McDonalds Hash Browns Recipe ... using the official ingredients list

[@mrbarrylewis]

Hope you've had a great Christmas! If you'd like to attempt these i've typed the recipe up with some more notes / pointers barrylewis.net/recipe/mcdonalds-hash-browns-recipe-using-the-official-ingredients-list/

[@dumbbellenjoyer]

For the future, potato starch can be found in Japanese/Asian supermarkets by the name 'Katakuriko' or 片栗粉 Its a 150g quick narrow tall white pouch with those three symbols in red.

[@brianm6337]

I won't discuss christmas. I love how you're shushing us before we go into the drive thru. 😁

[@MikrySoft]

I'm pretty sure most Polish stores should have potato flour/potato starch/"mąka ziemniaczana" as well

[@chellee]

A couple tricks I do. First when you boil the potatoes, add the beef flavor to the water, then you won't have to worry about flavoring the oil or using beef tallow. Second, I shape them by pressing them into a large canning jar lid then just using 2 flat edges to flatten each side, knifes or spatula or whatever. But I do get lazy and they are just as good left round. Hope that helps.

[@annother3350]

You can usually get potato flour in Asian supermarkets

[@robbysalz8710]

Barry: "Make sure you use a really starchy potato" Also Barry: "Now make sure you rinse this six times to remove all that extra starch" lmao

[@fen4ri]

YEAH lol it seems like every recipe for this says similar tho

[@psychorabbitt]

McDonald's used to use actual beef tallow to deep fry their fries, hash browns, nuggets, etc. But then after complaints about the fries not being vegan they switched to vegetable oil back in the early 90s. But to keep the flavor the same they added a slight beef flavoring to the oil. I worked for them for over 18 years so I can say with certainty - it comes to the store that way. They aren't adding a beef stock cube or anything of the like to the oil.

[@imhiz4eva]

and yet here in the U.S. they still use "natural beef flavoring" in their fries or on their fries and the hashbrowns so they still aren't vegan friendly here!

[@CricketEngland]

Don’t surprise me, McDonald’s Burger King and most other fast food burger restaurants are the worst food you can buy. The only one I will use these days is Five Guys and that’s not very often and only because they actually cook their burgers and fry’s from fresh and don’t have then under a hot plate for several hours. Although I can make much better burgers at home

[@user-sq8ki8zi8u]

@@CricketEngland You are correct with every point you made. The only thing is the time and effort, and that's where these places shine.

[@CricketEngland]

@@user-sq8ki8zi8u I’d still rather make it at home regardless of time than eat at McDonald’s or Burger King at least that way you know what’s in it.

[@user-lv6rn9cf8m]

Correction: they used actual beef tallow but switched to vegetable oil to cheap out, with a public outrage about the worse taste as a result. It having to do with complaints from vegetarians was just an excuse.

[@Blackpool-no2vt]

I've recently started working at McDonald’s and I can confirm the hash browns, fries, chicken nuggets, doughnuts, brownies and cheese dippers arrive frozen there stocked in a giant freezer that is kept at -20 degrees, everything takes 2 minutes to cook in the fryer, the apple pies takes 5 minutes to cook, the brownies are delivered frozen then thawed out and packed up before breakfast menu ends The bottled drinks such as orange juice, water, milk, and fruit drinks are kept in a giant fridge at -12 degrees

[@borjesvensson8661]

Barry ye daftie! The potato starch is what hold together hash browns and stuff like that. Just grate without rinsing. Form into shape and fry!

[@joshuaclaassen9325]

Agreed, he shouldn't have rinsed them... Lord alone knows how they're going to turn out now! (As of 11:56) Edit to update: Looked way too crunchy to me, but he somehow apparently kept them soft inside... and he liked them, so I... guess... it's a win? Whatever. *shrugs*

[@DaveTheTrain]

Whenever I've made hash browns without rinsing they come out really slimy and brown

[@borjesvensson8661]

@QuiltyBefevered oops aparantly i was wrong😅

[@evilmidge9840]

The beef flavor isn't from stock, it's from leaf lard. They add it to most of their potato items which is why they were sued for not disclosing it.

