Potatoes are a staple in most kitchens across the country. And with so many varieties of potatoes, there are hundreds of dishes that can be made and still have a lot of variety between them. But many people will tell you that one of their favorite ways to cook a potato is to fry it.
Pan Fried Red Potatoes
Some types of potatoes are better to use for frying than others. But looking at some of the various fried potato techniques used is interesting to find out how they work for different types. Can you fry red potatoes?
The main obstacle to frying red potatoes is moisture. They have more moisture inside them than others like a Russet potato, which is a more starchy potato. However, red potatoes are great for frying in a skillet.
Cutting red potatoes into large chunks and drying them with paper towels will help get some moisture out. When you follow a recipe, like pan-fried potatoes, increase your cooking time by a few minutes. The moisture in the red potato will come out as it is cooking, which could keep it from getting crispy. If you cook potatoes a little longer, you should be able to get a crispier texture.
When you pan-fry red potatoes, the secret is to let the skillet and the oil get very hot before adding your potatoes. Putting them in too early will allow them to soak up a lot of that oil, producing soggy potatoes. But if the oil is hot enough when you add them in, they will begin to brown immediately.
Pan Fried Potatoes and Vegetables
There are other ways to fry red potatoes that follow that same rule. As long as the oil is hot enough, there is no reason for them to turn out less crispy than if you used another variety of potatoes.
One of the favorite ways to prepare fried potatoes for many people is to deep-fry them. Cut the potatoes into four pieces and dry them as well as you can with paper towels. Add some salt or other seasonings and place them in a pot of hot oil until they are crispy and brown.
It is best to use an actual deep-fryer for this since it will help you keep track of the temperature of the oil. But a dutch oven works just as well.
One fried potato recipe that is a little more forgiving is southern fried potatoes. They are expected to be a little more tender, especially toward the middle. The soft potato pairs nicely with the caramelized onion cooked with them.
A lot of people peel the potatoes before they cook them this way. However, red potatoes may create a nice-looking dish with the browned onions if you leave on the peel.
Just slice your potatoes and cook them in a skillet with sliced onions and vegetable or olive oil. If you want to make them as southern as possible, use bacon grease instead. It will give them a smokey flavor that can only come from bacon. This is a great breakfast potato dish to serve with eggs and ham.
Finding healthy recipes for our favorite foods is a goal that many people have today. People want to enjoy the foods they love without the guilt of adding saturated fat and calories to their diet. Eating fried potatoes, regardless of their variety or the technique, is barely better than getting a large order of fries from a fast-food restaurant.
The air fryer has become a popular addition to most kitchens in the last few years. It uses convection heating to air fry potatoes resulting in a fried, crispy consistency - similar to a pan fried potato - to many foods without adding a lot of oil or butter. It works wonders with potatoes of all varieties, including red potatoes.
Red potatoes cooked in an air fryer come out crispy on the outside and have a soft, fluffy consistency on the inside. They taste a lot like roasted potatoes, which is how red potatoes are historically prepared, but with that crispy potato flavor that you look for in fried foods.
Red Potatoes Cooked in an Air Fryer with Olive Oil
After cutting the potatoes into chunks about a half-inch in diameter, toss them in a bowl with a little avocado oil and the seasonings of your choice. Many cooks like to use salt, pepper, and some garlic powder (although minced garlic also works). Lay the potatoes on the fryer tray in a single layer at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. When they finish, use a spatula or a pair of tongs to flip them over and let them cook for another 5 minutes.
Cooking red potatoes in an air fryer is much healthier than cooking them in a skillet or a deep fryer. You will use a fraction of the oil of other cooking techniques so that you will just be eating potatoes. They are a great source of vitamin C, B6, and potassium.
If you do not have an air fryer, you can still make healthy potatoes that have a fried consistency. Red potatoes are great for roasting. If you do it right, they can have the crispy taste of a fried potato while still using less oil. The secret to oven-fried red potatoes is parboiling.
Parboiling potatoes means to boil them before you prepare to cook them in the oven. Cut your red potatoes into one-inch chunks, rinse them, and place them in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes. Parboiling will soften the skin of your potatoes, allowing them to become more crispy when you roast them. Without parboiling, the skins will remain tough, and the oil will not be able to get inside.
Once you have parboiled your red potatoes, toss them in the oil you have chosen along with your seasonings. Put them on a baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. Turn them over and return them to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.
The best time to eat fried red potatoes is immediately after cooking them. That is when they are at their crispiest and most flavorful. However, if you find yourself with a lot of leftovers, there is no need to throw them out.
To re-heat fried red potatoes, put them back in the air-fryer for a few minutes. Or you could put them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Do not put them in the microwave because they will lose all of their crispiness.
If you need to store fried red potatoes to eat later you have to be sure they cool to room temperature. Putting them in any kind of container and placing them in the refrigerator while they are still warm will cause condensation and your potatoes will get soggy.
Once they have cooled, wrap them in a paper towel and put them into a plastic storage container with an air-tight lid. Put them in the refrigerator, but do not plan on storing them long. If you do not eat them by the next day they will not be crisp anymore.
The Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes hold up best to being fried. The most important thing with a fried potato is to be crispy. Both of these varieties come out very crispy when prepared correctly.
Yukon Gold and Russet Potatoes Are the Best for Frying - But Red Potatoes Are Still Great
But any potato can be quite tasty when fried. With so many varieties, it is important the excess moisture is removed before adding them to the oil. That way, you will get that crispy texture you look for in a fried potato every time.
