How to fry potatoes in a frying pan quickly, tasty and correctly so that they are crispy

The first potato tuber appeared in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. Since then, it has won the hearts of people and rightfully began to be called the second bread. Potatoes are included in the daily diet, they are placed on the festive table and new recipes are invented with their participation.

But perhaps not everyone knows how to cut potatoes for various dishes, how to shape the tubers making them the same, how to cut potatoes into strips or cubes, and what tools exist for curly and quick cutting of potatoes.

Which root vegetables are best for frying?

Potatoes, like all vegetables, have many varieties that differ in the content of nutrients, including starch.

It is better not to use a vegetable with a high starch content that is great for pureeing and should not be used for frying. After frying, the pieces will lose their shape and a crust will not form.

Varieties with medium or low starch content work well. They may have a red or yellow skin, and the flesh when cut is white or yellowish.

You can determine how large the amount of starch is by cutting the tuber. The halves need to be rubbed against each other. If they do not stick together when rubbed, water appears on the cut - there is a little starch.

Varieties differ in taste, some have a sweetish aftertaste. However, only summer residents can usually choose a variety before planting. Most people fry whatever is sold in the nearby supermarket.

What oil is best for frying?

It is traditionally believed that vegetable oil is the best for cooking. Since there are few ingredients in the dish, the taste of the finished product will largely depend on the oil.

The most suitable options:

vegetable – refined or unrefined;
olive;
pork fat;
melted

Nutritionists believe that refined oil releases fewer harmful substances during frying, and it does not change the taste of the dish.

When heated, butter produces flakes that burn. As a result, the root vegetable becomes soggy, the slices do not come out whole, but the dish acquires a more delicate taste. Many people cook with a mixture of refined vegetable oil and butter.

To make fried potatoes tastier, vegetable oil is flavored with seasonings such as garlic, which is then removed.

How to properly fry potatoes with onions

@aiveechan

Do you like potatoes with onions? Then this recipe is especially for you.

Ingredients:

1 kg of potatoes;
30 g butter;
125 ml vegetable oil;
1 medium onion, thickly sliced (can substitute green bell pepper/green capsicum if desired).

How to cook?

Cut the potatoes into slices about 2 mm thick. Fill a large bowl with cold water and place the chopped potatoes in it for half an hour. Pat the slices dry with a kitchen towel or absorbent paper.

Add one third butter and one third sunflower oil to the pan. Heat until bubbles appear. Add a third of the potato slices and a third of the chopped onion. Cook, stirring occasionally. When the potatoes are lightly browned, remove them from the heat. Place the first portion on a kitchen paper towel and cover with a clean kitchen towel to keep it warm.

Repeat with the remaining two-thirds of the product in two additions. Place all the cooked potatoes back into the pan, season to taste and stir to coat. Before serving, you can sprinkle fresh chopped herbs on top.

Does cutting potatoes matter?

The shape of the pieces has more of an aesthetic purpose than a taste. The main condition for good cutting is the same size, not too large, if the dish will not be finished in the oven.

Possible cutting options:

circles;
straws;
slices;
slices;
cubes.

If potatoes are cooked as a side dish, then it is traditionally considered:

straws are served with steaks and chopped cutlets;
cubes are used to garnish steaks, fish and meat;
fish dishes are complemented with circles;
The cubes go well with meat casseroles.

If you need to quickly fry potatoes for food, you can choose any shape, as it is convenient for the housewife to cut.

How to cook French fries

Usually, to make French fries, the tubers are cut into even cubes 5–10 mm wide and thick.
You will need a lot of vegetable oil. A lot of. About four times more than when frying in a pan.
The absence of a deep fryer can easily be filled with a frying pan or saucepan with a thick bottom.
The temperature of the oil in which the potatoes can be dipped should be about 180 °C. If you don't have a kitchen thermometer, simply drop one slice into the pan; if it immediately sizzles and floats, the oil is ready to use.
If you plan to fry a lot of potatoes, don't do it all at once. It is better to divide the cubes into several small portions and cook one at a time.
Place the finished potatoes in a colander to drain excess oil and dry with paper towels.
It’s better to salt the fries and add spices right on the plate.

How to cook potatoes with a golden crust?

A golden brown crust is the dream of all fried potato lovers. How to get a crispy barrel on the slices, and not a crushed mass?

