How to properly fry potatoes in a frying pan - a simple way
Each housewife has her own frying secrets, but the recipes still have something in common - two ingredients are usually used: potatoes themselves and vegetable oil. The remaining ingredients are always at the discretion of the craftswoman.
For the simplest method we need:
- potatoes - 1 kg (the number of tubers depends on the number of eaters);
- salt - a pinch;
- vegetable oil - 150 ml.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. The main thing is that they are not too thick and of the same size. How to find your way? It’s very simple - remember the French fries everyone is used to and cut them, trying to give them the same shape. Place the potato pieces in a bowl of cold water so that it does not have time to darken.
The secret of an experienced housewife: varieties with a low starch content are suitable for frying. It is best to use light yellow and red ones, but white ones are good for purees and first courses.
While the potatoes are cutting, heat a frying pan with vegetable oil. The best cookware for this dish is one with a thick cast iron bottom. The fire should not be too strong, otherwise the root vegetables will quickly burn at the bottom and remain raw at the top. The optimal temperature is slightly below average. In the meantime, discard the potatoes and thoroughly wipe them from water with a paper towel or kitchen towel, but clean and dry.
It's time to put the potato strips on the frying pan. Now, pay attention, remember the instructions for proper frying!
- For the first 8-10 minutes, do not touch the potatoes: let them fry quietly: if you start tossing the pieces, they will quickly lose their shape.
- Carefully pick up the straw with a spatula, turning it over in one solid layer: usually the crust on the bottom grabs the pieces evenly.
- We turn it over and go about our business again. Only after 5-7 minutes will it be possible to approach the potatoes and stir them a second time.
- Add salt to the dish correctly at the end so that the potatoes do not fall apart.
- A minute or two before the end of the process, cover the potatoes with a lid so that they simmer slightly.
Well-fried potatoes are ruddy, golden, exude magical aromas, and inside each piece hides melting, delicious pulp. We eat it with pickles or dipped in barbecue sauce.
It may seem like a labor-intensive process. In fact, it is enough to cook potatoes a couple of times to master the skill well and for a long time. By the way, it only takes a few minutes to fry one or two tubers (which is quite enough for a hearty lunch for one person).
How long does it take to fry potatoes in a frying pan?
Fried potatoes are a dish that has a huge number of interpretations. But in any case, the treat should be crispy on top and melt in your mouth inside. To bring the potatoes to readiness, and even maintain their shape, you need to know how long to fry the potatoes in a frying pan with a crust. The duration of its heat treatment is on average 20-25 minutes.
Potato tubers that contain a minimum of starchy substances are suitable for frying. Professional chefs advise paying attention to white potato varieties. But it’s better to save yellow or red potatoes for soup or delicate mashed potatoes.
Advice! To ensure that the potatoes cook evenly, they should be cut into pieces of approximately the same size. The shape can be any - circles, bars, halves of circles and even quarters.
Now let’s look at the process of frying potatoes “bone by stone”. We have already decided on the choice of potatoes. Before cooking, potato tubers are thoroughly washed and dried. Otherwise, when water comes into contact with oil, splashes will fly in different directions, and you can easily not only pollute the kitchen, but also get burned.
Any refined, odorless vegetable oil is suitable. But there are many who like potatoes fried in fresh lard and pork fat. Potatoes with cracklings are something!
On a note! The oil must be heated well and only then put the potatoes in the pan. The dish will be even tastier if you combine vegetable oil with butter.
During the first 8-10 minutes, we simmer the potatoes over medium heat, even a little less than medium, but do not stir. If you choose the right temperature, the potatoes will not burn. To prevent it from sticking, use cast iron pans or cookware with a non-stick coating.
Then the potatoes are gently mixed. If you did everything correctly, it will turn over in a single layer. And on the other hand, without stirring, we fry the potatoes for another 10-12 minutes.
But at the final stage you need to add salt. If you add this seasoning too early, the potatoes will fall apart, and there is nothing you can do about it. After 25 minutes, the fried potatoes will be ready. It can be topped with sour cream or sprinkled with chopped herbs.
