Sweet Cabin Life

CAST IRON SKILLET FRIED TATERS

There is an art to making good taters. You can’t rush them. You have to be patient. Let them get properly tender, properly browned and crunchy or properly creamy and smooth depending on the style you are making.

My mom made THE best mashed potatoes in the world because she didn’t rush them. She boiled the potatoes until they fell apart, added a crazy lot of real butter, a splash of milk, salt and pepper then put them in her stand mixer, turned it on and left them alone…for a very long time. She always said she made whipped potatoes not mashed potatoes. “Give ’em time to get good.” She would always say as they swirled around and around in the steel bowl of her mixer. They always turned out super smooth, creamy, fluffy and, oh, so good. Gosh I miss my mom’s whipped potatoes. I really miss my mom too.

For Cast Iron Skillet Fried Taters, like all the rest, you have to “give ’em time to get good.” Of all the different types of potatoes I make, this is one of my very favorites and I use them in so many recipes. My sisters, Kim and Tammy, both make them often too. They have been a part of our menu since we were kids and we still make and enjoy them with our own families to this day.

To make Cast Iron Skillet Fried Taters, I start by heating an inch of bacon grease in a cast iron skillet. If I don’t have bacon grease then I use solid Crisco. I never use liquid oil for fried taters or french fries. Liquid oil to me makes them taste soggy and heavy. Actually, I use bacon grease or solid Crisco for just about everything I fry. Chicken, pork chops, deep fried mushrooms or jalapeno poppers all go into a sizzling hot vat of Crisco at my house.

I cook 3 potatoes (skins on) on high in the microwave for 4 minutes. They will be partially cooked but not soft through. They need to still be a little hard to be able to slice them without them falling apart. They will finish softening during frying. (Three average sized potatoes will completely fill the bottom of a 10″ cast iron skillet.)

I slice them about 3/4th of an inch thick. I place them in the hot grease in a single layer and fry until darkened them I flip them over and cook the other side as well. I transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels and lightly salt them.

By cooking them twice, once in the microwave and once in the grease, it gives the potatoes a much better flavor than just cooking once. Just like if I make french fries, I cook them completely then remove them from the grease and let them cool slightly, then I place them back in the hot oil and cook them again for a few more minutes. This double cooking process really takes taters to the next level. Like twice baked potatoes are better than just baked potatoes. Trust me!

I use these fried taters in so many of the dishes I make. I have listed a few below.

I use them as the bottom layer in my Hearty Harvest Casserole. (See full recipe under Cooking – Sides.)

 I top them with chili, cheese, sour cream and onions to make Chili Cheese Fries. 

For a great breakfast dish I place an opened biscuit in the bottom of a bowl. I layer fried taters on top, then crumbled bacon, an over easy egg, smother in sausage gravy and top with shredded cheddar cheese. Wow that Breakfast Bowl is one on Stan’s favorites. But be careful, it is super addictive!

For a Mexican twist add grilled peppers and onions or for a southern flair top with a little maple syrup and bacon jam. 

There are so many ways to use these versatile taters and I hope you have fun experimenting with them in your dishes. If you latch on to one that you care to share please email me and I will share it here.

 Enjoy! 

Dianna

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