How to Make Hash Browns in 9 Steps

Start with two pounds (about one kilo) of russet potatoes. Russets only - the high starch and low water content is what builds the crust later. Yukon Golds turn gummy.

Peel every potato clean. No skins, no leftover eye scraps. The skin browns at a different rate than the flesh and shows up as dark flecks in the fried patty.

Set a large mixing bowl on a cutting board to catch the shreds. Run each peeled potato down the large holes of a box grater, applying steady downward pressure.

Work fast. Grated potato oxidizes within minutes and turns pink, then gray. The rinse in the next step pulls some of the discoloration out, but the cleaner you keep the shreds at this stage, the whiter your finished hash browns will be.

Cover the grated potatoes with cold tap water right in the bowl. Agitate with your hand - sweep through the shreds for about 30 seconds. The water will turn cloudy white. That's the surface starch coming off.

Drain the cloudy water through a colander, then put the shreds back in the bowl and rinse a second time with fresh water if the water is still milky. You want the water running mostly clear before you move on. The leftover starch is the thing that makes hash browns gluey instead of crisp.

Spread a clean, lint-free kitchen towel or a double layer of cheesecloth flat on the counter. Pile the rinsed potato shreds in the middle. Gather the four corners up to make a bag, twist the top, and squeeze with both hands as hard as you can.

Real elbow grease. You will be surprised how much water comes out - probably a full cup or more. Keep twisting and pressing until you can't get another drop. Dry potatoes are the difference between hash browns and steamed potato mush.

Put the squeezed potato shreds into a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add about three and a half quarts of duck fat right on top, while everything is still cold. The fat will be solid - that's fine, it melts as it heats.

If the duck fat doesn't completely cover the potatoes once it melts, top off with neutral vegetable oil. The proper pot for this recipe is around seven quarts. A smaller pot makes the potatoes harder to cover and harder to stir.

Place the pot on the stove over medium heat. Let the duck fat melt and the potatoes warm together. Stir gently every minute or two so the shreds don't catch on the bottom.

Bring the fat up to 215°F (100°C). Use an instant-read or candy thermometer - don't guess. That low temperature is the confit. The fat is cooking the potato through without browning it. Hold the temperature there for two to three minutes once you hit it, then kill the heat.

Strain the confited potatoes out through a fine-mesh sieve set over a heat-safe bowl. Catch every drop of that duck fat - you reuse it tomorrow.

Spread the drained potato shreds across a large baking sheet so they cool quickly and stop cooking. Season very generously with kosher salt. Taste a strand or two as you go. Properly salted potatoes need zero salt after frying, but under-seasoned ones turn into bland straw no matter how golden they get.

Line a sheet pan (or two quarter-sheet trays) with wax paper or parchment. Scoop a small handful of the cooled, seasoned potato onto the paper and press it into an oval with your hands.

The McDonald's dimensions are about two and a half inches wide, three and a half inches long, and three-quarters of an inch thick. Pack tight. Loose patties open up and fall apart when they hit the fryer. Repeat with the rest of the potato, then slide the trays - uncovered or loosely covered - into the fridge overnight. The chill step is non-negotiable; the cold fat is what binds the patty.

The next day, scoop the reserved duck fat into a deep pot - the same one you used yesterday is fine - and heat to 355°F (180°C). Confirm with your thermometer; the first minute of frying is the most fragile, and if the oil is even thirty degrees cold the patty will fall apart.

Lower in two patties at a time, no more. Fry from cold for three to six minutes, until the crust is the color of a graham cracker and the patty floats. Lift out with a spider strainer, drain on a wire rack, and serve right away. If you salted properly back in step 7, no further salt is needed.