Hash Browns

Method

1. grate6 min
   coarse holes, straight into cold water
   potato on the large holes of a box grater, dropping the shreds into the cold water as you go — exposed potato flesh turns pink-gray within minutes, and the water both stops that and floats off the loose starch that would otherwise glue the shreds into a gummy slab
2. prep6 min
   drained, wrung in a towel
   drain, refill once until the water runs nearly clear, then wring the shreds in a kitchen towel in two batches until no more drips come out. This is the whole recipe: any water left in the potato boils off as steam at the pan floor, and steam holds the temperature at 212°F, which is far too cool to brown anything
3. season1 min
   immediately before the pan
   potato + salt + pepper (+ onion powder or smoked paprika), tossed loose with your fingers — salt any earlier and osmosis pulls the water you just spent six minutes removing right back out onto the surface
4. fry9 min
   medium-high, uncovered, undisturbed
   butter + oil until the butter stops foaming, then spread the shreds in an even half-inch layer, press once with a spatula, and do not touch them again. Every stir breaks the contact between starch and metal that the crust is being built from; the edges pulling away from the pan tell you the underside has set
5. fry6 min
   medium, second side
   flip in one piece — or in halves, which is honest work — and slide the remaining butter down the side of the pan so it runs under the cake and browns the second face without ever sitting on top of it
6. rest2 min
   on a wire rack, not paper
   hash browns off the heat and elevated so the trapped steam escapes downward and away; left on a plate or a paper towel, the bottom crust reabsorbs its own moisture and goes soft inside a minute