Hash brown potato casserole is the ultimate in comfort food: cheesy and creamy with a crispy crust. National restaurant chains advertise their special versions and famous southern cooks brag about their recipes on their websites and television shows. Most hash brown casserole recipes call for frozen hash brown potatoes, but you don't have to go this route. Use fresh potatoes to create your own hash brown casserole, and make extras to freeze for the next batch of your own hash brown specialty.
Wash your potatoes to make sure that all the dirt and grime have been removed. Pat them dry with paper towels.
Peel the potatoes if you don't enjoy potato peelings in your hash brown recipes. This is not a necessary step, and many people enjoy the taste of the peelings, so only do this if you prefer peeled hash browns.
Grate the potatoes on the coarse side of a box grater. Remove the grated potato from beneath the grater and store it in a bowl of cold water while you grate the next potato. Keep the grated potatoes in the cold water until you are ready to blanch them.
Fill a saucepan half full of water and place it on a stove burner. Turn the heat on under the pan and heat the water to boiling.
Add the grated potatoes to the boiling water and allow them to boil for three minutes. This will blanch them, or partially cook them.
Drain the potatoes. Put the cooked potatoes onto sheets of paper toweling and pat them dry to remove any excess moisture. Use the potatoes as they are in your hash brown casserole recipe, or pack them into freezer bags to store for a later date.