I tried replicating McDonald’s hash browns at home. I came close, but nothing can compare to the real thing.

• McDonald's hash browns are an iconic part of the chain's breakfast menu.
• I tried making them at home and couldn't get it quite right.
• I did make some tasty hash browns, but they weren't the same as the fast-food version.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

McDonald's breakfast has had a cult following for decades, and the single-serving of hash browns has become iconic.

The golden, fried patties first appeared in 1977 when the chain introduced its breakfast menu, according to a McDonald's infographic. Visually, they look like the most simple treat one could imagine. But looking at the ingredients listed on McDonald's website, it's no wonder why they're so difficult to re-create.

The chain names potatoes, vegetable oil, salt, corn flour, dehydrated potato, dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate, and extractives of black pepper as components. Those aren't all things we can just pick up at a local market.

Bloggers and YouTubers have posted their own copycat recipes, and while they look like delicious versions of the treat, they're not exactly the same.

After trying five different times to emulate the hash browns in my own kitchen using potatoes, flour, salt, and egg, I came to one conclusion: I can't. Or, at least I can't in just two days.

Here's what happened with each version I made.

My first attempt was too eggy

Most of the online recipes I saw used russet potatoes, but I also tried Yukon gold to see how the different starches affected the texture.

I loved how the Yukon gold potatoes softened but still held onto their bite in some places. It reminded me of the McDonald's texture a bit, but not completely.

The online recipes also instructed home cooks to grate the potatoes first into strings. While yes, that is typically how I would make any sort of fried potato patty, the fast-food item has more chunks than shreds inside, so I decided to do a very small dice on my potatoes instead.

For this first hash brown, I diced 1/2 of a medium Yukon gold potato and mixed it with 1/2 of a large egg (I beat the egg in a bowl and measured out one tablespoon), one tablespoon of flour, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt (which turned out to be way too much salt). I shaped the mixture on parchment paper and put it in the freezer until it was solid. (For each attempt, I formed a patty and froze it before dropping it into a pot with oil to fry until golden brown.)

In an attempt to get the same crumby exterior as McDonald's, I dusted the patty with flour before freezing, but it ended up not making a difference at all.

Hash brown No. 1 came out custardy and flavorful, which was great, but it was also floppy and turned soggy within 10 minutes of coming out of the fryer. This one was a miss.

I tried swapping out Yukon gold for russet in attempt No. 2

Keeping all other elements the same, I used a russet potato and half the amount of egg for my second try.

This hash brown came out crispier and crunchier, but also gummier inside than the one I made before. The outside was nearly perfect - though it was still missing that dusty, crumbly layer - but the inside was missing the light, airy, fluffy identity that McDonald's has.

Though it stayed crunchy even an hour after taking it out of the oil, the inside was too chewy for me to call this one a duplicate.

In my third attempt, I added more flour and used less egg, but it still got soggy

I went back to the waxy Yukon gold potatoes next because I thought their interior texture was better than that of the russet. To try and self-correct my first mistakes, I used less egg and more flour than I had in my first attempt.

The outside of this hash brown was significantly crispier than my first one, but not as crunchy as my second. It turned soggy within 10 minutes.

I was able to achieve the perfect custardy inside texture again, but that was really the only win here.

I added baking powder to see if it made a difference

I used the exact same recipe as my third attempt for this hash brown, but I added 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder.

After experimenting with baking powder in other recipes, including chocolate-chip cookies, I know it to be an ingredient that can change the texture of food and make a baked good cakier than it would be with baking soda. In the name of experimenting and hash browns, I added it here to see what would happen.

This hash brown turned out sweeter in flavor and spongier in interior texture than the others I made. It wasn't horrible, but I would rather make version No. 2 again than cook up another one of these.

I gave into the shredded potato method

Finally, I tried the technique I saw most at-home cooks using. I used a box grater to shred a russet potato, let it drain on a paper towel (which is why the potato looks brown - it oxidized while draining), and then mixed it with egg, flour, and salt.

The shredded potato was easier to handle and shape into the iconic McDonald's oval shape.

After freezing and then frying, this hash brown developed and held onto a crunchy exterior. Inside, the potatoes turned slightly gummy and it didn't make me want to eat three in one sitting the way McDonald's does.

If I had all the time in the world to continue experimenting, I would probably try a mixture of shredded and diced potatoes, and try different draining methods and amounts for the raw potatoes.

Ultimately, though, I believe McDonald's use of dehydrated potato, flavor extracts, and corn flour simply can't be replicated at home.

Insider has more fast-food experiments like this in the works. Do you have a replica recipe you're proud of? Send recipes or suggestions for foods you would like to see us try to [email protected].

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