Let's look at a step-by-step plan for how to fry potatoes in a frying pan with a golden crust:

For frying, it is best to use thick-walled frying pans with a large bottom. Material: cast iron, heavy steel. You won't get tasty potatoes on non-stick coatings. Choosing the right frying pan is the first step to crispy slices.
The pieces should be the same size, not thin, otherwise they will burn and dry out, and not thick (they will be half-baked). If the potatoes contain a lot of starch, they can be kept cut in water for about 30 minutes.
In order for the slices to brown, they need to be dried before frying. To do this, the cut pieces are thrown onto any towel - fabric or paper. Dry carefully and ventilate in air.
The oil is poured into the frying pan and heated, avoiding smoke. After lowering a test slice, the oil should begin to boil.
One of the most important points for a successful result is that the potatoes should lie in a thin layer in the pan - 3-4 slices. If the layer is thick, it will take a long time to fry the entire volume; you will have to stir frequently. Part will remain pale, pieces will break.
Pour the dried cubes into the heated oil. Reduce heat to slightly less than medium. Turn the mixture over when the bottom layer begins to brown. You only need to stir the dish when the bottom layer is browning. Only 4-5 times per cooking.
If there are still a lot of potatoes, after 2-3 stirrings you should cover the pan with a lid, not very tightly. Closer to readiness, remove the lid and finish frying without it.
Salt the potatoes already ready, 2-3 minutes before they are ready before the last stirring. It is better to take fine salt so that it dissolves better. Early introduction of salt deforms the pieces of root vegetables and prevents them from roasting well.

How long to fry the potatoes depends on the height of the layer and the use of the lid. If everything is done according to the recommendations, it will take about 25 minutes.

The finished vegetable is eaten immediately after cooking, at home, often from a frying pan. Repeated heating greatly degrades the taste, the pieces become gray instead of golden, and the smell changes.

How to deliciously fry potatoes in a frying pan - video from Ilya Lazerson:

Preparing potatoes for slicing

As the main character of the movie “Girls” said, you can prepare many dishes from potatoes. Potatoes are usually not eaten raw. And for heat treatment it must be carefully prepared, paying attention to the age of the vegetable.

Young potatoes begin to be dug up ahead of schedule and are consumed “in their uniform.” It is delicate in taste and texture. To cook with the skin, you just need to wash it thoroughly with a metal or nylon brush. This way, both the dirt and part of the peel will be washed off. After this, you can safely boil, bake or fry it. You can scrape off the peel with a knife, but you should wear gloves to do this, otherwise your hands may darken.

Lifehack for peeling thin skins : place the tubers first in hot water and then in cold water. After this simple manipulation, the peel will come off easily.

The skin of the young vegetable is very soft and can be easily removed even with coarse salt. To do this, place the tubers in a plastic bag with salt and rub. If your hands do turn dark, it’s easy to fix. Dip them in a solution of water and citric acid and the darkening will go away.

The skin of new potatoes will come off if you put the tuber in hot water.

Ripe potatoes should be washed in cold water, brushing each potato with a nylon brush or sponge. Then place in a colander or towel to remove excess moisture. Cut off only the peel, as underneath it contains the maximum amount of vitamins.

In the spring, potatoes usually sprout and a toxin called solanine is formed around the eyes. In this case, the eyes are cut out in a thicker layer. If the tubers have mechanical damage, they are also cut out.

Potatoes are easy to peel with a special vegetable peeler.

Before cooking, peeled potatoes must be immersed in cold water to prevent them from browning. Don’t rush to throw away potato peelings; they have many interesting uses.

Recipes

Adding additional ingredients to fried potatoes allows you to change the taste, make the dish more satisfying, and turn it into a real lunch or dinner. There are a variety of additions, the most traditional are onions, different types of meat products, and spices.

These additions are especially relevant when the root vegetable does not taste good, which often happens when shopping in supermarkets.

Cooking is carried out according to two main schemes:

The ingredients are prepared separately from each other and combined 5-7 minutes before the end of frying - this method is good for beginners.
The products are combined raw and fried together. In this case, you need to know the cooking time of each one well, so that they approach readiness together.

Let's look at the best way to fry potatoes with different ingredients.

Fried potatoes with mushrooms

A traditional Russian dish is prepared simply and quickly.

Products:

Potatoes – about 1 kg;
Mushrooms – 300-400 grams;
Onions – 2 pieces.

