Cook dinner your potatoes: Place potato chunks in a pot of chilly, salted water and switch the warmth to excessive. Set your timer for quarter-hour. On the 15-minute mark, even when the water hasn’t boiled for lengthy, verify a piece of potato. We’re in search of it to be tender sufficient for knife or skewer ought to undergo it nevertheless it shouldn’t be mushy; add one other minute or two if wanted. Drain the potatoes and switch to a big chopping board. Unfold to chill barely in a single layer, about 5 minutes.

Kind the hash brown combination: Chop the potatoes into small bits, concerning the measurement of peas. In a bowl, mix with starch and season to style — I name for salt however you possibly can add pepper or some other seasonings you want in your hash browns at this level.

Form the patties: Switch again to the counter and knead in on the chopping board a number of occasions till you possibly can form it into an enormous, thick spherical. Divide it into 4 wedges for the generously-sized patties you see right here, or 6 for smaller ones. Use your fingers to type every wedge right into a spherical, after which flatten it about 1/2-inch-thick and type form you need towards the board — both a spherical patty or you possibly can nudge it into extra of a rounded rectangle, as I do right here. Repeat with remaining wedges.

Fry the patties: Warmth a medium-sized, heavy frying pan over excessive warmth with sufficient oil to go many of the means up the edges of the patties. [In my photo, I’ve fully submerged them in oil, i.e. deep-frying them, but shallow-frying will work too.] When the oil reaches 350°F to 360°F, or a crumble of potato instantly sizzles and begins to darkens within the pan, use a skinny spatula to switch the primary patty from the board, decreasing it slowly within the oil. Fry till medium brown beneath, 1 to 2 minutes, spooning oil excessive of the patty for even coloration. Rigorously flip it over and fry till the second aspect of the patty can be properly browned, one other 1 to 2 minutes. Raise out of the oil, shaking extra droplets again into the pan, and switch to paper towels to empty. Sprinkle instantly with salt.

Repeat with remaining patties. In case your pan is sufficiently big, go forward and fry two at a time. [I use a smaller one so I need less oil.]

To complete: Eat instantly, as is, or topped with a fried egg or salad-y avocado toast and a soft-cooked egg, as proven above. Leftover patties may be frozen. From the freezer, reheat on a tray in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes, flipping as soon as. From the fridge, 10 to fifteen minutes needs to be adequate.