Name: Eggs Benedict on Hash Brown Rounds
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled (See Tip 1); 1 large egg; 1 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt; 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; Vegetable Oil for frying; 3 egg yolks (See Tip 2); 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted; 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt; Pinch of freshly ground black pepper; 6 hash brown rounds; 6 pieces ham, cut into 3 1/2-inch rounds (See Tip 3); 6 large eggs poached; Hollandaise Sauce

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Eggs Benedict on Hash Brown Rounds is the ultimate in decadence that is certain to become the star of your brunch table. Crispy homemade hash brown rounds replace the traditional English muffins to provide an amazing crunch and taste to this otherwise traditional fare. This awesome dish is finished with the easiest blender Hollandaise sauce that you could ever imagine.

If you’d prefer a more traditional Eggs Benedict, check out my Classic Eggs Benedict.

Ingredients for Hash Brown Rounds

Hash brown rounds are very similar to potato latkes, containing russet potatoes, all-purpose flour, egg, salt and pepper.

Making the Hash Brown Rounds

I like to use russet potatoes for making these hash brown rounds because of their consistency and starch content.

After peeling the potatoes, I shredded them with the food processor fitted with the larger-hole shredding disk. I’ve also used a box grater for doing this – the box grater tends to produce thinner shreds. I guess I’d rather wash my food processor than risk shedding my knuckles on the box grater!

A key to crispy hash brown rounds is removing as much liquid as possible from the shredded potatoes. Typically, I would do that by placing the potatoes in either a clean dish towel or paper towels and squeezing out the liquid. Then, one day, I decided to use my salad spinner to extract the liquid. Guess what? It worked!

When I first made these hash brown rounds, I didn’t rinse the potatoes after they were shredded. As you might imagine, they quickly oxidized and turned pink. That was really no problem. However, with further attempts, I decided to rinse the shredded potatoes after I added them to the salad spinner (Photo 1). Once I had drained the potatoes, I let the salad spinner do its magic (Photo 2)!

Initially, I didn’t pre-cook the shredded potatoes. However, somewhere along the way, I decided that I would cover the bowl that the shredded potatoes were in and microwave the potatoes for several minutes. This not only pre-cooked the potatoes, but also helped to steam off any residual liquid.

I let the microwaved potatoes cool for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, I heated about ¼-inch vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

After letting the potatoes cool a bit, I added the flour, salt, pepper and egg (Photo 3). Then, I stirred the potato mixture to fully incorporate all of the ingredients. Once the oil had reached 350°F, I placed 3.5-inch ring molds into the pan. Then, I placed about ⅓ of a cup of the potato mixture into each of the rings and pressed the mixture down to compact it (Photo 4).

I let the hash brown rounds cook for about 2 minutes before removing the ring molds. Once I had removed the ring molds, I let the hash brown rounds cook for another minute or so until they were golden brown. Then, I flipped them and cooked the other side of the hash brown rounds for 2 to 3 minutes until they were golden brown (Photo 5). I drained the potatoes on paper towels (Photo 6) and repeated this process with the remaining potato mixture.

I placed the hash brown rounds into a 200°F oven to keep them warm while I made the Hollandaise sauce.

Making the Blender Hollandaise Sauce

I wish that I could take credit for developing this amazingly easy blender Hollandaise sauce, but it was actually Julia Child who perfected this. The ingredients were basic Hollandaise sauce ingredients: egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, pepper and unsalted butter.

I added the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and pepper to my blender. Before turning on the blender, I replaced the center cap with a funnel to make adding the melted butter easier.

I turned the blender on high for several seconds. Then, with the blender running, I slowly drizzled in the melted butter. In less than 15 seconds, I had a perfect Hollandaise sauce!

Final Prep – The Ham

A traditional Eggs Benedict uses Canadian Bacon. Since I was deviating from tradition, I decided to use regular sliced ham. Because the ham was thinly sliced to start with, I used 3 slices per serving. I placed the stacked three slices of ham on a cutting board and cut it into 3 ½ inch rounds so that it would fit perfectly on the hash brown rounds.

I heated the ham in the microwave for 30 seconds or so and placed the ham on top of the hash brown rounds.

Finishing the Eggs Benedict on Hash Brown Rounds

For the poached eggs, I enlisted the help of the Master Taste Tester who has perfected the technique of making poached eggs.

He heated water with a small amount of vinegar in a small saucepan to simmering. Once the water was simmering, the Master Taste Tester carefully cracked the eggs into the water.

He swirled the water and let the eggs cook for several minutes. Then, he flipped the eggs and let them cook for an additional 2 minutes or so. That’s it!

When the eggs were done, the Master Taste Tester carefully placed a poached egg on top of the ham that was sitting on top of the hash brown round. I spooned on some Hollandaise sauce and finished the Eggs Benedict on Hash Brown Rounds with a slight sprinkling of paprika.

The Eggs Benedict on Hash Brown Rounds were amazingly delicious. The hash brown rounds were crispy and crunchy on the outside and creamy in the center, providing a perfect replacement for the traditional English muffin. Yum!

Chula’s Expert Tips

Russet potatoes work best here because of their starchy consistency.
Use the egg whites for another purpose.
I used a 3 ½-inch round pastry cutter to cut the ham. You could omit this step. However, I think that by cutting the ham into rounds, the presentation was greatly enhanced.
I’ve used both a food processor and a box grater to shred the potatoes for the hash brown rounds. The box grater produces thinner shreds. However, I prefer the convenience of using the food processor. Because I pre-cook the shredded potatoes, the slightly thicker potato shreds are not an issue at all.
If you don’t have a salad spinner, place the drained potatoes in a clean dish towel and squeeze as much liquid as possible from them.
I like to use metal ring molds to help form the hash brown rounds. I’ve also used silicon egg rings with equally good results. If you don’t have ring molds, you can just place the hash brown mixture into the hot oil and press it down until it’s about ⅓-inch thick.
Leftover hash brown rounds can be refrigerated for several days in an air-tight container. To reheat, place the hash brown rounds on a baking sheet and heat in a preheated 400°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Hollandaise sauce is best used immediately. It can be kept warm by placing the blender in warm water for 5 minutes or so.

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