Short-Order Home Fries

"Those lovely potatoes you can get at the diner but can't seem to make at home. So why are they called _home fries_ anyway? This recipe from Cook's Illustrated promises to produce a plateful of spuds that a short order cook would envy."
 
Download
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Anonymous photo by Anonymous
photo by teresas photo by teresas
Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
6
Serves:
4
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • Begin by precooking the potatoes. Arrange them in a microwave safe bowl, top with 1 tablespoon of butter and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until the edges of the potatoes begin to soften, 5-7 minutes, shaking the bowl (without removing plastic wrap) half-way through cooking.
  • Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
  • In the same skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the potatoes and pack them down with a spatula. Cook, without moving, until one side is brown, 5-7 minutes.
  • Turn the potatoes, pack down again and continue to cook until well browned, another 5-7 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking the potatoes, stirring every few minutes, until crusty and brown, 9-12 minutes.
  • Stir in the reserved onions, garlic salt and salt. Pepper to taste. Serve at once.
  • NB - remember to turn down the heat for the last 9-12 minutes of cooking or the fries will burn.
  • Cook's note - the best potatoes to use - medium starch or waxy varieties - Yukon Gold or Reds. High starch varieties such as russets and Idahos will break down leaving nothing but a greasy mash of spuds in your skillet.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. These were great and was really enjoyed this morning for breakfast along with fried eggs and english muffins. I used garlic powder in place of the garlic salt, as I thought they were salty enough from the salt. Will be making again in the future. Linda
     
  2. I could not stop eating these potatoes right from the pan. They were so delicious and incredibly easy. This will be my new go-to recipe for potatoes in the morning!
     
  3. I fried mine until they got nice and crispy on the outside, then flipped them so they could get crispy all over. Love the onions and garlic. Such a nice pick me up from boring plain fried potatoes!
     
  4. Delicious!! I unexpectedly had to prepare a brunch on Christmas day, and was happy that I had all ingredients on hand. My boys declared these "the best home fries they have every tasted!" Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
     
  5. OMG!! Amazing! I added parsley to mine and as well as regular garlic and then I sprinkled garlic salt on while cooking. ( I like garlic and parsley hence the addition ) but amazing. My SO and I go out for breakfast a lot because we like home fries and I've tried so many recipes that just never work out but these will be made again and again. Thank you so much for posting!
     
Advertisement

Tweaks

  1. These were great and was really enjoyed this morning for breakfast along with fried eggs and english muffins. I used garlic powder in place of the garlic salt, as I thought they were salty enough from the salt. Will be making again in the future. Linda
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Hello from suburban Fort Worth, Texas! <br /> <br /><br /> <br />______________________________________________ <br /> <br /> <br />*My rating system defined* <br /> <br />Very few recipes really knock my socks off - I love to cook but am not a gourmet. <br />This said: <br /> <br />***** - met all my expectations in taste &amp; appearance; directions were clear &amp; easy to follow. <br /> <br />**** - fell slightly short of my expectations in taste or appearance or directions were faulty or not completely clear. <br /> <br />*** - mediocre taste and/or appearance; most likely a recipe that I would not use again without much modification. <br /> <br />** - taste and/or appearance was not to my liking; a recipe that I would not attempt to modify or use again. <br /> <br />* - taste was absolutely not to my liking (I can't imagine ever using this rating as I can generally tell by the ingredients if I will enjoy the finished product or not) <br /> <br /> <br /><img src=http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e347/Saturn6666/chefbanner1.jpg alt= /> <br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br /><img src=http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j44/scmurray51/hagshat.jpg alt= /> <br />&nbsp;<br /><br />&nbsp;</p>
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes