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DEL.ICIO.USCopy Cat Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole
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Cuisine: American
From the menu of . . . Cracker Barrel
Various Metro Locations
Q: The hash browns at the Cracker Barrel are simply the best anywhere. I have tried to figure out how they do it to no avail. Short of taking a sample to a lab, can you find out the secret to these fabulous hash browns?
- Ed Crowe, Snellville
A: Thanks to ace recipe sleuth Todd Wilber and his book "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes" (Plume, $12.95), we may have uncovered the secret of those wondrous Cracker Barrel hash browns. The answer seems to be in the cooking method, the Colby cheese and the beef stock. Whatever the unique chemisty, this recipe should please you as well as all the other readers who have asked for it.
Hands on time: 20 minutes Total time: 1 hour and 20 minutes Serves: 6
Ingredients:
-
1 (26-ounce) bag frozen country-style hash browns
2 cups shredded Colby cheese
1/4 cup minced onion
1 cup milk
1/2 cup beef stock or canned broth
2 tablespoons melted butter, divided
Dash garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Combine frozen hash browns, cheese and onion in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine milk, beef stock, half the melted butter, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Mix well, then pour the mixture over the hash browns and mix well.
Heat the remaining butter in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat.
When the skillet is hot, spoon in the hash brown mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and all the cheese has melted, about 7 minutes.
Put the skillet in the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the surface of the hash browns is dark brown.
NOTE: If your skillet isn't ovenproof (if it has a plastic handle, for example) you can also spoon the potatoes into a glass 9-by-9-inch baking dish and microwave the potatoes until they are hot and the cheese has melted. Then put the baking dish in the 425-degree oven until the surface of the mixture has browned.
Combine frozen hash browns, cheese and onion in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine milk, beef stock, half the melted butter, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Mix well, then pour the mixture over the hash browns and mix well.
Heat the remaining butter in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat.
When the skillet is hot, spoon in the hash brown mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and all the cheese has melted, about 7 minutes.
Put the skillet in the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the surface of the hash browns is dark brown.
NOTE: If your skillet isn't ovenproof (if it has a plastic handle, for example) you can also spoon the potatoes into a glass 9-by-9-inch baking dish and microwave the potatoes until they are hot and the cheese has melted. Then put the baking dish in the 425-degree oven until the surface of the mixture has browned.
Notes:
To make these as like Cracker Barrel's as possible, you need an ovenproof skillet. If you don't have one, see the note below.
Nutrition:
Per serving: 399 calories (percent of calories from fat, 61), 13 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 27 grams fat, 52 milligrams cholesterol, 779 milligrams sodium
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