I’m too impatient to do them in batches, so I just make one giant slab.

Method:

• Shred the potatoes coarsely in a food processor on a box grater.

• Scrape the shreds into a clean tea towel. Wrap the cloth around the potatoes and squeeze as much liquid out as you can into a bowl. The juice will be a dark brown colour. Don’t worry, it’s going bye-bye.

• Let it sit for a minute and pour some of the water off. Underneath you’ll see a layer of white potato starch. So cool.

• Drain the rest of the water but keep the starch in the bottom of the bowl. Add the shredded potatoes, all but a handful of the onions, the nutmeg and some salt and pepper to the starch — only use about half the S&P you think it’s going to need — and mix it all up.

• Put a large, non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp of the chicken fat to the pan. When it melts, add the potatoes. Don’t pack the ’taters down. You want the steam to dance through the layers.

• Cook until browned at the edges, 10-12 minutes. I usually use a rubber spatula and push down the edges to firm them up.

• Cover the pan with a large plate or a cutting board and flip the whole thing over.

• Add the remaining tbsp chicken fat to the pan and gently slide the hash brown disc into the pan. If it breaks a little, don’t freak. It will solidify back as it cooks. Cook until browned and crisp on the bottom and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

• Slide onto a cutting board. Finish with the remaining spring onions. Season with more S&P.

• Let it sit for a minute to let the steam escape. Otherwise the potatoes will be soggy and not as solid. Cut into wedges.
  
  Recipe adapted from Cooking Scrappy, Harper Wave
  
  First published by the JC in February 2022