For my family’s Christmas celebration, I served a big brunch. I wanted to experiment with making hash browns in my waffle iron. Several Pinterest posters recommended using tater tots, so I decided to give it a go. The day before the meal, I made the hash browns. My first attempts were rather pitiful (CRAP ALERT!). I should have crowded the tater tots closer together so they wouldn’t fall apart, and I should have cooked them a little longer to brown and crisp them up. I found that it worked the best to center the tater tops in the waffle iron without filling up the whole iron. In this case, smaller waffles were better.
I placed the waffles on a grate over a sheet pan, covered the pan with plastic wrap, and stored the waffles in the fridge. The next morning, I discarded the plastic wrap and slid the sheet pan into a 250 degree oven. The waffles didn’t need very long to heat back up, maybe 15-20 minutes, and they stayed relatively crispy. Though the waffle iron was a greasy mess, my family ate every single one of the waffles. I guess this technique is a keeper!