American Diner Hash Browns in Southern Morocco

Diner Hash Browns... Oh so bad for your health(potatoes shredded and fried in butter)... but they taste so good!!! I had a craving for some good hash browns the other day. I've made these twice already and it took me some time to get them right... that middle ground between mushiness and crispiness, just the right saltiness and flavor...

All you need: a potato (for one), butter, salt and pepper. Now I actually add some Cheyenne pepper to mine too for a little heat and I like to eat my hash browns with ketchup and some hot sauce.

1. Wash, peel and shred the potato.
2. Squeeze out the water and let it sit to dry for a few... you don't want watery hash browns! You want these to crisp up. I actually add a touch of salt at this time and mix it in with my hands as I squeeze out the water.
3. Use a few tablespoons of butter... be generous (if not health conscious) because you want that nice brown crispiness. Melt on low heat. Since my low heat is a gas burner, you may want to go up a bit on an electric stove... your call. You want to melt the butter without burning a lot of it off.
4. Put the potatoes in and flatten them with a spatchula (I know this is spelled wrong, but my spellchecker cannot identify the correct spelling... sorry). Let them fry slowly.
5. Salt, pepper and spice the top. Divide the mass into spatchula-sized pieces and flip them over after you see that it's holding together more on the bottom... if you can see a bit of brown on the bottom, that's a good time.
6. When the other side is done, you have some yummy hash browns.

Notes-
1. As with most breakfast potatoes, slower cooking will make sure the insides get cooked along with the outsides. Otherwise you might have a nice brown outside and still uncooked potato inside. It's less likely to happen with hash browns (than say with homefries), but I've managed it before. Hey, I'm learning!
2. Hash browns take more salt than you'd think. Be careful not to over salt as usual, but I think this tastes better with salt really mixed in and dissolved (rather than when it's added after the fact). I think I added like a half tsp. when I was drying out the potato a bit and then almost (not quite) a tsp later sprinkled on top... It was not too salty and that's just for 1 large potato. Taste, taste, taste...
3. The potato doesn't have to be THAT dry... you don't need to leave it for like an hour or anything, but try to squeeze out the excess water.

Enjoy the hash browns! :-)