WWWWMH .. What Went Wrong With My Hashbrowns?!??!

Okay everyone, it's time for the second reader participation game on this illustrious (did I mention award winning) blog. You remember the first game we played: WCOBWIT or Who Kind Of Beached Whale Is That?.. well it was a smash hit, with my brother Andrew taking the prize by identifying the whale as coming from the 'beaked' variety.

**UPDATE**

Coming in a close second in WCOBWIT was a man named Wojtek, whose email we just recently found because it was sent to us through Tenny's Flikr account. Wojtek gives even more detail on the bloated carcass, pointing out that is is in fact a Shepherd's beaked whale, or 'tasmacetus shepherdi', and while Andrew wins in timing, I must say that Wojtek is a tad bit more knowledgeable.

Moving on to today's main event, our second game is entitled WWWMH or What Went Wrong With My Hashbrowns?!??

On Sunday morning I started the day, much like any other, with coffee and a scrumptious breakfast. Feeling a tad bit adventurous I decided to whip up some hashbrowns, and thinking I knew my way around hashbrown prep, I made a huge batch using classic white baking potatoes. The end result was somewhat gluey and wet..


So what went wrong?? Here is what I did:

Took 3 medium sized potatoes, and shredded them with a cheese grater.
Soaked potato shreds (hash) in cold water for approx. 15 minutes to remove starch.
Washed off hash and drained water.
Took a small towel and dabbed the hash to soak up excess water.
Placed copious amounts of butter into frying pan.
Fried on medium heat, but noticed they were damp and gluey, so moved to high heat to teach them a lesson.
Moved back down to medium heat because eggs were taking longer than expected. Hash was browning but still not enough that I would consider them 'hashbrowns'.
Kicked it back up to high heat in desperation, producing the end result, which sadly resembled brown potato turds.

So what did I do wrong?? The person who can correctly email or comment what needs to be changed in my recipe to produce lovely hashbrowns will receive a prize of unnamed size and unassured quality.

Good luck contestants!