Mushrooms are cooked first, as their quality does not deteriorate when heated. Wash and dry the mushrooms well, chop if necessary. Place in a saucepan, pour in 2 tablespoons of your favorite oil, salt, evaporate excess moisture, when they start to brown, add chopped onion. Bring to readiness.

In another frying pan, fry the root vegetable cut into small cubes in the manner described above. 3 minutes before the potatoes are ready, when they have already been salted, add mushroom frying. Stir well and heat over low heat for 3-5 minutes.

Potatoes fried with meat

The introduction of meat during frying improves the taste of the root vegetable, making the dish nourishing and tasty.

Compound:

meat (pork, chicken, turkey, beef) – 300 grams;
potatoes – 450 grams;
onion - 1 piece.

The meat must be pre-cooked - fried, boiled, baked. Cut into pieces the size of potato slices. The meat should not be overdried or tough. A small amount of fat in the slices will greatly improve the taste.

The cooking rules are:

Place the chopped root vegetable in a heated frying pan and fry for 10 minutes until half cooked.
Add onion and salt and fry for another 3-4 minutes.
Add meat and mix.
Cook the fried potatoes over low heat until done. Add garlic and other spices to taste.

After cooking, you need to let the dish sit for 5-7 minutes. It is better to remove the lid so that the potatoes do not sweat.

Video recipe:

Potatoes fried in lard

Root vegetables cooked in lard have a specific smell. But many consider this particular version of the dish to be ideal. In the cold winter, lard provides long-lasting warmth, food is digested slowly and reliably warms.

Compound:

root vegetables – 1 kg;
lard with a layer – 100-150 g;
onions - 2 pieces.

Remove the skin from the lard and cut into slices 2-5 mm thick. Place in a dry frying pan and heat. If pieces of lard are undesirable in the finished dish or they are overcooked, remove them with a slotted spoon.

Lard lovers will not remove the pieces. The prepared vegetable slices are poured into boiling fat and fried in the usual way. 7 minutes before readiness, add onion and fry. Garlic, which is placed directly on the plates, goes well with this dish.

Video recipe:

Potatoes with onions

Frying potatoes and onions in a frying pan is easy if you know a few little tricks.

The initial frying stage is the same as for simple cooking. The root crop is cleaned, washed, and cut into equal pieces. Dry and place on a heated frying pan.

When 10 minutes remain until the end, add chopped onion. For 1 kg of root vegetables take 1-2 onions.

Basic subtleties of cooking:

The heat should be around medium.
To prevent the onions from getting raw, you need to cover the dishes with a lid.
To avoid burning, stir regularly, as onions burn faster than root vegetables.
Note that many housewives prefer to fry the onions separately, bringing them to the desired degree of browning. In this case, the products are combined when ready and stirred until the fire is turned off.

For inexperienced housewives, onions may acquire an unpleasant burnt taste or remain crunchy and half-raw.

Fried jacket potatoes

It is much easier and faster to fry boiled potatoes, which are prepared for salads and left over from a festive feast. It is prepared with or without skin, cut into circles or slices.

Consider a recipe for making delicious fried potatoes.

Compound:

New potatoes – 1 kg;
Onions, carrots - 1 piece each;
Dill, parsley.

Boil young small potatoes in their skins. Chop the onion, chop the carrots. Fry in a frying pan in vegetable oil.

Lightly press down the finished root vegetables with a knife, place in boiling oil, and brown. Since the product is boiled, you can fry it for a short time. Add the frying mixture on top, stir and heat well together. When serving, sprinkle with chopped herbs.

Fat for fried potatoes

It can be different, and each type affects the final dish. The most harmless and neutral fat is refined vegetable oil. In terms of taste and aroma, it does no good, but it does no harm either. Obviously, such oil can be used on its own or in mixture with other fats, both vegetable and animal.

So, you can add unrefined sunflower oil to refined oil, which smells of roasted seeds, summer in the village and childhood in general. I’m not keen on the idea of frying potatoes in such fragrant oil in its pure form, since in this case little remains of its own potato bouquet, but this is a matter of taste.

For some time now, butter has been considered unsuitable for frying - the advertising campaign of vegetable oil manufacturers was too good. However, it is indispensable for some types of frying, including frying potatoes . You can mix refined vegetable oil and butter in approximately equal parts. Another option: cold-pressed olive oil and butter, a mixture in a volume ratio of one to two.

Mix butter and vegetable oil in a heated frying pan for frying potatoes.

