Meat and Potatoes is a Seared Pork Chop or Steak, seasoned any way you’d like with Soft & Creamy Old Fashioned Hash Browns made from Baked Potatoes refrigerated overnight, optionally with onions fried with the hash. All you need for seasoning is Salt & Pepper, but other seasoning can be used, 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 & Potatoes or Meat & Hash Browns) ready in about 25 minutes.

Meat and Potatoes Ingredients

Steak or Pork Chops, Potatoes, Salt & Pepper, Lard, or Oil.

Meat

Use either a fatty piece of Bone in/Boneless Pork Chops or Steak. This will get seared in rendered fat and seasoned with Salt & Black Pepper or any other seasonings of your choice. Make sure your meat is at room temp prior to searing.

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

Rendered Fat

The fat around the Pork Chops or Steak is trimmed off and chopped into small pieces in order to render out in the pan. This rendered fat will be used to sear the meat. Additional Lard or Oil can be added to top it up if there isn’t enough in order to get a good sear as well as have an adequate amount of fat to fry the Hash Browns. Check out my post on rendered fat for more information on this topic.

After the fat has crisped up and browned, discard the crackling. At this point, the Pan is primed for searing. The Fat is Hot and ready to go.

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.

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.

Hash Browns with 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. Add however many diced onions as desired.

Cooking the Hash Browns

With the baked potatoes 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 get hot.
• 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 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 that are now removed from the pan.

• To the pan, 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. The featured image in this post was made with the Saucy Steak Sauce. But you can also serve this up with other types of Steak Sauce.

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.