[@VampiricReflection]

Not in the UK, their hash browns are vegan in the UK

[@TheErador]

Leaf lard? Beef lard? Beef dripping

[@TARDISJACKED]

They haven't used "leaf"?? lard in years. They now use a flavoring instead.

[@TARDISJACKED]

@@VampiricReflection They use a separate fryer than what they use for their nuggets and other meat items? If not, then it isn't vegan.

[@TARDISJACKED]

@AmateurThespian I'm sorry but if you are eating vegan food fried in the same grease that a meat is fried in then that vegan dish is no longer vegan. Btw, I am not vegan but support any lifestyle you choose.

[@cickaboomonkyland123]

Thanks Barry!! You allways make my day, I have a stomach condition and I watch your videos sometimes when I eat to help me eat :)

[@The_Joy_Finder]

Epic. That crunch when you bit into it was so satisfying.

[@hatingontruth9118]

Notice Barry's video cuts out and then he is back in his kitchen.. It's because he got more hash browns from McDonald's. Well, that's what I would have done. Still, great video as always. Barry never disappoints.

[@mrbarrylewis]

mayyyyyybbeeeee ;)

[@MikrySoft]

Notice the McD bag in the kitchen scene is much larger than the one in the car

[@jayden_2954]

He went back and got a bacon roll lol

[@vernondaniels6506]

@@jayden_2954 👍 Yep

[@theoddjobcentre6686]

@@mrbarrylewis I'm sitting watching this infront of my log burning stove nice and warm here haha

[@pingupenguin666]

McDonalds UK hash browns are vegan, so I suspect the ingredients list Barry found is for the USA version.

[@horrorkesh]

the McDonalds hash browns are the perfect combination of crispy savory and soft and tasty AF

[@zahor0269]

Cheers Barry, amazing crunch on that hash-brown! I think that second smaller measure of salt was probably for gently salting after the frying.

[@CharlotteKandy]

Idk how Barry has a wife and kids and makes amazing videos on top of editing them himself. I envy that energy!

[@tmf866]

In the US, "corn flour" and "corn starch" are two different things. You definitely used what we'd call "corn starch". What we call "corn flour" is very grainy - more so than table salt.

[@Lyysabeth]

Isn't the grainier stuff corn meal?

[@Amanda-kw1vi]

@@Lyysabeth that's what I was going to say there are two different kinds of corn flour- flour texture and the meal which is grainy, then there is corn starch which is totally different... Corn is amazing..... They make plastic from it.... Crazy

[@annother3350]

Corn flour and corn starch are the same thing

[@davidhealdjr.513]

No, corn starch is definitely corn flour. You're thinking of corn meal.

[@bobbykozak6032]

@@davidhealdjr.513 Not in Canada it isn't. Definitely three different things. Starch, Flour, and Meal.

[@shinimegami42]

For the potato flour I've seen people let the starchy water from the potatoes stand for a while, and eventually the starch from the potatoes will separate to the bottom so you can pour off the water and use the leftover starch in cooking.

[@PotatoPirate123]

Surely you’d only be washing it to get the starch off, so if you’re looking to preserve the starch to bind them together then is there any point in washing in the first place?

[@emilyalcorn3547]

Merry Christmas Barry and family… Hope you all had a great time? I LOVE hash browns from Maccas… it’s my favourite individual menu item 😉 Love all your vids… you are the best KZbinr (imo… 😊) Have a great new year for you all!!!

[@naviward]

Hey Barry, I think you did American hash browns. The UK ones have different ingredients (and are vegan).

[@blackhatfreak]

American ones are the best ones

[@annother3350]

Maybe he wanted the proper beefy ones.

