How to Fry Potatoes
Pan-fried potatoes cut into sticks and cooked in a mix of sunflower oil and butter — crisp, much like French fries. The cut potatoes are salted in a bowl and left for 2–3 minutes, then fried for about 15 minutes; allow 3–4 potatoes per serving.
Ingredients
1 serving
- Potatoes 3–4
- Sunflower oil 2 tbsp
- Butter 1 tbsp
- Salt to taste
Step-by-step recipe
Preparing the potatoes
How we fry potatoes usually depends on whether they’ll be a side dish, a meal on their own or just a crispy treat. This recipe gives you, first, crispy potatoes somewhat like fast-food French fries. And second, you can make anything from one potato to an endless amount, if you’re up for it!
Just for myself, I use 3 medium potatoes. I suggest frying medium-starch potatoes: they won’t fall apart and will stay slightly firm. In other words, you won’t end up with mash.
Peel the potatoes, carefully cutting out the eyes and any damage. In late spring potatoes have dark patches; cut those out.
Wash the peeled potatoes and pat them dry.
For frying, I cut the potatoes into sticks up to 10 mm thick, even a bit thinner. If the potatoes are long, cut them lengthwise to get long sticks.
Put them in a bowl and salt them. Salt generously, even a little more than usual; the salty taste matters. I don’t use any other spices.
Toss the potatoes with the salt and let them sit for 2–3 minutes so the salt dissolves.
Add 2 tbsp odorless sunflower oil; practically all store-bought oil is refined and neutral in aroma.
Frying
The aroma of the dish comes from the butter. I often use a blend of vegetable oil and butter; it’s unbeatable.
Melt a knob of butter in a skillet.
When it starts to sizzle, add all the prepared potatoes and stir. Stir with a wide spatula; it’s handy and won’t break up the sticks much.
So, here’s how to fry potatoes so they’re really tasty. Fry over high heat, uncovered. The key is to stir almost constantly so they brown evenly. Stirring also keeps the pieces from sticking together.
The dish is usually ready in 15 minutes. If you like, cook a bit longer for a deeper golden color.
Don’t overcook them: the potatoes are cut fairly thin and very easily dry out like chips or darken. The result differs from French fries, since deep-frying cooks the whole surface at once. Here we have to stir, so the surface doesn’t brown perfectly evenly.
Serving
Serve the potatoes right away. Or, if you think it’s needed, put them on a paper towel to soak up any excess fat.
Fried potatoes are a treat, a meal on their own and a side for anything. They’re delicious with Buffalo chicken wings, although those are usually served with vegetable sticks.
Calories and macros
690 kcal
Serving ≈ 500 g
- Protein9 g6% of kcal
- Fat39 g53% of kcal
- Carbs70 g42% of kcal
100 g139 kcalProtein 1.9 gFat 7.9 gCarbs 14.1 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
How did you like this recipe?
To Get It Right
Which potatoes to use
For frying you want medium-starch potatoes: they don’t fall apart and stay firm. For years I’ve bought potatoes at the market from the same person; you just need to say what they’re for. Supermarkets always have bagged potatoes labeled “for frying”; that’s a last resort.
Like Grandma’s
Grandma usually fried them in pork lard, rendered a piece of salo down to “dry” cracklings, or used incredibly fragrant unrefined sunflower oil. You’d get hungry before she even started frying.
What to add
The simplest version is potatoes, fat and salt. You can add cracklings, pour eggs over the finished potatoes or sprinkle them with cheese. In Bulgaria they sprinkle fried potatoes with local brined cheese.
Have your own trick for this recipe?
Questions and answers
How do you fry potatoes so they’re crispy?
Cut them into thin sticks, up to 10 mm, pat them dry and fry over high heat, uncovered, stirring almost constantly. Stirring browns the pieces evenly and keeps them from sticking together.
How long do you fry potatoes in a pan?
Sticks up to 10 mm are usually ready in 15 minutes over high heat. For a deeper golden color you can go a little longer, but thin sticks dry out easily, like chips.
Should you cover potatoes when frying?
No, if you want them crispy. Covered, the potatoes turn out soft and cook faster; at home we sometimes fry them that way too.
When do you salt fried potatoes?
I salt them before frying: I toss the sticks with salt in a bowl, let them sit for 2–3 minutes so the salt dissolves, and only then add the oil. Salt generously, a little more than usual.
What goes in first, onion or potatoes?
The potatoes. Onion cooks faster, so add it once the potatoes have started to brown, about 5 minutes before they’re done, or it will burn.