Chorizo Hash Browns

Chorizo hash browns are what happens when the potatoes get to cook in the chorizo's fat. You brown a pound of fresh ground chorizo, lift it out, and crisp shredded potatoes in the brick-red fat left in the skillet. Fold the chorizo back in with softened onion and peppers, and top it all with eggs if you want a full breakfast from one pan.

The one thing standing between you and crisp hash browns is water. Raw potatoes are mostly water, and wet shreds steam into a pale, gluey cake. Rinse off the loose starch, squeeze the shreds hard in a towel, and cook them in a hot pan with enough fat, and they will brown.

At a glance: serves 4. Prep 20 minutes, cook about 35 minutes, total about 55 minutes.

Asked what quality means to him when he talks about beef, Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, gave a long answer. One line from it:

“quality is what's in your food and what's not in your food”

Gray Shipley

He was talking about beef, not breakfast. A hash is a fair place to apply the idea, though, because there is so little in it: potatoes, an onion, a pepper, the chorizo and the fat it renders, and eggs if you like. Everything that goes into the pan is something you can see.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork chorizo
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 3 medium)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 poblano or green bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons neutral oil, as needed
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs (optional)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced, or a handful of chopped cilantro
• Salsa, sour cream or lime wedges, to serve

Instructions

1. Peel the potatoes and grate them on the large holes of a box grater. Drop the shreds into a large bowl of cold water and swish them around to rinse off the loose starch, then drain.
2. Pile the potatoes onto a clean kitchen towel, gather up the corners, and twist and squeeze over the sink until almost no more liquid comes out. Leave them in the towel while the chorizo cooks.
3. Set a 12-inch cast-iron or heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook, breaking it up, until browned and cooked through, 7 to 9 minutes. Chorizo is red from its chiles, so go by a thermometer rather than color: it should read 160 degrees F. Move it to a bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
4. Add the onion, poblano and jalapeno to the fat and cook until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Spoon them into the bowl with the chorizo.
5. Check the fat: you want about 3 tablespoons, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add oil if needed and raise the heat to medium-high. Toss the potatoes with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and some pepper, spread them in an even layer, and press down. Cook without stirring until deep golden underneath, 7 to 9 minutes.
6. Cut the potato cake into quarters with a spatula, flip each piece, and cook until the second side is crisp and the potatoes are tender, 5 to 7 minutes more.
7. Scatter the chorizo and vegetables over the potatoes and fold gently to combine. Taste before adding the rest of the salt; chorizo is often salty enough on its own.
8. For eggs, make 4 wells in the hash, crack an egg into each, and season it. Cover the pan and cook over medium-low heat until the whites are set, 4 to 6 minutes. Scatter with scallions or cilantro and serve with salsa, sour cream or lime.

Add 1 lb ground pork chorizo to cart

Fresh chorizo, not Spanish chorizo

Two quite different sausages share the name chorizo. Mexican-style chorizo is fresh: raw ground pork seasoned with dried chiles, garlic and spices, sold in bulk or in soft links. It must be cooked, it crumbles as it browns, and it gives off a lot of red, chile-flavored fat. That fat is what seasons the potatoes here, so this is the chorizo you want.

Spanish chorizo is cured and firm, more like salami, and is usually sliced. You can dice it and crisp it in a pan, but it gives off much less fat and will not season the hash the same way. If you are not sure which you have, ground and raw means fresh. The guide to chorizo and Italian sausage below goes into the differences.

How to get hash browns crisp

Three things: dry potatoes, enough fat, and patience. Rinsing removes the surface starch that glues the shreds into a gummy mass, and squeezing removes the water that would otherwise steam them. A heavy pan holds its heat when the potatoes go in. Then leave them alone. Stirring breaks the crust before it forms.

A 12-inch skillet takes 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes in a layer about half an inch deep. If your pan is smaller, cook the potatoes in two batches, keeping the first warm in a low oven, rather than piling them in. A thick layer stays soft in the middle.

Shortcuts and swaps

Frozen shredded hash browns work well here. Thaw them, spread them on a towel and pat them dry, then start at step 5. Leftover baked or boiled potatoes, cut into small cubes, make a crisp diced hash in about the same time.

Sweet potatoes can stand in for some of the russets; they brown faster, so lower the heat a little. A diced red bell pepper adds sweetness, and a pinch of cumin or smoked paprika on the potatoes works well with the chorizo. For a version with mild pork sausage instead, see the breakfast hash below.

Feeding a crowd

To serve eight, use two skillets side by side rather than one crowded pan. Brown all the chorizo in one, then divide its fat between them for the potatoes. Fry the eggs separately and slide them on top just before serving, so nobody waits for a covered pan.

Food safety

USDA FSIS lists 160 degrees F as the safe minimum internal temperature for ground meats, which includes fresh chorizo. Because chorizo is red all the way through when raw and cooked, color tells you nothing; use an instant-read thermometer in a thick clump. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and reheat them in a skillet to 165 degrees F. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.