[@vikkispence]

Definitely no mention of beef flavour in the UK ingredients list

[@AdrianWoodUK]

​@@annother3350 Maaaaybe, but it seems like a stretch - everything he said in the vid implied he was trying to recreate the UK hash browns he usually gets (including buying a couple and using them as a comparison). If he was specifically on about trying to recreate the hash browns he'd had while in the states, he almost certainly would've mentioned it. No, bless him, in all likelihood our boy Barry just googled "hash brown ingredients" and used the first result without checking. Which, to be fair, is almost what I did yesterday, when I was telling a relative about how hash browns aren't vegan 'cause of the beef products in (something I "learned" in this vid) and then noticed "hang on, these other results say they ARE vegan, and, wait, this first one says it's talking about US hash browns, and ohhhhhh."

[@annother3350]

@@AdrianWoodUK I'm sure they were tasty and not too dissimilar to what we recognise as hash browns.

[@FlavoursbyMariem]

Excellent cooking channel. Always happy to watch your cooking Video.

[@ignacio5283]

Man, this guy reminds me when i was a kid in London watching all those children's program. You know explaining and talking about everything as if you were 8 years old.

[@trudiethomas656]

Egg mcmuffin meal, has to be one of my favorites. Need to go soon.

[@theresaparsons77]

I’m so glad you show us how to do things like this. Thank you and hope you and your family had a great holiday. And I wish you a happy new year 🎆🎊

[@ASMRaphael]

I love your content ideas Barry! :) They are always so fresh and fun! :)

[@srslyawkward3095]

You should add "That's amazin'!" merch to the store, since Mrs. B says that every time she tastes a successful recipe. I catch myself saying that in the same way when I make a good dish in my own kitchen 😂

[@leokeizur7181]

I've eaten so many McD. hashbrowns it would amaze you. Actually, I made them for a living. Only a little starch was added because blanching, drying and cutting made most of the starch needed to form the product. All of our hashbrowns were made from small french fry pieces that would not make size grade for fries. Many of our hashbrowns were sold overseas and our plant was sole producer to Japan for a time. Still love to eat them.

[@owenbell307]

Barry, all you needed was to fry in beef Dripping. I'm sure by beef flavour they just add dripping

[@evilmidge9840]

It's actually leaf lard

[@Goatmanification]

In the US they might. The UK is just fried in oil.

[@TheDfvj]

Hey Barry! I feel the texture you're looking for will be obtained when you mix in some boiled-mashed potatoes and the grated ones! Helps with the binding as well. Gives greater flavor than using potato flour. Also, you can flavor the water with the stock cube while boiling the potatoes :D Cheers. Happy New year!

[@angeliquejacobs3616]

Hey Barry. I put my potato through a meat grinder and it makes those shards like the mc Donalds hashbrown. Instead of the stringy shape you got from grating.

[@ConnorDoesEverything0]

Barry should do a video where he retests kitchen gadgets that failed the first time and call it ‘Retesting kitchen Gadgets’ would love to see it 🙂

[@Werd2jaH]

Barry is so square when he said “let’s go get hash” all sketchy with a skull cap on. I instantly thought potato

[@CarlGorn]

Barry, you can get potato flour, aka potato starch, at any Asian grocer or any place that sells Bob's Red Mill products. I use it in my fried chicken recipe.

[@zetkom]

also in any Polish shop, which is probably just around the corner

[@naurrr]

hey Barry, if you have an Asian grocery store near you, they almost always sell potato starch. It's really cheap at my local Asian groceries.

[@tonje_gram]

Finally learned what hash brown really is. I'm Norwegian and I've never seen it sold here nor heard of people eating it. Thank you!

[@Andre1980stavanger]

McDonalds sells it in Norway as well, and have been as long as I can remember. But you will have to go when they are serving their breakfast menu... So before 10 in the morning.

[@tonje_gram]

@@Andre1980stavanger Strange. Thank you for telling me. Is it just called hash browns or does it have another name?

[@KasdeyasVids]

Did you ever had the german version of hash browns? They are called Reibekuchen/Reibeplätzchen with actual onion in it and you'll eat it with apple sauce. Delicious.

