The Make-Or-Break Potato Move For The Best Breakfast Hash Of Your Life

Setting a skillet of breakfast hash in the center of the brunch table on a slow weekend morning, one can marvel at its perfect intersection of simplicity and satisfaction. It is not a hard dish to put together, and it can take on a wide variety of shapes and flavors, depending on personal preferences and whatever happens to be in the fridge at the time. Plus, if made properly, it is always a delicious breakfast. The biggest trick, though, the one that can really make or break your brunch, is making sure that you cook everything in the right order.

The center of a good hash is almost always some kind of potato. One could argue that the protein in the dish takes center stage, but it is really the potatoes that make a hash what it is. And if you've ever had a really good vegetarian hash — like this poblano potato breakfast hash — you know just how unimportant those meats can be, if the spud's co-stars are picked well. The trouble with potatoes, though, is that they take longer to cook than most of the other ingredients you might use. As such, to make a good hash, your best bet is putting them in the pan first.

The simplest hash begins either with a cooked protein — as with corned beef hash or this sweet potato and brisket hash — or without meat entirely. Raw meat should never be added, so if you intend to put meat in the recipe, cook it first and set it aside. 

The next step in the process is going to be cooking the potatoes, and you have a few options. With enough time and attention, cubed potatoes can be added to a skillet over medium heat with plenty of oil and slowly fried and tossed until cooked through and browned on all sides. For a quicker option, though, you might want to try something like this simple home fries recipe, and parboil the potatoes first. The boil cooks them through, which significantly speeds up the overall hash-making process. 

Once the potatoes are mostly fried up, with some nice browning all around, you can start adding in the other ingredients. Exactly when to put them in the pan varies considerably, but the firmer the vegetable, the longer it usually needs in the pan. Onions and bell peppers need a few minutes to soften up, whereas mushrooms and spinach cook much faster. Cooked meats don't take long, either. They only need to be warmed, so add them just before everything else has finished cooking. 

With many of the steps in making breakfast hash, you can follow your instincts. After all, a slight crispness to diced onion or bell pepper isn't really a problem. Undercooked potatoes, though, can ruin the whole affair. So, don't forget to sort your potatoes out first. After that, it's all smooth sailing.