Meat and Potatoes is a Seared Pork Chop or Steak. Seasoned any way you’d like with Soft and Creamy Old Fashioned Hash Brown and diced Onions made from baked potatoes refrigerated overnight. Seasoned with Salt & Pepper or other seasoning should you choose.

The Beautiful thing about this dish, is that the same pan with the Fat already there is used right after searing the meat to cook the potatoes. Having supper (Meat and Potatoes or Meat and Hash Browns) ready in about 25 minutes.

Meat

Fatty piece of Bone in/Boneless Pork Chops or Steak Seared in rendered fat and seasoned with Salt & Black Pepper or any other seasonings of your choice. Check out my post on rendered fat for more information on this topic.

Make sure your meat is at room temp. Trim the excess fat from the Meat and chop into small pieces. Place into a skillet over medium heat to render the fat out. Then discard the crackling once it is crisp and golden or slightly darker. At this point, the Pan is primed for searing. The Fat is Hot and ready to go.

If more Fat is needed, then add Lard or Oil to top it up in order to get a good sear as well as have an adequate amount of fat to fry the Hash Browns.

Make sure the meat is dry and seasoned with salt, if not using any additional seasoning. If you plan on using seasonings that contains salt, then don’t season the meat just yet. Instead, Season towards the end.

Place the Meat in and Sear about 5 minutes on both sides, or until your desired level of doneness. For thinner cuts, anywhere from 2 to 3 minutes per side. Season with black pepper or other Seasonings. Remove the meat and allow to rest. As the meat rest, start on the Hash Browns.

Albumin

Sometimes when searing Pork Chops, you will get this white goo that seeps out the sides. This is albumin, a certain type of protein that coagulates when exposed to heat.

There’s nothing wrong with eating it. However, if you can, remove it from the frying pan when searing as this tends to cloud the fat and burn when it starts to break down due to the excessive heat.

Potatoes

With these Potatoes/Hash browns, we’re not trying to get crisp. Instead, we are trying to achieve Soft and Creamy. Which happens naturally due to the rendered fat and amount as well as fond created on the bottom of the pan. This is why in my opinion, the Meat and Hash Brown dish works so well.

The objective here is to create a heavy fond that you will have to scrape up from the pan and toss with the potatoes. Almost like a Socarrat with Rice, except with Potatoes.

Preparing the Hash Brown

Start with the Potatoes the night before you plan on making this dish.

Bake however many Potatoes desired in the oven for 50 minutes at 400 F. Then refrigerate for the night.

When you are ready to cook the next day. Peel and dice the potatoes to your desired size.

Freezing Baked Potatoes

Add extra potatoes to bake. Then allow to cool before wrapping in tin foil and placing into a large Ziploc bag to freeze. Take out the night before to thaw and reheat for baked potatoes or scoop out the insides for mashed potatoes.

The Baked Potato can also be used for Home-style French Fries.

Quick Hash Browns

If you need on the spot Hash Browns or Quick Hash Browns. Then grab however many french fries you want to make the Hash Browns. Dice the French Fries and Pan fry in the rendered fat until done to your liking. Eliminating the need for any preparations beforehand.

Onions

The natural moisture from the onions assists in picking the fond up and mixing it in with the potatoes. Then as you cook further another Potato Fond is created which you scrape up and mix with the potatoes.

Cooking the Hash Browns

With the Hash Browns already peeled and diced, or your french fries diced and the onions diced. As soon as the meat is done searing and set aside.

Add the Potatoes and evenly spread. Leave it there for about 1 – 2 minutes over medium high heat. Add more fat if needed before adding in the potatoes and allow to heat up.

Then scrape up the bottom and mix in with the potatoes. Sprinkle the Onions on top and leave for another 1 – 2 minutes.

Scrape the bottom again and repeat until done to your liking. Before you remove them from the pan, season with black pepper and mix.

Other Seasonings can go in as well, such as Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Thyme or whatever else you may like. Just add them in towards the end as to not burn up the Herbs & Spices.

Depending on your pan, you may need to increase the heat to medium high to get good fond development on the bottom of the pan. Which you can scrape up and mix in with the Potatoes.

Pan Sauce for Meat and Potatoes

The Basic Idea with Pan Sauce is that you add in liquids of your choosing to pick up the fond, which is loaded with flavor. Then reduce until it coats the back of a spoon. What other ingredients you place in are entirely up to you. However, traditionally, wine and broth are used. Sometimes with cream for a creamy Pan Sauce.

To create a Pan Sauce. The Bottom of the Pan should have a good fond built up from cooking the Potatoes.

Add some Butter and Onions, Shallots, and/or Mushrooms if desired and cook a few seconds, scraping the bottom of the pan. The Pan is already hot, so only a few seconds is needed.

Optionally add some wine and reduce 2 – 3 minutes or until thickened, raising the heat to high. Then add in Broth of your choice and reduce for a couple of minutes.

Once the sauce is thickened where it coats the back of a spoon, you’re done.

From here you can use the Pan Sauce over the Meat or add cream and reduce until thickened again and serve.

There are so many options with Pan Sauce. Adding in ingredients such as BBQ Sauce, HP Sauce, Ketchup, Sriracha for a spicy kick.

Clean up

If creating the Pan Sauce, this will naturally pick up the fond. Leaving you a Pan Sauce and a Clean skillet.

If, on the other hand, you don’t make the Pan Sauce. Then after the Potatoes are done cooking. Add a bit of water and place back on the heat. Scrape the bottom to lift the fond up and clean the pan. This makes clean up afterward much easier.