[@pepre7594]

sounds a lot like latkes

[@KasdeyasVids]

@@pepre7594 Yeah, it's basically the same.

[@anthonylambert4523]

What Barry made is just basically a Rösti or not.I prefer Reibekuchen with grated potato,onions,flour and maybe an egg to bind it all together

[@fionnawheatley9095]

Mmmmm, with apfelmus…lekker!

[@loveyourselfplease6842]

If I could make a suggestion, slice your potatoes abt a half cm thick & then use your chopper gadget with the smallest square blade insert. It will give you chunks closer to what you get in the hash brown & they tend to compress & stay together much better than the shredded & bonus, give you more of a pillowy inside. Oh & fun fact, when I worked at McDonald's I was told that both the French fries & hash browns get misted with sugar water just before they are flash frozen to enhance the beautiful golden color.

[@georgirp]

Did you make the American McDonald's hash browns? The UK ones are suitable for vegetarians/vegans :)

[@annother3350]

I'll give you two guesses Georgi.....jeez...

[@georgirp]

@ff eater I know lol. The UK ones don't have beef tho 😂

[@tmf866]

With McDonalds fries (you would call them "chips"), putting them in the freezer is actually an essential step, freezing changes the structure of the inside of the potato and allows you to get that "golden crispy on the outside, pillowy and soft on the inside" texture in the finished result.

[@auntlynnie]

Also, the double fry (they par-fry them before they freeze them). When you fry them at the restaurant, it’s the second fry.

[@ro63rto]

I'm gonna try this. I have a burger patty former I got from Lidl that I've never used. Time to dig it out and try it for this.

[@AidanNaut0]

The hashbrowns (and fries) you get at the McDonalds are double fried. Once in the factory at around 300 F (~150 C), then are frozen, and lastly they are then fried again on location at around 400-420 F (205 C). This double fry, along with better oxidation control before each fry, will drastically improve the color and texture of your hashbrown. In addition, you will want to find actual potato starch as opposed to instant mash potato, as they are slightly different products.

[@thumbtak123]

You do not have to fry them. You can toast them. I use to put them in a toaster and they tasted good, if extra toasted. I did this with the store bought ones.

[@kendon81]

you can get potato flour in any Asian supermarket or the health food/dietary supplement cealic section of any of the big supermarkets.

[@dj1NM3]

I would hazard a guess that the original "oil" all the McD's food was originally cooked in was beef tallow, so the beef stock/flavouring is to simulated that. It also seems the Macca's uses some sort of mould to compress the potato into more of solid puck of grated potato.

[@leokeizur7181]

The potato product is pressure fed into forming heads that slice the patty onto the frying screen, then directly into a blast freezer, packaged and sent to the store.

[@CricketEngland]

Hash Brown ingredients from the web site : Potatoes, Blend of Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Salt, Maize Flour, Dehydrated Potato, Dextrose, Stabiliser (Diphosphates), Black Pepper Extract. Prepared in the restaurant using non-hydrogenated vegetable oil.

[@EssentialParadox]

You’ve got to try white pepper in more recipes, it’s got a very different taste to black pepper and is great in sauces!

[@cujoedaman]

Holy smokes, that crunch on the finished product... wow.

[@Its_kat_g]

A “rectangular circle”. You mean an oval, Barry?

[@mrbarrylewis]

Dammit Kat yes lol

[@lizsteilkie]

Happy New Year to yall and the pugs!

[@jacqpaschoud]

Not sure you need to boil the grated potato. I make rosti without boiling and they are not so different from hash browns. Some recipes say boil potatoes whole before grating.

[@jemimaj20]

Really enjoy your videos 😊Happy New Year !

[@AmberLeppa]

Potato cam or no, you're always a treat to watch, Barry!

[@lupierz]

If you squeeze the moisture from potatoes, then you get them super crispy. Probably having a single potato shredded on the zesting/fine grating would give you enough moisture and would act as a bonding batter. Please refer to east-european potato pancakes for reference.

