Fried Potatoes (How to make them and when to eat them!)
There aren’t many cultures who haven’t, at one time or another, relied upon potatoes as a staple in their diet due to their availability, adaptability, taste, and tendency to be very filling. Southerners, of course, are no different. I remember my great grandmother, Lela, telling about how she used to be picking cotton in the fields with her kids (when you were a sharecropper, the entire family had to work the fields) and they would walk back to the house at lunchtime and dig up some potatoes to go in and fry for their lunch. Its hard to hear things like that and not look at this bowl of potatoes as a connection to your ancestors, you know?
~Sigh~ I miss Lela.
Alright, moving on to the food part…
Now y’all know that when a Southerner gets a hold of a something, there’s generally gonna be some frying involved if we can help it. There is a great misconception about frying in the south though. Folks seem to think Southern Food = deep frying. That’s not the case at all. In face, much of our “frying” doesn’t even include oil. How can it be frying then? Well, its just a matter of what we call “frying” differing from what those outside of the south define frying as.
You see, to us, a skillet has always been called a “frying pan”. Therefore, when a person in the south tells you to fry something, sometimes they are just telling you what type of pan to use. A great many of our dishes such as “fried corn” have nothing to do with oil, but are just cooked in a skillet! I actually seldom use oil in my cooking, I am much more likely to use it in my baked goods, instead.
Fried potatoes are not so very different. You are really just barely coating the bottom of your pan with oil as potatoes do have a tendency to stick. Myself and absolutely everyone I know loves fried potatoes. There is no meal they can’t pop up at, either. They are just as likely to be served at breakfast in the south as they are lunch or dinner. Despite what you may think, they do NOT taste like a baked potato or even mashed potatoes. Fried potatoes are a treat unto themselves. This is the potato flavor at its finest, better than any other, honest!
Still, they do tend to be a regional thing. You’ve either heard of them and love them or are entirely confused by the very concept. Once, when Granny Jordan was visiting us (who was the epitome of everything a Southern Lady should be), we had prepared a large breakfast at my mother’s house.
Mama put a big old bowl of fried potatoes on the table and Granny Jordan leaned in and asked in her deep drawl “Well now, those look interesting! What are they?” Mama and I hid our surprise as Mama responded that they were just fried potatoes. To which Granny Jordan replied “Well now, isn’t that neat. I bet those sure will be good!”.
Born and raised in Atlanta and had never had fried potatoes?
Lets get some on y’alls table as soon as we can, alright?
Ingredients
- Potatoes
- Vegetable Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Peel and dice potatoes into small cubes. Coat bottom of large skillet with oil, turn on medium heat and allow oil to get hot. Add potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and continue cooking over medium heat for about ten minutes, until potatoes start to brown on the bottom. Remove lid and stir, continuing to cook until potatoes are all tender and mostly browned.
Nutrition
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Y’all have a wonderful day!
Gratefully,
Christy
Fried potatoes were a staple for our family, growing up in South East Texas. Mama made them for breakfast, dinner or supper….they were good any time of day. My family loves them too, in fact the other day I woke up to a plate of fried potatoes on the kitchen counter. My husband had a hankerin’ for them, so he made them for breakfast. What a wonderful surprise! By the way, I taught him how to make them…..he’s from the North West.
We love fried potatoes and we’ve never really put any time as off limits for eating them. I’ve been known to make up a pan of fried taters for a snack in the middle of the afternoon, especially when we are planning on a late dinner. Fried taters with cheese and a bit of ketchup is good anytime you feel the need for something Southern.
We love fried potatoes in our family. In fact, our girls ask for them several times a week! They are so yummy, especially when made with fresh-dug potatoes from our garden.
Wow are you ever bringing back memories for me today! I love fried potatoes! I do add onions to mine though. And you’re right about the hoe cake. My Grandpa made me for me when I was a little girl…no one ever knows what I’m talking about when I mention them though. They think I’m nuts! 😛 I think I know what I’m cooking up tomorrow.
Hugs!
I must go make some now…
So the comment about a skillet being called a frying pan made me want to ask a random question…
Am I the only southerner who calls tennis shoes “sneakers”? Born and raised in the south and grew up calling them that, but none of my southern friends seem to know what I am talking about when I say I’m looking for some sneakers. Just curious…
Well, this explains why my fried potatoes have never been great — I’ve always parboiled my potatoes (see, us New Englanders just love to boil the bejesus out of everything) and then wonder why they’re too mushy. Now I know. Thanks 🙂
Thanks , I am off to make some fried potatoes!