Equipment
Ingredients
Produce
- 500 g waxy potatoes, unpeeled and diced into 1.5 cm cubes
- 150 g yellow onion, finely diced
Meat and Eggs
- 300 g pork breakfast sausage, casings removed
- 4 large eggs, raw
Pantry and Spices
- 15 ml olive oil
- 5 g fine sea salt
- 3 g smoked paprika
- 2 g black pepper, freshly ground
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 439 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbohydrates
- 21 g
- Fat
- 29 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 1181 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 9 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 13 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 5 g
- Cholesterol
- 251 mg
- Potassium
- 920 mg
- Calcium
- 85 mg
- Iron
- 6.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 53 mg
- Phosphorus
- 272 mg
- Zinc
- 3.0 mg
- Vitamin A
- 120 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 17 mg
- Vitamin D
- 2.0 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 2.0 mg
- Vitamin K
- 4 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.26 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.44 mg
- Niacin
- 6.0 mg
- Folate
- 53 mcg
- Water
- 213 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Wash the potatoes and dice them uniformly, along with the onion. If using cased sausages, slice open the casings and discard them, keeping only the raw sausage meat ready on the cutting board.
Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the diced potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until they develop a golden brown crust and are mostly tender, about 10 minutes.
Push the potatoes to the outer edges of the skillet. Add the raw sausage meat and diced onions to the center. Break the meat apart with your spatula and cook until the onions are translucent and the sausage is deeply browned, reaching an internal temperature of 74°C/165°F for food safety. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling the raw meat.
Stir the potatoes back into the center of the skillet, mixing thoroughly with the cooked sausage and onions. Sprinkle the fine sea salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika evenly over the hash and mix again to distribute the spices.
Using the back of your spatula, press four evenly spaced indentations into the hash mixture to create small wells. Carefully crack one egg into each well.
Cover the skillet tightly with a lid and let the eggs steam undisturbed until the whites are fully opaque and firm, but the yolks still jiggle slightly, about 4 to 5 minutes. Undercooked eggs carry a risk of illness; if serving pregnant, elderly, or immunocompromised individuals, cook yolks thoroughly to 71°C/160°F or use pasteurized eggs. Remove from heat and serve hot directly from the skillet.
Chef's Notes
- Dicing the potatoes finely and uniformly is the secret to a quick, evenly cooked hash without the need for prior parboiling.
- Waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold or red potatoes hold their shape beautifully during pan-frying, but starchy russet potatoes will yield a softer, creamier interior with extra crispy edges if preferred.
- Do not salt the eggs themselves until right before serving, as early salting draws out moisture and can cause unappealing white spotting on the cooked yolks.
- For a deeper flavor profile, let the hash sit completely undisturbed for two to three minute intervals between stirs; this builds the best crust on the potatoes and meat.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store the cooked potato and sausage mixture only. Do not store cooked eggs, as they do not reheat well.
Reheating: Reheat the hash base in a skillet over medium heat until hot, then crack fresh eggs into the pan and steam to desired doneness.
Troubleshooting
Potatoes remain hard in the center but are burning on the outside
Cause: Skillet temperature was too high or the potatoes were diced too large
Fix: Add two tablespoons of water to the skillet, immediately cover with a lid, and let the potatoes steam for 3 to 4 minutes until tender
Prevention: Dice potatoes uniformly into small 1.5 centimeter pieces and maintain a steady medium heat to allow slow, even cooking
Cultural Context
The word hash stems from the French verb hacher, meaning to chop or slice. It became immensely popular in American diners, logging camps, and home kitchens during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as a frugal, highly practical way to repurpose leftover meat and root vegetables. Today, it stands as a beloved weekend staple, celebrated for its robust simplicity and hearty, comforting appeal.
