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In a great many houses this was supper, and in a great many others it was the side that went next to everything. A black skillet, a few potatoes sliced thin, an onion, a spoon of fat and 35 minutes on the stove. It fed a family through the Depression and the same family on Friday nights fifty years later, and the argument about whether it counts as dinner was never settled anywhere.
It sounds like nothing, and that is exactly why so many people’s are disappointing. The method is the dish. Potato slices are wet, and wet potatoes steam instead of fry, so they are dried on a towel first. They go into hot fat no more than two deep and the lid goes on, so the trapped steam cooks them soft in the first 8 to 10 minutes. Then the lid comes off and the bottoms begin to fry. From here the cook does nothing. No stirring, no poking. A crust forms only on a slice left touching hot iron long enough to form one. The onions go in for the last 10 minutes, salt and pepper at the end, and eggs on top if it was a good week.
Why this fried potatoes and onions works
- Dried on a towel. Surface water turns to steam in the fat and keeps the potato from ever touching the iron. Ten minutes on a towel is the difference between brown and grey.
- The lid on for the first 8 to 10 minutes. Trapped steam cooks the inside soft before the outside browns, so no slice ends up crisp outside and raw in the middle.
- Lid off and no stirring. A crust needs uninterrupted contact with hot iron. Every stir breaks the slices and starts the browning over from nothing.
- Onions in the last 10 minutes. They cook faster than potatoes and burn if they go in first. Late, they soften, sweeten and catch brown at the edges.
Ingredients
Serves 4 as a side or 2 or 3 as supper. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
- 2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes (900g, about 5 medium)
- 1 large yellow onion (about 8 ounces, 225g), halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or 2 tablespoons oil plus 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Russets give the crispest, most floury edges; Yukon Golds hold together better and taste buttery. Either is right. Scrub them and leave the skins on or peel, as your family did. A 12-inch cast iron skillet with a lid holds this amount; in a 10-inch skillet, use 1 1/2 pounds.
How to make fried potatoes and onions
- Scrub the potatoes, peel them if you like, and slice them 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, no thicker. Halve them lengthwise first if they are large, so the slices are half-moons that lie flat in the pan.
- Spread the slices in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel, lay a second towel on top and press. Let them sit 10 minutes while you slice the onion. When you lift the towel, it should be damp and the slices should look dry and matte.
- Set a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the oil (or the oil and butter) and let it heat until it shimmers and a slice of potato sizzles hard the moment it touches.
- Add all the potatoes and spread them out so they are no more than two slices deep, with as many as possible touching the iron. Do not season them yet. Put the lid on, turn the heat to medium, and cook 8 to 10 minutes without lifting the lid. They will steam soft: a slice should bend, and a fork should slide through.
- Take the lid off and leave it off for the rest of the cooking. Now do not touch the potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes. Let the moisture cook away and let the bottom layer fry. You will hear the sizzle change from a wet hiss to a dry crackle. Lift one edge with a thin metal spatula to check: the underside should be deep golden brown.
- Turn them once, in big sections, sliding the spatula under and flipping whole slabs so the browned side comes up. Do not toss or stir. Cook 5 minutes more.
- Scatter the sliced onion over the potatoes and press it down lightly. Cook 10 minutes more, turning the whole mass once or twice gently in sections, until the onions are soft and golden with dark edges and the potatoes are brown and crisp all over.
- Season with the salt and pepper, turn once more, and serve straight from the skillet.
Tips that make the difference
- Slice evenly. A mix of thick and thin slices gives you raw and burnt in the same pan. A steady hand at 1/4 inch, or a mandoline.
- Do not crowd the pan past two layers. Twice as many potatoes means half as much iron per slice and a pan full of steam.
- If the fat looks gone after the lid comes off, add a tablespoon around the edge of the pan, not over the potatoes, and tilt it so it runs under.
- Salt at the end. Salted early, potatoes sweat, and the water has to cook off before anything browns.
Variations
- With eggs. Crack 4 eggs over the finished potatoes, cover, and cook 3 minutes on low until the whites set. Now it is supper.
- Peppers and onions. Add 1 sliced green bell pepper along with the onions.
- Cheese. Scatter 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (115g) over the top for the last 2 minutes with the lid back on.
- Leftover boiled potatoes. Slice cold boiled potatoes 1/4 inch thick, skip the lid step entirely, and fry uncovered from the start. Faster, and very crisp.
Storage and make-ahead
Fried potatoes are a serve-now dish. Leftovers keep, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Reheat them in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, spread out and left alone again for 3 or 4 minutes a side, and they come back crisp. The microwave makes them soft.
Sliced raw potatoes can wait in a bowl of cold water for up to a day, but they must be dried on the towel again before they go anywhere near the pan.
Frequently asked questions
Why won’t my potatoes brown?
One of four things: the slices were wet, the pan was too crowded, the fat was not hot when they went in, or you stirred. Dry them on a towel, keep them two deep at most, wait for the shimmer, and after the lid comes off keep your hands away for 8 to 10 minutes.
Do I have to use cast iron?
Cast iron holds heat best and gives the deepest crust, but any heavy skillet with a lid works. Nonstick gives a paler, softer result. Whatever you use, it needs a lid for the first 10 minutes.
Why do mine stick and break apart?
They were turned before the crust had formed and released, or there was not enough fat. A slice that is ready to turn lifts cleanly with a thin spatula; one that is not will tear. Give it 2 more minutes and try again.
Can I use only butter?
Butter alone tends to burn during the long uncovered browning. Use oil, or half oil and half butter, for the frying, and add a tablespoon of butter with the onions for the flavor.
Dry the slices, put the lid on, take it off, and keep your hands off the spatula until the sizzle goes dry. Whether it is dinner or a side is a matter for your own kitchen.
Skillet Fried Potatoes and Onions (Lid On, Then Left Alone)
Old-fashioned fried potatoes and onions in a cast iron skillet: potatoes sliced thin and dried on a towel, cooked under a lid for the first 8 to 10 minutes, then uncovered and left alone to brown, turned once, with the onions added for the last 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 large yellow onion (about 8 ounces, 225g), halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or 2 tablespoons oil plus 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes, peel them if you like, and slice them 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, no thicker. Halve them lengthwise first if they are large, so the slices are half-moons that lie flat in the pan.
- Spread the slices in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel, lay a second towel on top and press. Let them sit 10 minutes while you slice the onion. When you lift the towel, it should be damp and the slices should look dry and matte.
- Set a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the oil (or the oil and butter) and let it heat until it shimmers and a slice of potato sizzles hard the moment it touches.
- Add all the potatoes and spread them out so they are no more than two slices deep, with as many as possible touching the iron. Do not season them yet. Put the lid on, turn the heat to medium, and cook 8 to 10 minutes without lifting the lid. They will steam soft: a slice should bend, and a fork should slide through.
- Take the lid off and leave it off for the rest of the cooking. Now do not touch the potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes. Let the moisture cook away and let the bottom layer fry. You will hear the sizzle change from a wet hiss to a dry crackle. Lift one edge with a thin metal spatula to check: the underside should be deep golden brown.
- Turn them once, in big sections, sliding the spatula under and flipping whole slabs so the browned side comes up. Do not toss or stir. Cook 5 minutes more.
- Scatter the sliced onion over the potatoes and press it down lightly. Cook 10 minutes more, turning the whole mass once or twice gently in sections, until the onions are soft and golden with dark edges and the potatoes are brown and crisp all over.
- Season with the salt and pepper, turn once more, and serve straight from the skillet.
