While typically thought of as breakfast food, home fries are also sometimes served as a side dish with supper. (Think about that the next time you forget to put the potatoes in with the roasty chicken. Oh SNAP! Then you’ll be very glad you know how to make home fries, my friend.) I’d even go so far as to say that a pile of perfectly made home fries can be served AS supper, provided you throw a little cheese or crispy bacon and onions in there. Or top with a fried egg and Yumsies! Breakfast for dinner.
The thing about making good home fries is don’t put too many in the pan. Use a pan that’s big enough so you only have one layer of potatoes going on in there at a time so every potatoey piece is touching hot oil at some point in his little, fried life. The OTHER thing about perfect home fries is you have to cook them twice. Like the best french fries are twice-cooked, so be the best home fries. So says the Queen of Home Fries. (Bow down, ye CareBear Cousins, Cabbage Patch kids and kittycat dolls.)
The first go round is to make sure the insides are soft. The second time is to make the outsides real, real crispy. My preferred method for the first cooking is to boil whole potatoes, let them cool, then cut them up. This is almost NEVER practical, however, since how am I supposed to know that the next day I’m going to want some hot, crunchy home fries with my beer so I better cook some potatoes before I go to bed? I mean, come on — that just ain’t happenin’, my cooking brothers and sisters.
What usually and actually happens in the morning is this: microwave to the rescue! Cut up your potatoes into 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch cubes (however small or large you like your fries), put them on a plate with some water – just enough to cover the bottom of the plate, like 2 tablespoons – stick them in the microwave for a couple minutes. Stir. Microwave a few more minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Be Careful! That plate is hot as hell! Drain the water off and let them sit on the hot plate while your skillet heats up. The heat from the plate will dry them completely. Then you just cook them up in the oil like usual.
- Cooked, diced potatoes (about a cup per person)
- 2 teaspoons of oil per cup of potatoes
- salt and pepper
- diced onions (optional)
- Heat a heavy skillet on high for one minute. Add your oil. It should immediately turn hyper-fluid and start moving and shimmering all over that skillet. Move the skillet around to get the oil everywhere.
- Add your potatoes in one layer. Leave them alone for a minute. Shake the pan. They should be moving freely. Leave them alone again.
- Shake the pan every minute or so to make sure they aren’t sticking.
- When they’re good and brown, stir them around. Shake the pan some more.
- They will probably take about 8 minutes total.
- If you want onions, add them in after about five minutes. Just keep shaking, flipping, browning until they are toasty as a pair of kittycat mittens.
- Salt and pepper those puppies and you got it made in the shade.
P.S. In Spain, these are called patatas bravas and are served alongside a special, spicy sauce as a tapa. Proving that potatoes and drinkin’ are great company, the world over.
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Learn To Cook is designed to get you cooking for yourself like a civilized human being! Drawing from a lifetime of cooking and over two years experience making instructional cooking videos, author Hilah Johnson has produced a beginners’ cookbook for today’s young adults. The casual, straightforward style will appeal to anyone with a sense of humor and the focus on fresh, simple recipes will appeal to anyone who loves to eat. The book includes chapters on menu planning, knife skills, grocery shopping and more, plus a comprehensive spice chart and over 150 recipes from breakfast to dinner to snacks in between.
I create short-form, educational, and occasionally hilarious cooking videos geared towards beginner and intermediate cooks, as well as people who are just looking for simple, low-cost recipes. Everything is made from scratch, people!
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
My family loves home fries any time of the day. It’s a great accompaniment.
Hilah, have you ever made any sweet potato home fries? They’re really good. I put onions and garlic in with them, and a little curry powder. And then, I cover them with ketchup. They are YUM.
Jojo! With curry powder?!?! That sounds completely YUM!
I love potato fries that are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Yours look absolutely delicious!!
I am making these tonight for dinner. I am adding Greek seasoning.
