Crispy Skillet Potatoes

Every home cook needs one really good Crispy Skillet Potato Recipe and this is the one! One simple hack will cut your cooking time in half for the best crispy outside, fluffy inside skillet potatoes!

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I live in New Jersey, and if there's one thing we New Jerseyans love, it's our diners. We go for the bottomless cup of coffee, for the fluffy pancakes, and for the crispy home fries. My Crispy Skillet Potatoes are my way to get Jersey DIner home fries, without having to put on outside clothes. You supply the coffee and the pancakes.

When making home fries for hundreds of diners every day, you have to have a few tricks up your sleeve. You can't get good hot and fresh potatoes to every table every single time, and prepare each order from scratch. I'll let you in on a little restaurant secret: they par-cook (cook part of the way) popular menu items that can take a long time to cook. From searing off steaks to finish to order to parboiling potatoes for home fries, they do what they have to do to get you hot fresh food.

However, at home, I don't want to drag out a big pot and boil a bunch of cut up potatoes. I just don't want to start my morning that way and I don't think you want to either. But par-cooking to get the inside of your skillet potatoes to be perfectly fluffy and the outsides to have just the right touch of crispiness is an art and I'm here to turn you into the artist. Let me teach you my ways...

Secrets to the best crispy skillet potatoes

• Russet potatoes - Plain and simple, russet potatoes make the best crispy skillet potatoes. Because of their high starch content, they cook up super fluffy on the inside, and their starchy outsides absorb flavors and crisp up well. Good thing they are the most common and the most affordable potato!
• Microwave - Using the microwave to steam your potatoes ahead not only cuts your cooking time in half, it helps more of the potato starches to rise to the surface of each piece of potato, for more crispiness.
• Paper towel - Drying the par-cooked potatoes on paper towels rids the surfaces of excess liquid, meaning more crispiness, but also it roughs up the outsides, for a more craggly surface area for - can you guess? - even more crispiness!
• Season early - Since you built up all of those thirsty starches and rough edges on the outside, fill them up with whatever seasonings you choose for your potatoes as soon as you add them to the pan. After you season them, then toss your potatoes in the butter and oil, to "seal in" those flavors. I like to use fajita or adobo seasoning, but you can use whatever you prefer.
• Leave them alone - The enemy of crispiness is movement. Moving your food around in the hot pan will keep the food from making good contact with the surface and that's where the crisp is born. Let it happen. Lay your seasoned potatoes in a single layer and walk away. Go sip some coffee or something.

Ingredients

Oil - Using a high smoke point oil, or one that can withstand fairly high heat without smoking a lot, will give you the best results. I like to use avocado oil or grapeseed oil, but regular vegetable oil will do well at medium to medium high heat.

Butter - I only use unsalted butter in both my baking and my cooking. The reason is that, within the category of salted butter, there is no standard for how much salt that each brand, or even each batch of each brand, will contain. In order to maintain control over the salt content of the foods I prepare, I stick to my unsalted butter and my supply of kosher salt.

Taco or Adobo seasoning - I use one teaspoon of my own blend of adobo seasoning which consists of 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, and ½ teaspoon onion powder. I store the remaining seasoning in a small jar for up to 6 months.

See recipe card below for exact quantities of the remaining ingredients.

Variations

Potatoes are like a blank canvas and the seasonings you use are the paint. You can keep it simple with salt and pepper, or brush with the broad strokes of more inventive seasonings!

• Old Bay - With the classic combination of paprika, celery salt, and red pepper, you can't go wrong with old bay.
• Greek - Flavor your potatoes with salt, pepper, and dried or fresh oregano and finish with a squeeze of lemon and crumbled feta.
• Middle Eastern - Along with salt and pepper, add the light floral, citrus, and nutty flavors of za'atar to your potatoes. Serve with a side of thickened yogurt or labneh for dipping.

Equipment: Cast iron pan

Although not strictly required, I prefer to use my 12 inch cast iron skillet when making potatoes on the stovetop. Not only does it heat evenly and fully, it also develops an almost nonstick quality over time.

You can use a nonstick skillet, or another heavy bottomed pan, to make your potatoes, but achieving and maintaining the heat we want to help develop the crispiness we are looking for just happens better in a cast iron pan.

Instructions

This recipe is as easy as 1,2,3. Really. Start by washing your potatoes and peeling them if you like, but it is not required. Cut into ½ inch dice.

Step 1: Place potatoes into a large microwaveable bowl along with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover the bowl with a large dinner plate and place into the microwave for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the potatoes are mostly softened.

Step 2: Drain the potatoes and pour them out onto a paper towel lined sheet tray, or counter. Dry them with more paper towels, rubbing gently, but not breaking them apart.

Step 3: Heat your large cast iron pan, or other heavy bottomed skillet, over medium heat. When hot, add oil and butter, or bacon fat if you like.

Transfer potatoes to the hot pan, season with salt, pepper, and seasoning. Toss the potatoes around in the hot fat, and lay into a single layer. Leave alone for 5 minutes to develop a crust on the bottom. Just walk away.

Step 4: Use a thin spatula to flip over the potatoes. Let them cook for about another 5 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy all over. Serve as soon as possible!

Hint: While your potatoes are still hot, add another ½ tablespoon of butter to the pan and toss through. Your potatoes will stay crisp, but this will give them that a little post work out glow up. And a little flaky sea salt on top never hurt anything.

Expert tip: Adding onions to your potatoes

The most common problem that cooks run into when adding onions to their crispy skillet potatoes is that the two vegetables cook at different rates. If you cook both of them together, the onions could be burnt by the time the potatoes are tender. If you add the onions to par-cooked potatoes, the onions might still be crunchy when the potatoes are just right.

The best way to get both elements to the sweet spot is, while your potatoes are cooking in the microwave, saute your onions first in a little butter and oil (don't forget to season them with salt and pepper). Remove your onions to a small plate or bowl, and start cooking your potatoes. When they are done, add your onions back in and combine for the perfect home fries with onions.

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