Frozen shredded hashbrowns in the bag...... Do you eat?

Qbaimee

I love them. Mixed with my runny fried egg however,
How do you keep these from freezing into one giant ball?? lol
I stopped buying them b/c I cant break up the frozen balls to cook them.

acpgee

I freeze things like homemade meatballs and croquettes for the air fryer in a single layer on a tray. Once frozen you can transfer to a ziplock bag. This prevents items from sticking. If they are sold in a bag where they are stuck together I would try violence (hitting the bag of frozen hashbrowns onto a cutting board) to break them up before putting them back into the freezer.

missysippy930

^^this is pretty much what I do, but the kind I purchase doesn’t seem to be frozen in a solid lump, just a few clumps. Works for me.

ktekc

let the beatings commence ..i do that with frozen hashbrowns and the diced peppers i use for breakfast scrambles..rather cathartic.

acpgee

When I buy frozen foods that are all stuck together in the bag I tend to beat the bag against a cutting board, but it occurs to me that just dropping the sealed bag from a height onto the tile floor in the kitchen might be more effective.

try2again

Mine are never so bad that I can't break them up with my hands in the bag or with the heavy end of a butter knife

What I have to share is the recent way I discovered to prepare frozen hash browns without added oil... throw them in the waffle iron! It can take about 20 minutes depending on how crispy you like them (I like mine really crispy), but I just get them started and go about my business. For a family meal, I can get about 4 servings in at a time and I use a frying pan to help press the lid down firmly.

seska422

A meat tenderizer works nicely:



Use the flat side so that you don't end up with a bunch of little holes in the bag. Don't ask me how long it took me to figure that out.

DX2JX2

Qbaimee wrote: »

I love them. Mixed with my runny fried egg however,
How do you keep these from freezing into one giant ball?? lol
I stopped buying them b/c I cant break up the frozen balls to cook them.

Find bags that aren't frozen into one solid mass. The ones that are have been thawed and refrozen. They were likely kept above freezing while in transit or waiting to be put out for sale.

Bags that have been properly stored from the factory will not be overly clumped together. Commercial blast freezers generally freeze foods fast enough and completely enough that the pieces don't clump.

leggup

Try to keep them out of the freezer as little time as possible- sitting on the counter causes the refreeze. Store them in the middle of your freezer- the door is less cold and will cause some thaw-refreeze. Re-bag them in a freezer safe bag. Even a little bit of air getting in is enough to form ice crystals that ball it all up.

I eat LOADS of frozen food. The most critical thing is keeping the bag sealed, even if it means double bagging.

You can also bulk cook in a casserole dish then transfer to tupperware. When you want to make breakfast, re-cook on the stovetop with your egg.

apullum

acpgee wrote: »

When I buy frozen foods that are all stuck together in the bag I tend to beat the bag against a cutting board, but it occurs to me that just dropping the sealed bag from a height onto the tile floor in the kitchen might be more effective.

That’s what I do, except I put some force behind it. Nothing is quite as satisfying as slamming a bag of frozen veggies into the floor.

JustaGirlNamedJenn

Yep I eat them constantly. And like everyone else, just beat the bag with something lol. They come to me in one frozen block, but usually once I break them up, they seem to be ok after that.

AZCattitude

We eat them frequently. I break off the amount I want to cook and defrost in the microwave 1 to 2 minutes. Then I break up the bigger pieces and defrost a bit more if needed - just enough so they layer nicely in the skillet. That works for me without pulverizing them. I've been thinking about trying to air fry some in my Ninja Foodi on the crisper tray I just purchased.

WinoGelato

My grocery store sells a brand called Simply Potatoes in the refrigerated section - shreds and cubes, with onions and peppers is also an option. Once I found those I’ve not purchased frozen Ore Ida again.

Also the Simply Potatoes with onions and peppers is a great base for quick potato soup....

acpgee

AZCattitude wrote: »

We eat them frequently. I break off the amount I want to cook and defrost in the microwave 1 to 2 minutes. Then I break up the bigger pieces and defrost a bit more if needed - just enough so they layer nicely in the skillet. That works for me without pulverizing them. I've been thinking about trying to air fry some in my Ninja Foodi on the crisper tray I just purchased.

I make rosti in the air fryer with the pan attachment (which has slots on the bottom, mine is a Phillips) with raw grated fresh potato. I do spray with olive oil. Though to be honest, it is just as easy to use a good non stick pan on the stovetop.

hesn92

I just repeatedly beat the bag of hash browns on the counter until they break up...

HereToLose50

They are really good with bell peppers or hot peppers and onions added in also. Add them in any omelette really as long as the potatoes get cooked before adding.

They shouldn't be frozen the way you describe. That sounds like they were above freezing temps at some point before you got them and possibly not safe to eat.

Godswordministries

when you get them home from the grocery store spread them out on a flat cookie sheet and flash freeze then dump back into the bag or a zip lock. Works great.

TheRoadDog

I mix them with bacon, green onions and parmesan cheese and then throw them on the waffle maker.