Skillet Home Fries

When I think of a versatile food, I think potatoes, I mean, there are unlimited ways to prepare them, and each of those ways they are delicious. But, the humble spud is more than that. It’s not just a side, it is also part of the main dish itself, like when added to a stew, it will help to thicken. But, here in America, probably one of the most iconic ways to prepare is home fries. Cubes of potato tossed around a hot skillet till the outsides are crispy and the inside is buttery soft. Please read on for my skillet home fries, you’ll definitely like them

The potato has humble roots, it is indigenous to Peru and was domesticated about 7000-10,000 years ago. It was introduced to the rest of the world when the Spanish brought it over to Europe in the mid 16th century, and has been popular ever since. So popular, that it ranks up there with rice and maize production, as primary crop worldwide. The term “spud” has a murky origin, but is thought to be a derivative of the Latin word “spad” for short dagger. It resembles a tool used to poke a hole in the ground for the potato seedling when planting. But let’s move on to the best part of the humble spud, preparation and eating.

What makes the potato so popular is the infinite ways to prepare; boil, fry, bake, skin on or off, mashed, diced, grated and whole. Just type in “potato” in the search bar for this blog and a half a dozen recipes will show up. But here, we’re going to cook skillet home fries. They’re a classic

When it comes to the potato of choice, there are a couple of factors. Baking potatoes like Russet have a higher starch content making them more “mealy” and better for baking. Yukon potatoes have a higher waxy content, giving them that “buttery” feel when cooked, these are the ones we need. Skillet home fries are cooked with the skin on, however, it’s your choice to leave it or remove it. It’s more of a look than a taste.

Prep is pretty simple and only involves a few steps. First cut the potatoes into about 1 inch cubes. This will allow them to brown on the outside, yet still have buttery soft potato on the inside. Rinse them after cutting to rewove any excess starch, that white residue left on the knife and the cutting board. The next step is important, par cook them for 10 minutes. This is important because the the potato will never cook through in the skillet without burning. So by par cooking, you’ll end up with a golden brown crispy outside and a buttery soft inside. Place the cut up potatoes in water, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, then drain and leave in colander for a few minutes. This will allow the potatoes to dry a bit as the hot water evaporates.

Now to the fun part. My cast iron skillet works best for this, but non stick is a good substitute. Preheat the pan over medium high heat with about 1/4 inch oil on the bottom. Use a high smoke point neutral oil like canola. The pan gets hot and you don’t want the alarm going off. When it’s hot, add the potatoes, just enough for a layer on the bottom of the pan. If needed, cook in batches, don’t crowd the potatoes. Let them cook a few minutes, then turn them, you’ll see they’re browning nicely.

Now sprinkle with Kosher Salt and coarse ground pepper to taste. After a couple more minutes, mix them up again, this time add garlic powder to taste. I season this way so the pepper and the garlic powder don’t burn. I’ve also found that using garlic powder is more effective than using fresh garlic. All the flavor, non of the burnt bits.

They cook up in about 7-10 minutes, or till the desired amount of color is attained. But by pre cooking them, they’ll always be buttery soft on the inside. Now serve your skillet home fries as you like. As a side, or cover with cheese, put an egg on it, the options are endless. But no matter how you serve them, you’ll definitely enjoy them. Thank you for reading.