[@Dave2108]

looks like you have used the a Non UK recipe list as the UK hash browns are 100% Vegan. so no meat based stuff added.

[@mrs.thomas-usmcwife5686]

I grew up with my mom being a manager over the breakfast shift back in the 80's. That was the best time for their food because more of it was cooked and not microwaved and they also used tallow. It may not be good for you, but it added flavor. Oh, and yes, I did get free ice cream cones. The machine actually worked then. LOL

[@endymallorn]

Question: how much does your version cost per hash brown, all in?

[@telwebb6523]

Wish I could grate potatoes as quick as you Barry.

[@noraaltemeier8364]

I love potato cam, makes you more realistic, lol! 💕🥔🥔🥔🎥

[@richardsnape1630]

The beef they use would be lard, so you could have added some lard into the veg oil. Or used the stock cube/pot in the water when you cooked the potatoes

[@clubgus07]

Youve inspired me to make some perhaps one could Philips Airfryer these hashbrowns but again thats not keeping to MCDs recipe.

[@hammadmalik4498]

Hey guys. Love the vids and the recipes. Stay happy and blessed. Peace

[@juliescrafting]

Love hash brown from McDonalds Asda and Tesco and oon Amazon but do like Smash I usually use boiled milk

[@mrbarrylewis]

Yeah they have some in the frozen aisles I think that are almost identical

[@treasury2586]

Love the shirt! Valley girl approved 👆🏾🥰

[@vogonpoet5860]

instead of beef stock pot, could you use BOVRIL beef extract spread

[@alaingraham]

My eyes went wide with how much white pepper you put in there...

[@beccadallas]

You are like the Steve Irwin of the kitchen. So much wonderment and fascination with food and kitchen gadgets. 💕💕

[@trytolovethedark9077]

I love this video McDonald's hash browns are literally my favorite

[@cmick69]

You can make them any shape you want, just use cake/biscuit cutters.

[@grammaurai6843]

If you want proper grated potatoes, take some needle nose pliers to your largest box grater and pull each hole open. Alton Brown has instructions on how to do it. You'll end up with much larger shreds that hold a better shape.

[@acidhelm]

I like this British version of Gourmet Makes. :D

[@jahanas22]

That looks so good. I love their hash browns. I'll have to try it some time.

[@Blue-bf8lv]

straight away i love the intro

[@MrMartinSchou]

I'm surprised potato flour isn't a supermarket staple where you are. I think I can get it in all supermarkets and grocery stores here in Denmark.

[@Theaterverslaafde]

Same here in the Netherlands 🇳🇱

[@shirleycastle5170]

I bet those would be good if grated cheese and a wee bit of onion were mixed in? Happy New Year to you and your girls.

[@imjustsaying7300]

Spicy Chick fil’a chicken sandwich should be next- not sure if you have those across the pond. Thanks for this past year of videos- your my KZbin staple

[@matthewwilson9749]

You’re not wrong. McDonald’s hash browns are so delicious. Naughty, yes, but delicious. Greetings from Canada.

[@suzz1776]

U can use the potato starch water in ur laundry to starch ur clothes so when u iron them, the crease will be sharp(like in pants and nice shirts etc...) or u can spray it in the clothes while ironing them.

[@bengosling4606]

Thanks Baz, your made me want Macca's all day breakfast now ( hash brown & mighty mcmuffin)

[@darlouthia5153]

This was more of ride than expected !!

[@richardbriansmith8562]

Awesome hash browns Barry Lewis

[@rachelam18]

I’d really love to see you recreate the thousand layer potato recipe that’s gone viral at the minute. It looks so good 😋 Also the hash browns in the UK McDonald’s don’t have beef in as they are vegan, I think that’s just in the US

[@kendon81]

yeah it's just in the US, Irish UK and European McDonald's all use vega fry oil for their fries and other fried vegetables and deserts

[@bwc1976]

I thought I heard the U.S. stopped as well, but maybe they found a way to sneak it back in after a while. Wouldn't surprise me.