You can fry potatoes in pure olive oil, but this requires a certain generosity of soul (because it is expensive), and in terms of taste it does not provide very much, so I advise you to use a mixture. The use of lard gives amazing results. Take a piece of raw lard, cut off the skin, thinly slice the fat and place it in a heated frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil.

Using lard to fry potatoes

You can cook it until the bitter end, that is, until crispy cracklings form, or fry it lightly and carefully so that the lard does not have time to become hard. For example, cracklings can be extracted from the rendered fat, salted and consumed with cold vodka. Lightly fried lard should be continued to be cooked further, this time with potatoes, and you can feel the beauty in the finished dish.

How delicious they are - ready-made cracklings!

There is only one drawback to using lard: when frying, it smokes and stinks most disgustingly. So turn on the hood at full power.

An important detail: there must be a lot of fat, regardless of its composition, and it must be heated to a very high temperature. To prevent it from overheating, here's what you can do. First, heat the frying pan itself over medium-high heat. Place fat in a heated frying pan and reduce heat to medium.

In a mixture of heated vegetable oil and butter, fry the onion, cut into rings

The temperature suitable for frying potatoes can be determined by putting a piece of onion or half a clove of garlic into the heating fat - when it starts to sizzle and fry, then it’s ok (don’t forget to remove the test piece, otherwise it will burn). And at this moment, increase the heat to maximum, and after 30-40 seconds, put the potatoes in the frying pan and reduce the heat again to medium.

What to eat fried potatoes with?

The dish is used as a side dish for fish and meat, and also as a main dish with salads and pickles. The choice of add-ons depends on the season and availability.

In winter, pickles are used:

pickled vegetables;
canned salads, zucchini and eggplant caviar;
mushrooms.

The preparations are complemented with onions and herbs.

Many people like to combine fried vegetables with salted and pickled fish, traditional herring and onions.

Fried potatoes are heavy food. To reduce calorie content and facilitate digestion in case of gastrointestinal problems, the best options for additions to the dish are:

fresh vegetable salads - tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, radishes;
steamed or boiled meat, poultry, fish.

These products will not create additional stress on the digestive system and go well with fried potatoes.

Useful tips

A few more tips on how to deliciously fry potatoes in a frying pan and get a lot of pleasure from your favorite dish:

The calorie content of vegetable oil (899) and pork fat (871) is almost the same. You shouldn’t deny yourself your favorite lard if it makes your potatoes taste better.
Fried potatoes are considered a high-calorie food. To reduce calorie content, proponents of a healthy diet suggest drying it from excess oil on a paper towel. Simply tilt the pan after cooking so that the fat drips to one side, moving the potatoes to a higher place and then placing them on plates. Excess oil will not be absorbed into the finished dish.
Spices can complement the taste of potatoes. Cumin, rosemary, garlic, fennel, onion, thyme, dill, parsley, turmeric are used.
Those who are watching their figure should first boil the root vegetable before frying. This way it absorbs less fat.
Ready potatoes should be eaten immediately after frying, as heating significantly worsens the taste.
The oil needs to be poured so that its height is 5-6 mm. It is better to pour in the entire volume at once, rather than adding as it cooks.
Do not fry potatoes in old, used oil. For every preparation - only fresh.

Potatoes, forcibly introduced by Peter I, gradually turned into everyone’s favorite vegetable. Over the years, we have accumulated many recipes for fried potatoes. Each housewife has her own secrets and preferences.

Potatoes are fried with apples, herbs, liver, eggs, and sour cream. In addition to traditional additions, many ingredients are used according to taste.

Fried potatoes are good for everyone - an inexpensive, affordable dish that can be prepared in a hurry. When cooking, you can be creative and create a real masterpiece, finding new combinations of products and surprising your loved ones.

Simple blocks

This method of cutting potatoes also does not require special skills or manual dexterity. All you need is a cutting board, a sharp knife and peeled potatoes. Then proceed according to the instructions:

Place the peeled tubers on a cutting board and press with your fingers to the side of the center.

Cut the potatoes into 4 equal parts with two movements of the knife - lengthwise and crosswise.

Now cut each quarter into two parts again so that neat crescents come out.

Rinse the potatoes in a bowl of water, dry them and start frying.

Potatoes cut into cubes turn out very tasty if you fry them in a frying pan with oil and spices. Quite often, “Country Style Potatoes” are also prepared from crescent pieces.