Freezing Homemade Hashbrowns (How To)
Hashbrowns are probably the tastiest thing you can whip up using potatoes. Given they are among the most loved breakfast foods in America, people often make hashbrowns in bulk. What if you have extra hashbrowns left over?
Leftover hashbrowns can be kept in a refrigerator for 3-5 days, any longer than that, and they’ll go bad. Thankfully, hashbrowns can be frozen for up to 3 months!
In this article, I’ll tell you all about freezing homemade hashbrowns and also share some exclusive tips along the way. Let’s get started!
How to Freeze Homemade Hashbrowns
Even though potatoes have a reputation for not freezing so well, hashbrowns can easily be frozen both before and after cooking. It’s best to freeze them raw if you want a better taste, but freezing them post-cooking will also be fine.
Once frozen, hashbrowns should be consumed within 3 months in order to experience the best taste and texture. If you keep homemade hashbrowns in the freezer any longer than that, you will notice ice crystals forming on the surface that’ll affect the texture.
Here are the steps that you need to follow to freeze homemade hashbrowns the right way:
Cool The Hashbrowns
If you have just cooked your hashbrowns, you first need to let them cool down. Placing warm hashbrowns directly into the freezer can often lead to a soggy texture once thawed. To make sure that they are completely cool, let them sit on a countertop for 15-25 minutes to cool off.
Flash Freezing Homemade Hashbrowns
The next step is to place your hashbrowns in the freezer, but wait! If there’s anything I know about potato sides, be it fries, hash browns, or fritters, it’s that they stick together in the freezer, making it hard to defrost them later. This can be avoided by flash freezing.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and put evenly spaced hashbrowns on top. Then freeze them until they are frozen solid. You can also stack one on top of the other with a piece of parchment paper in between to separate them.
Packaging Homemade Hashbrowns
Use a 1-gallon freezer bag and transfer all the frozen hashbrowns into it. When packing, you need to make sure that there is no air inside the freezer bag. To do this, seal the bag leaving an opening of 1 inch on one end. Now, take a straw, put it in the opening, and suck out all the air before sealing the bag tightly.
Label and Freeze The Bag of Hashbrowns
Take a permanent marker and label the bag with the current date and a ‘use-by’ date. Place your hashbrowns in the freezer, and you are done!
Thawing Homemade Hashbrowns
As for defrosting hashbrowns post-freezing, you can do it by either cooking the hashbrowns in an oven or in a frying pan. Simply pull them out of the packaging and proceed to cook.
There is no need to thaw them first. Make sure to increase the cooking time by 2-3 minutes to compensate for the fact they are frozen.
What Potato is Best for Homemade Hash Browns?
Given the huge variety of potatoes available in the market, people often end up getting the wrong kind of potatoes for homemade hashbrowns. You can either get “mealy” or “waxy” potatoes.
Mealy potatoes, such as russet potatoes, have more starch content and a low water concentration. Due to this, they become crispy when cooked.
Waxy potatoes like Yukon Golds, on the other hand, are dense and full of moisture which allows the to stick together when making hashbrowns.
So, in the end, it’s a matter of personal preference. If you like crispy hashbrowns, choose a mealy potato, and if you want your hashbrowns not to fall apart when cooking, choose a waxy potato variety.
Freezing Homemade Hashbrowns – Summing Up
Hashbrowns can be frozen quite easily provided that you flash freeze them and layer the packaging with some parchment paper so that they do not stick together.
This easy-to-make delicacy can even be re-frozen up to three times. Make sure to remove any excess air from the freezer bags before freezing and that you do not place warm hashbrowns right into the freezer.
Thanks for reading!
