Hash Brown & Eggs Skillet Breakfast Recipe by Never Enough Thyme

Back when I shared the Frittata Lyonnaise recipe, I warned you that I was going to be getting into cast iron a heck of a lot more than I have. Well, here’s the second recipe I’d like to share. I’ve actually prepared this dish quite a few times in the last couple of months. I found a great version of it over at Never Enough Thyme that looked really good. I put it together and took photos during the entire process. Unfortunately, I used some really old skillets I recently picked up at an antique mall that didn’t look so hot on camera. They desperately need to be seasoned. Since then, I purchased two new Lodge 8″ skillets, so I figured I’d give things another go. Today, everything turned out well.

Cast iron skillet breakfasts are awesome. You can get really creative while putting them together and, from personal experience, I can tell you they are extremely filling. When I prepare any breakfast like this, I always make a few extras. I now have six skillets, so make more than enough isn’t an issue at all. Laura and I eat one each and I save the rest in the refrigerator. Sometimes, things are even better the next day. Yes, I do love leftovers.

The Recipe

Once you prepare this recipe, you’ll most likely remember it forever. That’s good because you can shift ingredients around to suit your tastes. For instance, the recipe I used called for butter. I used olive oil instead. It also called for egg whites. I used whole eggs. I know these are trivial changes, but just think of the possibilities. Instead of one type of cheese, use another. Add tomatoes. Use sweet potatoes instead of Yukon golds. It goes on and on. As long as you understand the timing of how these ingredients cook, you’ll be putting together recipes before you know it. You’ll probably even write a cast iron cookbook. Two of which, by the way, I’ve already picked out. Stay tuned for more on that. Life is going to get crazy once I have them in hand.

Ingredients

Serves: 3

Pure Olive Oil
6 Medium Sized Potatoes, Shredded
8 Large Eggs
1 Medium Sized Onion, Chopped
1 Medium Sized Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper
3 Ounces Grated Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

Step-by-Step Instructions

This recipe takes under a half hour to prepare. While the potatoes are initially cooking, you can work on other things, so time will move quickly. To complete this dish, I used three 8″ cast iron skillets. I’ve used larger cast iron, but never any other material. I don’t think anything else would turn out so nicely.

Pre-Heat Oven

Since it won’t be long before you’ll need to get your skillets in the oven, go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees now.

Coat Skillets with Oil

Place 3 teaspoons of pure olive oil in each skillet.

Be sure to coat the entire bottom and about half way up each skillet with the oil.

Shred Potatoes

For this recipe, I used Yukon Gold potatoes that were grown right here in Maine. I took the 6 medium sized potatoes and shredded them completely using a box grater. I placed them into a large bowl.

Add Eggs & Stir

After I had all the shredded potatoes in the large bowl, I added 4 teaspoons of pure olive oil to it. I also added 2 large eggs right on top of the potatoes.

After that, I seasoned with regular table salt and pepper. Finally, I stirred everything together until it was thoroughly combined.

Add Potatoes to Skillets

Since the potatoes were ready to add to the skillets, that’s what I did. I divided the ingredients three ways and poured one portion into each skillet.

Now, I feel as though I should tell you something here. When placing the potatoes in the skillets, be sure to press them down and make the edges higher than the center. Eventually, you’ll be adding eggs to these ingredients and you want those eggs to stay in the center. You don’t want them rolling to the edges. Eh hem. Yeah, I had that happen. Now, when I prepare something like this, I shape the potatoes like a bowl inside the skillet. Take a look at this next picture so see what I’m talking about.

I don’t know if you can see it or not, but where the potatoes meet the cast iron is higher than it is in the center.

Put Skillets in Oven

When the oven is heated, go ahead and place the skillets inside. Cook for 15 minutes.

Chop Onion & Pepper

Since you now have some time, you can chop the 1 medium onion and the 1 medium red bell pepper.

Cook Onion & Pepper

For this step, I used one of my larger cast iron skillets. Please feel free to use whatever type you have. Type isn’t important here.

Add 1 teaspoon of pure olive oil to a skillet and add the chopped onion and pepper as well.

Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until onion and pepper are somewhat softened. When they are soft, you can season with some salt and pepper if you wish.

Remove Skillets & Add Ingredients

When the 15 minutes have passed, remove the three skillets with the potatoes inside of them from the oven. Divide up the softened onion and pepper and add them on top of the shredded potato. Do not turn off heat in oven.

Once the onion and pepper is situated, shred about 1 ounce of sharp cheddar cheese on top of the ingredients in each skillet.

Bake Once More

At this point, go ahead and place the skillets back in the oven for another 2 minutes. This step is meant to simply to melt the cheese. Also, please be sure to keep a well at the center of each skillet for the egg to sit in. Again, you don’t want them rolling to the edges of the pan during the next step.

Add Eggs & Cook

Once the 2 minutes have passed, remove the skillets from the oven and add 2 large eggs to each one.

If you’d like, season with salt and pepper.

Once the eggs are in the skillets and they’ve been seasoned, place everything back in the oven for another 7-8 minutes. You need the egg whites to cook through while keeping the yolks runny. This is a tough step. Just keep your eye on things and prod with a fork to see when it’s finished.

The Final Product

After the eggs are cooked, you should have something that looks like this.

These things are so good. I could make 100 of them. Perhaps I will. Enjoy!

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