[@korohacker]

I screamed silently seeing you add a whole teaspoon of ground pepper into the potatoes. That's waaaaay too much, even if white ground pepper is a bit less spice-y than the black one xD Glad it didn't end up blasting your head off though

[@InWeCome]

Wouldnt all those spud baths have removed the sugar and salt? I would mix it in at the end when the potatoes are still slightly wet so it dissolves and mixes nicely.

[@elixyrevad]

You need the starch to hold them together, you even said that starch makes them "stick"! I use a burger press to shape my hash browns so I can use that to squeeze the water out and keep the starch in! Good recipe though, I'd never have thought of adding Smash for a more potatoey flavour, although the bacon flavour instant mash is sounding tempting....

[@jamesgoacher1606]

That looked good. I may have a go at this particularly as you can freeze them in their pre-fried state.

[@juliescrafting]

Sainsburys instant potato is good and does like floour.

[@dawnboswell4609]

Hi Barry, would a burger press help to compress to hash brown mixture, they would come out round but if they taste good I wouldn’t think it matters.

[@classicbananamilk]

Surely the second measure of salt is for seasoning after cooking it?

[@nickadimouse1]

No Barry corn starch and corn flower and corn meal are all different. Because I sure the heck wouldn't use corn starch to make corn bread . I'd use corn meal or a more ground up version called corn flower.

[@tanyamartin1388]

Guessing you are in the US? In other parts of the world, corn starch is called corn flour, so he was letting everyone know the ingredient as it is known everywhere, not just the US or UK

[@nickadimouse1]

@@tanyamartin1388 I get that, but corn flower here is different than cornstarch.

[@orientalmoons]

The UK ingredients list doesn't have the onion powder or beef flavouring, but it does include dehydrated potato (so instant mash sounds pretty much perfect for that) and stabiliser (diphosphates) which a quick Google found that it is for stopping the potato from discolouring. That might have been the e number in the ingredients list you found, which maybe was the US one. I think I might try instant mash in the mix the next time I make potato rosti. I want to try instant mash gnocchi too.

[@alexe184]

Sounds lovely, do you have a recipe for instant mash gnocchi?

[@GaviLazan]

Just a guess, but I am assuming the second instance of salt is when they get salted after being fried.

[@Amethyst1919]

The substance that clouds the water is potato starch. lift the potatoes out and place in another bowl, let the cloudiness settle and pour off the water... what you're left with is potato starch...

[@beccadallas]

I would most likely make the par boiling liquid a beef stick. I wonder how that would work

[@kaseysnell9589]

Hey! Hope you had the best Christmas

[@mrbarrylewis]

Hey Kasey, hope you had a good Christmas too, we did thanks, nice time to relax with the family and pugs

[@lorddyvim]

That shirt, A++

[@vassamadison4914]

Realy good and funny video! Joke with Star Wars is amazing)))))))))

[@conorc725]

Can buy a box of them in aldi for like £1 🤣 You need to compress the potato when you shape them as well 😀

[@sworddomo1951]

Breakfast tacos are a favorite of mine down by me. Some you can customize ingredients. There's ones called Pancho villa, hippo, Chevy etc. They are marvelous. The one I get has this (think its close to a taco called a hobo): Flour tortilla warmed. Refried beans Cheddar cheese grated Cooked spam in shape of pickle Spears Pan sausage, similar to McDonald's Chorizo Hashbrown like the one in the video. Wrap it, then cover in aluminum and let it warm itself. Enjoy.

[@tj97x]

Never realised you were from W-s-M! How have I never seen you around?! Loved this video! Hash browns are incredible!

[@Randomner2562]

You should definitely try the 15hr potato. it would be interesting to see your take on it.

[@zeherath]

HI Barr, you can get potato flour in Polish shops ;)

[@davidlindholm3889]

How is potato flour not something you can get? In Denmark you can get it in pretty much every super market. It's used to pull dirt out of e.g. the carpet when you spill soda on it.

[@DevX997]

yes love it