When my family went to New Orleans over this last Christmas vacation, we pretty much ate the whole time. Apparently that’s what Mormons do when they go to New Orleans with (or without) kids because drinking and naked people are both off the table (figuratively…I’m pretty sure there are plenty of both drinks and naked people on tables in New Orleans. This has taken a weird turn). Anyway, it was seriously the most delicious vacation I’ve ever taken.
During all of our eating, we made kind of a funny discovery–when you order sausage for breakfast in New Orleans, you don’t get breakfast sausage, you get a big ol’ hunk of smoked sausage. And when you order a Cajun-Style Hash Brown Skillet in a (very) feeble attempt to offset the 3 beignets and hot chocolate you also ordered for breakfast, it also comes with smoked sausage. Luckily, it’s flavorful and delicious and awesome.
Now…you can make your life easy and you can make your life hard here. I am using pre-packaged potatoes O’Brien (frozen hash browns with onions and peppers), but if you’re a super awesome overachiever, you can make your own and throw in a green or red pepper (or half of each). Also, speaking of overachieving, check out these awesome eggs I collected from my chickens this morning!
Just kidding. These beauties came from the farmer’s market. In the words of Taylor Swift, I will nevereverever own chickens. They combine three of my greatest phobias: poultry, their potential offspring, and the eventual and inevitable killing and eating of animals that I knew when they were babies. Do I think eggs are pretty? Yes. Do I cook with them frequently? Yes. Do I ever eat them? Rarely. I’m a freak.
Anyway.
You’re going to need your potatoes, whether you buy them or make them yourself, eggs, Andouille or other smoked sausage (if you don’t live in a place where there’s an entire giant section of the meat case in the grocery store devoted to smoked sausage, Costco and Trader Joes often carry Andouille sausage), butter, garlic, and cajun season (like Tony Chachere’s or Tabsco sauce and a sprinkling of kosher salt). If you feel the urge, you can also add a sprinkling of pepper jack or sharp cheddar cheese in the last few minutes of cooking.
Slice the sausage and set it aside.
Preheat your oven to 350. In a 12″ (or larger) oven-safe skillet (preferably cast-iron), heat the butter over slightly-hotter-than-medium heat. Melt the butter in the heated skillet and add the garlic and sliced sausage. Cook until the garlic is tender and fragrant. Add the potatoes and cook according to the package/recipe directions until crispy on the outside and tender inside. Season to taste with Cajun seasoning or Tabasco sauce. Remove from heat.
Using a spoon, make 6 evenly-spaced indentations into the potatoes. Carefully crack an egg into each well and, if desired, sprinkle lightly with Cajun seasoning or salt and Tabasco sauce.
Bake in the preheated oven for 18-25 minutes or until the egg whites are completely cooked but the yolks are still runny (mine were done at exactly 20 minutes, but you want a little give or take in each direction). If you want to add cheese, do it in the last 5 minutes or so of cooking.
Carefully spoon out of the skillet and serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.
Now…if runny eggs aren’t your thing, you can try this. After you cook the hash
browns, push them off to one side of the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Whisk 6-8 eggs, a splash of water, and a few dashes of Cajun seasoning or salt and Tabasco sauce together in a small bowl. Melt a tablespoon of butter on the cleared side of the skillet and slowly add the whisked eggs. Use a rubber spatula to drag the scrambled egg curds across the pan until the eggs are cooked. Combine the scrambled eggs with the potatoes and if adding cheese. add it now and let it melt. Serve immediately.
Cajun-Style Hash Browns
Ingredients
- 20 ounces Potatoes O'Brien
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic
- 8 ounces Andouille or other smoked sausage sliced
- 6 eggs or more if you want, especially if you want to scramble them
- Cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere's or Tabasco sauce
- 1/2-1 cup shredded pepper jack or sharp cheddar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. In a 12" (or larger) oven-safe skillet (preferably cast-iron), heat the butter over slightly-hotter-than-medium heat. Melt the butter in the heated skillet and add the garlic and sliced sausage. Cook until the garlic is tender and fragrant. Add the potatoes and cook according to the package/recipe directions until crispy on the outside and tender inside. Season to taste with Cajun seasoning or Tabasco sauce. Remove from heat.
- Using a spoon, make 6 evenly-spaced indentations into the potatoes. Carefully crack an egg into each well and, if desired, sprinkle lightly with Cajun seasoning or salt and Tabasco sauce. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-25 minutes or until the egg whites are completely cooked but the yolks are still runny (mine were done at exactly 20 minutes, but you want a little give or take in each direction). If adding cheese, do it in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Carefully spoon out of the skillet and serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.
Notes
Variation
- Instead of the runny egg, after you cook the hashbrowns, push them off to one side of the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Whisk 6-8 eggs, a splash of water, and a few dashes of Cajun seasoning or salt and Tabasco sauce together in a small bowl. Melt a tablespoon of butter on the cleared side of the skillet and slowly add the whisked eggs. Use a rubber spatula to drag the scrambled egg curds across the pan until the eggs are cooked. Combine the scrambled eggs with the potatoes and add cheese if using. When the cheese is melted, serve immediately.
For the potatoes, you can also try this recipe and add in a green or red pepper (or half of each).
