Chef shares recipe for recreating McDonald’s hash browns at home

There are too many terrible things about our current plight to list in one article, but one definite drawback is the lack of McDonald’s breakfasts. Granted, limited access to ketchup-laced wraps is, in the grand scheme of things, far from humanity’s most pressing concern, but it’s worth pointing out that the inability to treat ourselves on a morning commute is going to have a detrimental effect on morale – before you even consider everything else that’s going on. 

Fortunately, there are a few solutions to this depressing situation. McDonald’s themselves provided the planet with a much-needed pick-me-up, releasing the recipe for their much-coveted sausage and egg McMuffin in early April. But, alongside the restaurant itself, other cooks have also decided to do what they can to help the world access the Maccies morning menu, without leaving the house. 

“Michelin-trained” TikTok chef Poppy O’Toole has taken the opportunities afforded by lockdown to share with her followers some simple recipes for straightforward home cooking. Fortunately for anyone missing the Golden Arches, one of her most recent dishes is a replica McDonald’s hash brown, using only two ingredients. 

Check out our recipe for a Cheesy Hash Brown Breakfast Roll:

To make the dish, O’Toole suggests assembling a large potato, an egg, salt and pepper. She then grates the potato into thin slivers, before patting them dry on a paper towel. The potato pieces are then transferred to a clean kitchen towel and squeezed dry in order to get the hash browns crisp when they hit the oil. 

Once dry, the potato should be mixed with the egg, salt and pepper, before being shaped by hand and added to a hot pan. The hash browns should then be shallow-fried until golden brown on one side, before being flipped over. To make sure everything is fully cooked, the pan should be slightly tipped at the end to fully immerse the potatoes in the oil. 

It’s easy to assume that famously delicious dishes have to be too complicated to accurately reproduce at home. However, as O’Toole’s recipe proves, even something with just two ingredients can help you kickstart your day in the right way.