Hola Mi Gente,
Come one, come all! Gather around the table for this simple, but delicious recipe for your best brunch tables capes! It’s no secret that I am a very big fan of potatoes. There’s a scene in Gone With The Wind where Scarlett holds potatoes up to the sky and yells, “I’ll never eat potatoes again!” The very first time I saw that, I rolled my eyes (most of my reaction to Scarlett anyways) and sighed because she CLEARLY never had fried potatoes. Or potatoes coated with delicious salt, garlic and rosemary. Or butter.
I’m serious y’all–if there is something we have perfected in this century, it’s how to eat potatoes! I have ALWAYS loved myself a generous helping of skillet potatoes when my breakfasts. The crisp outer skin covered in flavor + the soft texture on the inside (that isn’t mushy!)–it’s what brunch dreams are made of. But for some reason, as I tried to imitate skillet potatoes, I just kept getting the wrong textures. They would either be burnt on one side and mushy on the other, or just altogether not have the crisp exterior we want. However, after a lot of testing, I think I’ve found a few secrets that will get us the most beautiful combination of all the things we love about skillet potatoes:
The Tips:
- Heat your oil first. Make sure the skillet you’re using (I like this Lodge 10″) heats up with your oil before you add anything else to the skillet.
- Just before adding your potatoes, add salt to the pan. You want your potatoes to start absorbing flavor the moment they hit the pan. Adding salt to the oil helps in that crucial initial step of creating the crisp. You also want to be generous with your salt. If I’m making potatoes without bacon I add 1 TBSP salt to the pan. If I’m not, then I use 2.
- This is one is VERY important: LEAVE THE POTATOES ALONE. You heard me. Back away from the pan, people! Just like a watched pot never boils, potatoes that are constantly fiddled with don’t get the chance to crisp up. Leave them alone in the pan. No scraping, no checking the underside of the potatoes. Leave them for a solid 5-8 minutes. Let the starch settle. You will know it’s time to flip them when you can see from the top that that there is a brown crust climbing up the underside.
- Add any additional ingredients after you’ve flipped the potatoes the first time. Whether it’s onions, or bell peppers, or jalapeños, or bacon. Don’t add them to the pan until you’ve flipped the potatoes once. Those all release oils, and you want to give your potatoes the chance to firm up before you add those.
If you follow these tips, I promise you’ll end up with restaurant-worthy skillet potatoes! Feel free to customize these as you see fit! As a spoiler alert, next week I’ll be sharing a way to use these with leftover Thanksgiving turkey 🎉🎉🎉
Love & a deep appreciation for fried potatoes,
Perfect Skillet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 Large Russet Potatoes Cubed
- 1/4 C High Temp Oil I used Canola
- 1 TBSP Salt I use 2 TBSP if not using bacon
- 1/2 Onion Finely Diced
- Fresh Rosemary Chopped
- 3 Pieces Thick Cut Bacon Cubed (I use beef bacon)
- Pepper To Taste
Instructions
- Heat your skillet over medium high heat with oil in the pan until it is hot (you'll know because you'll feel heat immediately when you hold your hand a few inches above the pan), and then add the salt. Add potatoes in and leave alone for 5-8 minutes (it's really important that you leave the potatoes alone during this time-NO STIRRING!), until you can see from above that there is a brown crisp on the underside that is moving up the sides of the potatoes. At this point, flip the potatoes and add in the onions, rosemary, pepper, and bacon. Stir the potatoes every 2-3 minutes, until they are crisped up as much as you want. Serve with the rest of your breakfast and enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
