[Brandon Ross]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this thread but the community seems fantastic and I hope to start a discussion about breakfast potatoes. (I saw other threads but didn't see any discussing how to hold/serve).

We serve an a la carte brunch, and currently I think our breakfast potatoes are not being served right. We prepare them by sauteing the potatoes with bell peppers, onions, rosemary & seasoning salt. Just when they get a little color we fry them to cook through and get a little crispy.

At this point they are great, but the problem lies after we hold them on the steam-line for service. They become soft and some become chewy. Throughout the day they tend to get worse and worse.

What else can we do to serve better tasting/mouthfeel breakfast potatoes. Fry to order? Saute to order?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[koukouvagia]

What do you mean by fry? Are you putting them in the deep fryer?

Holding potatoes all day long is never going to yield good results. Ever. I like boil potatoes whole the night before and the next day chop and sautée. It will be a much better result.

 

[Brandon Ross]

Yes sorry I meant we deep fry them.

Yeah that's what I was thinking too. So then do you saute to order? How do you hold throughout the day without them getting soggy?

 

[cheflayne]

The best way is to boil ahead and saute to order,... or if you are super busy get a few orders ahead, enough to cover 15 minutes (or possibly 30 minutes, although not best) at the most, any more than that and quality will definitely take a nose dive.

 

[maryb]

Local cafe does a pretty good breakfast for a tiny town, they usually have 3-4 orders of hash browns cooked and moved to a cooler spot to keep warm. Order comes in they move it back to high heat to crisp back up and serve when bacon and eggs are ready.

 

[koukouvagia]

There is not a single food that "holds up all day"

 

[halb]

Maryb has it right as any Greek diner griddle man will tell you. Potatoes, bell peppers, onions and a little paprika for color. Pile 5-6 servings at the back of the flattop where it is cooler and turn them over every once and awhile. No need to fry, bacon grease takes care of that. You can prepare the potatoes, bell peppers, onions and paprika ahead of time for the day then replenish the "pile" when it gets low. You should be able to go all day that way.

 

[someday]

When I've done brunch we've fried to order...in batches. Not really "to order" but more like 10 orders' worth. Boil russet potatoes whole, dump, let chill overnight. Next day, large dice with skins on. Fry to order, toss with seasoning (at this point you could do pre-cooked peppers and onions) and plate. We would have to cook and cut like 2 cases on potato...

They were delicious.

 

[mike9]

There is not a single food that "holds up all day"

The only food I know of that holds up all day is a New York "dirty water" hot dog from a street corner cart.

 

[koukouvagia]

The only food I know of that holds up all day is a New York "dirty water" hot dog from a street corner cart.

Disgusting, I would never!

 

[meezenplaz]

I actually prefer steaming them ahead of time, they're less "wet" that way.
Make up a good-sized batch, keep them in the fridge, pull out five or six orders at a time,
throw them on the flat top with the onions peppers and spices as described above.

 

[french fries]

I try to avoid storing potatoes, cooked or uncooked, in the fridge, as that seems to do something to the starches. I don't like the taste/texture they end up with after having been in the fridge.

 

[meezenplaz]

i know, I hear that a lot. Baked potatoes or mashed don't keep in the fridge at all they break down. But for some reason when I steam potatoes I can store them in the fridge (whole, not cut) overnight, i can nuke or reheat to warm, and when I fry or griddle afterwards they seem to reconstitute and theyre fine.
I do it all the time, have for years. Standard Idaho type spuds.