeeze 6 eggs on top of this breakfast skillet. The best part about this incredibly flavorful, crisp, cheesy, eggy, bacon packed breakfast is that it only takes one pan to make. Yup, this diner inspired dish is a one pan recipe you can whip up for brunch—or even dinner. The breakfast skillet you see here (plus a few more test recipes) was brinner a few times last week. Check out my step-by-step photos below for some visuals. Living a gluten free lifestyle? Great news! This recipe joins my easy frittata recipe and my other gluten free recipes as “delicious, not only for a gluten free recipe.” Eat up! And if you’re looking to pair your breakfast with a little something sweet, these cinnamon rolls or a Dutch baby are the perfect treat. Start with the potatoes. Peel (it’s optional to peel them!) and shred 2 medium large-ish potatoes. Squeeze out the moisture as directed in the recipe above. Then, cook in the microwave for 2 minutes. Set them aside. Now, the bacon. 3 strips of bacon, cooked then crumbled. Don’t cook until extremely crisp because the bacon will be cooked again in a few more steps. Keep the grease in the pan. Per the written recipe above, into the leftover bacon grease goes the potatoes and chopped bell pepper over medium high heat. I used half of a green pepper and half red. Add salt and pepper. Do not stir around too much. You want the potatoes to really brown. Add the bacon. Notice how the potatoes are becoming golden? Remove from heat and make 4 indentations into the top of the hash using the back of a spoon. Crack the eggs in these indentations. Bake until the egg whites are set, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and more pepper (both optional). Serve and be amazed at how quick and easy a gourmet tasting, comforting breakfast can be!