The dish with onions will be incredibly tasty and aromatic. Chopped onions are added at the end. If you do this at the beginning, the culinary action will develop according to one of two scenarios. In the first case, the onions will turn into mush and give a bad taste to the potatoes, and in the second, they will burn, and as a result the fried potatoes will taste bitter.
On a note! Add sauerkraut, a mixture of frozen vegetables, pork tenderloin, veal, chicken breast, mushrooms, eggplant, sweet peppers, carrots, etc. to fried potatoes.
How long to fry potatoes with mushrooms in a frying pan? Let's immediately decide that we prepare these ingredients separately. If mushrooms, regardless of the variety, are fried together with potatoes, the result will be porridge. It is better to fry the mushrooms in butter, and five minutes before the potatoes are ready, combine these components.
There is another favorite treat for many - French fries. Typically, it is cooked in a deep fryer in a large amount of oil. In this case, the oil must boil. But you can cook these potatoes in a frying pan. How long does it take to fry French fries in a frying pan? No more than 10 minutes. To remove excess oil, remove the potatoes from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel.
Advice! Season the fried potatoes with adjika, tomato, sour cream, cheese or cream sauce with garlic.
With added onion
Many housewives fry potatoes in a frying pan with onions and do not recognize other options for the dish. Onions add sweetness and juiciness, perfectly setting off the potatoes. It’s worth admitting that if you don’t know some tricks, the dish turns out more like a stew, so we’ll tell you a step-by-step recipe for the right “onion” potatoes.
The best potatoes are the same size so they cook more evenly.
- Peel the potatoes and fry until half cooked.
- When the straw has reached the al dente stage (remains slightly crunchy inside), add the onion and mix.
- If you add the chopped onion right away, it will turn out “cooked” and will change the taste of the dish for the worse, so you should add it at the end of frying.
- Add some salt to the potatoes. Bring to readiness and serve.
Serve potatoes and onions with slices of black bread, barrel cucumbers, herbs and sour cream. Or we eat it as a side dish for fish or chicken.
Cooking features
- For frying, it is better to choose potato varieties that contain little starch, or soak the cut tubers in water for some time. It’s just important to remember to dry the potato slices well before placing them in the pan.
- You need to fry the potatoes over medium heat, without covering with a lid and without stirring too often, otherwise they will be soft and without an appetizing crust. You won’t be able to cook appetizing potatoes even if you put them in a frying pan in large quantities.
- It is advisable to salt the potatoes shortly before they are ready (about 5 minutes).
- If potatoes are fried with onions or mushrooms, then you cannot put them in the pan at the same time. It is best to first fry the vegetables and mushrooms, and only after the excess liquid has evaporated from them, add potatoes to them. They can also be added when the potatoes are already fried. A guaranteed good result can be obtained by frying the onions and mushrooms separately from the potatoes, then combining them and simmering under the lid for a couple of minutes.
You can fry not only raw, but also boiled potatoes. Then it will have a completely different, but no less pleasant taste.
With crust
Potatoes in oil will turn out more appetizing if you fry them not with vegetable oil, but with the addition of butter. The crust turns out crispy, the potatoes melt in your mouth, and the dish acquires a pleasant creamy aftertaste.
To get a crispy crust, you can soak the potatoes in advance - the excess starch will go away, and they will crisp up perfectly after frying.
The crust always turns out golden brown if you do not cover the frying pan with a lid, but fry the potatoes in an open frying pan.
In this recipe, you can deviate from tradition and cut the root vegetables into round pieces: they will fry faster and the correct golden brown crust will form. Otherwise, follow the instructions in the first recipe - everything will turn out perfect!
How to fry with a golden crust
The secret to a perfectly fried dish is to get rid of excess starch. Then it will be easier to get potatoes with a crust. Pour cold water over the slices until they are barely covered. Leave for about 15-20 minutes. Next, drain the water and lightly rinse the straw again. Place the slices on a towel and blot all the pieces.
A very important rule: you cannot place raw potatoes in a cold frying pan or in unheated oil. It will not fry, but will stick and will not be tasty. Therefore, first turn on high heat, place the frying pan and pour in the oil. Let it warm up thoroughly.
I wrote above about the ideal combination of butter and vegetable oil. You can cook only with vegetable oil. Everything to your taste
