Frozen Hash Browns

I got a deal on potatoes this week. They were on sale at the local grocery store for $3.98 for a 15 lb. bag.  We have been paying that much for a 10 lb. bag for a while now. So I snatched up 4 bags and decided that one of the ways I would store them would be to make frozen hash browns. We love hash browns at our house, but it is time consuming to make them on the spur of the moment, frozen hash browns are very convenient and also expensive.

I started by parboiling my potatoes and then peeling them. I then put my whole tray of potatoes into the freezer to chill them quickly. You could also refrigerate them. I chilled them so that they would shred easily and not become mush. After they were chilled I shredded them. I have a salad shooter, which made the shredding quick and easy. 

I laid my shredded taters out in a single layer on a sheet pan. I put saran wrap between each layer and ended up using 2 sheet pans with about 3 layers of potatoes on each one. Then I stuck my sheet pans in the freezer overnight.

In the morning I had frozen hash browns.They came apart easily and I just broke each layer up into pieces and placed them into freezer bags. By doing a little extra work I have easy and convenient frozen hash browns. Because I froze them before putting them into the bags I have small chunks that break apart easily so I can take out whatever I need and keep the rest frozen.

Now here is the cool part.  From my 15lb. bag of potatoes I got 11.5 lbs of hash browns, which is 184 oz.  A 26 oz. bag of frozen shredded hash browns at the local grocery store costs $1.97.  So if I were to buy my hash browns at the store it would have cost me $13.98. I paid just $3.98 for my bag of potatoes and put a bit of my time in. So I was able to save us $10 this week and we are loving those frozen hash browns.