Ever since my wife did the green bean hash au gratin — yes, it’s got a name now — I’ve wanted to do something similar. I still had half the sack of potatoes, but didn’t have any green beans. And, as it turned out, I was out of cheddar cheese, too.
Well, that’s going to make it hard.
So instead of the beans I did onions, and instead of the cheddar and bacon I did … well, nothing actually. Just frying everything in the bacon fat made these delicious. I think I’m doing more of the potatoes tonight, actually.
Ingredients
small russet potatoes, one per person
white or yellow onion, about the same weight as the potatoes
bacon fat (yes, has to be bacon fat)
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
I’ve done onions fast over high heat, but they take constant attention to keep from burning. Since I was doing two sides together, I decided to do the onion low and slow this time. So start by slicing the onion (use your leftovers) about a half-inch thick.
Melt a couple of tablespoons of bacon fat in a skillet. Don’t use non-stick. You want the onions to caramelize, and that happens better in stainless steel.
Add all the onion, along with a generous coating of salt and pepper.
Leave the onions over low heat, and turn the onions every five minutes or so. Separate the rings as they get soft enough to come apart as you turn them.
Slice the potatoes about a quarter-inch thick. The more uniform they are, the better they’ll cook, so try to be really consistent.
Melt a couple more tablespoons of bacon fat, this time in the largest non-stick pan you’ve got.
Put the potatoes in the pan, spread out in a single layer as much as possible. Add salt and pepper, more even than you did for the onions.
Cook over medium heat for three to four minutes and check if they’re browning on the bottom. If they’re getting too dark too fast, turn the heat down.
Keep pushing the less-cooked pieces into the center of the pan, and the more-cooked pieces out to the edge. When everything is lightly browned on both sides, test one to see if it’s done. These are too thin to check with a thermometer, so you’re just going to have to taste it.
Transfer the potatoes to a serving dish and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with ranch dressing. Okay, fine, use ketchup if you want.
Take some of the onions and put them on your steak — you are having steak with this, aren’t you? — and the rest right on top of the potatoes.
And that’s it.
No, there won’t be pictures of the steak. It would have looked just like this.
Up next will be part 1 of a months-long process. I’m really bad with delayed gratification, so it’ll be interesting to see if I can make myself wait for it. Sign up using the form at the top of the column to the right to make sure you don’t miss it.
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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14 Comments
Mmmm, potatoes and onions . . . I am also quite partial to fried apples and onions. Same deal, just with tart apples instead of potatoes.
Ooooh, I’m drooling over this one. Family favourite, anybody?
could eat this anytime. anywhere.
what about chicken and dumplings? or something called rolladen — and i have no idea if I am spelling that right (will check with my mom as my awesome gram is gone).
also: thanks for the heads up on the link. which i fixed.
I’ve done fried apples, but not with onion. Might have to try that.
Chicken and dumplings is already on my list. And I’ve never heard of rolladen, but it sounds … Swedish?
I could really eat this every day. I’d die without some sort of potato consumption!
I make this for breakfast by adding peppers, eggs and sometimes sausage. I cheat though and cook my potatoes in the microwave for a bit first.
Oh, I think maybe you’re talking about rouladen? It’s German, flattened meat (I’ve only had it with beef, but I think it can be pork too) wrapped around a stuffing. The kind I’ve had is beef wrapped around a sauerkraut mixture. It’s really, really good.
This sounds very much like my fiancees dads “special potatoes” recipe! His is sprinkled with a secret blend of herbs, which I will try and get out of him at some point…
Ms Picket, is this what you’re talking about?
April, yes, it’s basically hash browns. Amazing how the only difference between a breakfast dish and a dinner dish is visible eggs.
Ryan, get that recipe. I hate secret recipes. Share the love.
I dice my potatoes and onion and I fry them together when I cook them. I have been doing them that way for over 40 years. I learned how to do it that way from my mother who I lost in 2003. I dearly miss her cooking .
Dawn, with the potatoes cut this way we were able to eat them like fries, as a finger food. If I were trying to be more “polite” and planned to use a fork it would definitely be easier to cook if they were diced.
please, white people. dont measure this cut up a shit load of puds and onions. salt/pepper and put some garlic in veggie oil, and med heat. make sure the pan is none stick or oil well. turn every 8 minutes or so, add more pepper, and some red pepper seeds. then server a kickass meal!!!
Well, not saying I'm really white or anything, but if I take off my shirt at night you can read a book by the glow coming off.
Okay, maybe I am saying I'm really white. But I'm cooking with bacon fat. Do I get some token jive points for that?
no racial stuff meant Drew. Just cut the puds up, add an onion or two. If you want, and a green bell peppep, red bell pepper, and hint of garlic, a few tablespoons of red pepperseeds. of course the salt, pepper and that damn good bacon grease. You will have the brothers coming to your house! LOL
of course if you dont want the brothers, keep the doors and the windows closed. Should take about 25 – 30 minutes to make it kickass!
I just wanted a basic fried potatoe and onion recipe. Thank you so much
Your posts gave me a great laugh and some good cooking ideas.