For whatever reason, hashbrowns is one basic breakfast food (the other being pancakes) that have mysteriously and consistently eluded my ability to master.

My hashbrowns have always been kind of mushy and unsatisfying. Or a burnt mess. Nothing in between.

Until now!

Yes! This is a story of the triumph of man!

Man’s triumph over potatoes.

Here’s the trick:

1. I’ve been using gold/yellow potatoes lately because one time my instacart shopper accidentally bought those instead of the russet potatoes I had ordered. And, serendipity! I loved them and haven’t bought a russet since.

2. Make your potatoes rill smol. I slice them up all tiny in a mandoline slicer. You can grate or shred them however you like.

3. Salt some water. Add what feels like slightly too much salt. Boil up your tiny potato shreds for a couple minutes until they are soft and not crunchy.

4. Drain your taters and dry them. You can use a towel or you can squeeze them. I squeeze them gently but persistently in a potato ricer.

5. Now heat up some oil in a skillet (I use the sear function on my ninja foodi) and add some salt and pepper and garlic powder and toss in a good handful of tiny diced yellow onion. (Yellow potatoes + yellow onions = this is yellow hash.) Once they start to sizzle real good, add in your potatoes. Spread them around so they cover the bottom of the skillet in a thin layer and then leave them alone to fry for a while. Flip them every once in a while so they brown evenly.

I think the thing that had been holding me back from realizing my true hashbrown potential until now was, firstly, not drying the potatoes. You need ‘em real dry. And secondly not getting heat in the final step that is a) hot enough, and b) evenly distributed. The potatoes are already cooked at this point. You just need to kind of gently burn them. You need a high enough heat to sear the outside while keeping the inside soft and fluffy.

Now you know how to make hashbrowns. You’re welcome.