Quick one as I'm at the shops, getting stuff for a birthday breakfast tomorrow and have been asked to get hash browns.
I realise these are kinda trashy, unhealthy and likely to disappoint anyway, but does any particular brand stand out? Any to avoid?
Hint…. the deli ones are thawed for your convenience, they are the same thing from the deli but cost 10x the price ;)
I prefer these McCains brand
I find they're a bit thicker and have better structural integrity, especially when stacking bacon and egg on top.
Depends on how you're going to cook them. If on the BBQ/Stove don't get frozen. If in the oven I suspect there's not too much different between brands and frozen is good. I had the Coles own brand frozen ones recently and they were yum - cooked in airfryer.
Don't get frozen? The deli ones are thawed for your convenience… you can do that at home with any frozen ones. Take them out ahead of time!
TBH I’ve never tried but I think the frozen bag ones are designed for oven cooking - I think they’d be quite soggy thawed and hard to cook on the bbq/stove compared to the deli ones that might be thawed for convenience but are designed to be thawed then cooked. Happy to be wrong though. Have you tried the frozen ones from a bag on the BBQ?
There's no point getting any expensive ones in my opinion - just make sure to cook them (a lot) longer than what it says on the pack to get them to come out crunchy. We always do ours on a rack over a tray in the oven so the bottom doesn't go soggy.
If you want them anything like what you get at Maccas, you have to deep fry. The brand/type you get is way less important.
Agree, although you can do a bit of a hybrid version. Cook in the oven while you get some oil in a frypan very hot (more oil than you would use to lubricate the pan, but less than for deep fry, basically so it "covers" the base). Give a quick burst in the oil after cooking to crisp up the coating. Works well.
Good tip.
BTW, that's called shallow frying ;)
Aldi have the mini triangle hash browns at the moment, they are great…
They are back? Gotta get me some more, agree these are pretty good.
Usually cook ours in the sandwich press. Don't preheat the press, put em in frozen and switch it on.
They are back !
We get the coles freezer bag 1kg ones for 2.95 which are very similar to the mccains ones op mentioned above. Good amount of potato/girth ratio.
I second this. The family found these Coles ones really good.
Always love a good girth ratio ;)
These are breakfast hash browns not breakfast sausages :P
Heft, my friend. Heft.
but with great girth, comes great heft…. Its all interlink ;)
I buy these as well. Taste as good as any other.
Or, you could get Golden Eye Potato Gems, they are so good
I realise these are kinda trashy, unhealthy and likely to disappoint anyway
Lol, that sentence describes the preferred meal of the average OzBargainer…
This is great, thanks everyone! Based on the above I got Aldi and Coles, will have a hash brown showdown tomorrow morning!
Pro tip* - Crank the oven 30° or so hotter than specified before putting in the oven, as soon as they’re in turn the oven down to the correct temp. The increased initial heat counteracts the lost heat from opening the door and helps with a crispier product. Also works for chicken.
*I’m not actually a pro nor have I been, so don’t blame me if everything burns…
My preffered method is a bit different, I microwave them til thawed/just warm, then straight into a frying pan with no added oil and let them crisp up.
I do sometimes put them in the oven too though. Either way they are good.
I thought I was the only one who did this! Not that hash browns are healthy, but it definitely makes them a lot less oily, and just as crispy.
We usually get the Bells Farms ones from Woolworths (which I believe are one of their cheaper ones). We do deep-fry them as @dapt said suggested.
Have tried them and they are ok but I prefer to buy food made in Aus' when I can.
Bells Farms hash browns are packed in Belgium from multiple origins.
Coles has browns are made in Australia from at least 98% Australian ingredients
We get the McCain or Cole’s brand. Agree with the above to cook them for longer than it says on the packed. We always do them in the air fryer as well to make them crispy.
I ended up just baking the Aldi ones, as the ingredients and nutrition stats were identical to the Coles ones, so they must be the same supplier. I thought they were the triangular ones mentioned above, but realised they weren't.
Baked on a rack, higher temp, fan forced, for longer till they were crispy and were very nice.
Thanks for the update OP…. BTW Did you bake from frozen or thawed?
Baked from more or less frozen - had them out while the oven was preheating.
They are al made of mash potato.
Whats important more so is how you cook them.
Fried is always tastier but depends on type of oil used.
Not as healthy as oven baked but neither is the taste
I think they're shredded raw potato rather than mashed potato.
Aldi
Just get the frozen ones in a bag or non-frozen from deli. All the same IMO