That sounds perfect.
hey omg i love your cooking tips haha omg but when i seen this video i was about pee my pants haha from project rant ketchep theif it was to funny
you can mix mayo and chulula sauce, dribble over fried potatoes and have potatos bravos, barcelona style.
Sounds good with a cold beer! Thanks for the tip!
I just made this about 1/2 hour ago. I used the microwave method you mentioned about to soften the potatoes. I didn’t change a thing even down to the time i had them in the oil. They came out perfect! Crispy on the outside and nice and soft in the middle. I will be making these for many, many breakfast’s, lunches, snacks…whenver the craving hits. Thanks!
Awesome! So glad it worked for you (and that my time estimations were so right on!). Thanks for writing!
Hilah, thanks! You’re awesome! I love your casual, fun, down-to-earth style. It’s much less intimidating than many others. I just made the first batch & they’re perfect!
Hi Robert!
Good job on the home fries, man! I’m really happy you like the show. Casual’s the way to GO apparently! Thanks for checking in; it’s great to hear from people.
-h
Hilah, do you think you could do an episode on hash browns? I know they’re similar, but I can never get my browns to be crispy….they’re always mushy. Do you have any tips or tricks to making them right? I’ve heard people say that using a potato ricer works, but I don’t want to go out and buy one if it doesn’t…I don’t know what else I would use it for. Anyways, that’d be awesome if you could do that.
Yes, ma’am! Again, my trick is to microwave the sonsabitches. Grate the potatoes onto a plate, spread them out, and cook them until they are mostly done. Then heat up a skillet with a few tablespoons of oil and flop the whole potato patty in there. Fry a few minutes on each side, adding more oil when you flip em. You could also grate leftover boiled potatoes if you’re some kinda weirdo who has those around.
An episode about this is a good idea, though…
yours,
hilah
My husband makes the best homefries. Only we call them SAPs. Super Awesome Potatoes. Want some now.
Love that name!
Thanks Hilah!
Great tip on double cooking. My previous methods were all mushy. Cooking in the microwave made them come out great. Nothing stuck to the pan either.
That’s great, Paul! Thanks for the feedback, my friend!
So simple, but soooo delicious! I think the secret to it’s success is the cast iron pan. To hell with non-stick yucky modern pans! Yea, Hilah!
Oh hell, I fried up some bacon to go with the home fries, then put the potatoes in the bacon fat, then sprinkled the crispy bacon on top, then.. who needs the eggs?! Yummmmm…..
Oh hell yeah, Sue! Nothing beats frying in bacon fat with a cast iron skillet. I’m hungry again and I just ate breakfast.
Perfect potatoes. Have not done the twice cooked method. Kinda forgot about that. Will have to try it. This is one of them meals, I will add some vegetables and season them with S/P, Rosemary, Thyme and probably crushed red pepper to. Top off with poached eggs. Makes for a nice meal when there is too much month left for my paycheck.
I use an EVOO for cooking. I think this really adds to the flavor.
I agree, potatoes cooked like this are not just for breakfast. They make an excellent light meal at 7 in the evening too. Try them with Yellow Squash, Red and Green Bell peppers. Yum, yum….
Ooh, definitely YUM, Harold! A potato and vegetable hash is truly great comfort food, and so inexpensive. I especially love the idea of an egg on top!
Psst. Eggs. Plural. More then 1. How can you eat just 1 egg??? You need the yolk of at least 2 eggs to dip the taters/veggies in…
I am a fool, Harold.
I think you are utterly charming!
Whee! Thank you, Robert! *blushing*
What a wonderful way to liven up a simple recipe. Thank you Hilah for keepin’ it simple, keepin’ it real, and keepin’ it hilahrious!!
Sautéed some yellow onion and added to ur recipe the last 5 minutes. As good as “poor Richards” in Plano.
Next up? Chick fil gay sandwich
Keep the videos coming
Yummy! I love the sweetness of onions with the potatoes. Thanks, Rick!