Home-fried potatoes, also known as cottage fries -- potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, sliced into thinnish discs, lightly-seasoned and pan-fried with some sliced onion in a bit of oil and/or butter (shredded or diced potatoes are called hash browns). Home fries are as delicious for breakfast as they are with dinner. That said, when it comes to making home fries, there are two schools of thought. One is to pan-fry par-cooked (steamed, boiled or microwaved baked) potatoes. The other is to pan-fry raw potatoes. In my food world, be it for breakfast or dinner, I don't need the added step of par-cooking the potatoes. In a diner/restaurant, yea, I get it, this task can be done ahead of time and actually saves time. In my home kitchen, par-cooking misses the point.
Thoughts & musings about home fries in my kitchen:
Some folks use Russet potatoes, and, that's fine. That said, over the years, I've fallen in love with Yukon golds, and, I adore home fries made with them. There's more. While salt and pepper are the only seasonings I use on my humble home fries, feel free to substitute garlic- or onion-salt for salt. I fry in a mixture of butter and oil (to prevent the butter from burning). My potatoes get peeled and sliced to a thickness of about 1/4". Using peeled or unpeeled potatoes, making home fries with raw potatoes takes 28-30 minutes.
No razzle, no dazzle, just humble home fries:
2 tablespoons salted butter
4 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
2 1/4-2 1/2 pounds gold potatoes, peeled and thinly, 1/4"-thick sliced, 5-6 potatoes
1 1/2-2 cups 1/4"-thick sliced yellow or sweet onion, cut into half-moon shapes, half-moon shapes cut in half
freshly-ground sea salt and peppercorn blend
~Step 1. In a 3 1/2-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven or 12" cast-iron skillet, melt the butter into the oil over low heat. Season the mixture with about 15 grinds each of sea salt and peppercorn blend. Distribute about half of the potatoes in the bottom of the pan. Scatter the onions over the potatoes and season with another 15 finds of sea salt and peppercorn blend. Distribute the second half of the potatoes atop the onions and, once again, season with 15 grinds each of sea salt and peppercorn blend.
~ Step 2. Increase heat to medium, cover the skillet and allow potatoes to cook, covered, for 12 minutes. This will start to steam the potatoes and onions. Remove the lid and increase heat to medium-high. Continue to cook, uncovered, until potatoes are browning to a golden color on the the bottom, about 8 minutes. Using a large spatula, work your way around the pan, flipping the potatoes over. Continue to cook on second sides until potatoes are browning to a golden color on the bottom, about 8 additional minutes.
The best 30-minutes you'll ever spend cooking a side-dish:
Old-School One-Skillet Golden Home-Fried Potatoes: Recipe yields 4-6 servings.
Special Equipment List: vegetable peeler (optional); cutting board; chef's knife; 3 1/2-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven or 12" cast-iron skillet w/lid; spatula
Cook's Note: When I was growing up, one of my favorite dinners was pork chops served with my dad's home-fried potatoes and my mom's ~ Campfire or Stovetop -- Dutch-Oven-Baked Beans ~. It was a three-skillet dinner that I never had to be called twice to the table to eat!
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2020)
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