One of the most popular dishes among the people is, without a doubt, fried potatoes. Everyone seems to love her. Differently cooked, aromatic, hearty, sizzling in a frying pan in hot oil, it is cooked in every family, and each has its own secret to this dish.
How to fry potatoes in a pan?
Now we will reveal some secrets of cooking this dish. And let's start with the main types of this dish that are most popular among the people. These are fried potato options such as:
- with onions or garlic;
- with mushrooms;
- with meat.
Traditional way of cooking
We will build on these species. But first, we’ll reveal the secrets of delicious fried potatoes per se. The first thing to think about is variety. It is with him that successful cooking begins. How to fry potatoes in a pan? Now we’ll tell you, but first decide which one you like more - boiled, crumby or crunchy, which has retained its integrity after cooking. If the first option is more to your liking, you should choose such varieties as Nevskaya or Sineglazka - they contain a lot of starch, which means they will be crumbly. But the presence of a crust in such a dish should not be expected. But for whole cubes it is worth giving preference to varieties of potatoes under the names "Nikola" or "Tsilena".
Next, choose a pan. It is best to fry potatoes on cast iron or steel surfaces. They will keep the temperature well, especially due to the thick bottom, but at the same time their heating will be uniform and unhurried - which means that fried foods will not stick to the bottom. But the pans made of thin tin, aluminum or ceramic should be put aside - nothing good will come of fried potatoes on them.
So, the dishes are selected, put it on the fire. Now you need to pour oil into the pan. Unrefined sunflower, corn, olive is suitable, and if not sorry, good creamy. The main rule of delicious potatoes: oil is poured only once - you can’t add it in the process in any case - it will be unevenly heated, and simply absorbed into pieces, making them too fat. So that the potato was a success, choose the average amount of oil so that it is exactly plenty. And adjust the fire in time.
Mistakes
The most common oil errors are:
- it is poured too little, and the fire is big - as a result quite nice half-baked coals will come out. The potato does not have time to fry, it starts to burn;
- a lot of oil is poured, and the fire is weak - instead of a crisp, the result will be boiled porridge. With this heating, the quenching process is started instead of frying.
So we pour the average amount of oil, put the pan to start on a big fire. Now slicing. Potatoes can be chopped in different ways. Someone likes round slices, someone halves or quarters of small tubers, and someone chooses cubes, semicircles, or even cubes. A matter of taste. However, it should be borne in mind that the larger the size of a slice of potatoes, the longer it takes him to fully cook. You naturally ask about how to fry potatoes with a crust? To do this, first dip it in a well-heated oil. After within a couple of minutes, the slices seize with a crust, it must be turned over. And after that, slightly reduce the fire. Only in no case do not cover the potatoes with a lid - steam will collect under it, turn into condensate, and settle back, softening the much-desired crust.
But fans of soft and tender fried potatoes will definitely need a lid. After heating the oil in this case, you need to immediately reduce the heating to medium, lay the slices, turn them over once. Then cover and wait for readiness.
This we have told you the basic secrets of how to fry potatoes in a pan correctly. But what to do is by no means worth it:
- salt the potatoes at the very beginning or in the middle of cooking - this will make it tiny and soft;
- often mix the dish during cooking - the slices may be damaged, and again - crumble.
Interesting option
But not everyone loves just fried potatoes. It's a side dish, they say, but where is the main course? For such gourmets, we will tell you more non-standard ways of frying potatoes. The first recipe , for example, will be called "Lyons". It's hard to say where it came from, but the result is a very delicate and tasty dish.
We put the potatoes to fry, as described above. Separately, pickle the onion, sliced in half rings. And three cheese on a grater, the more - the tastier. When the potatoes are almost ready, salt, stir, spread onion on top and sprinkle with cheese. Then cover, and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.
With onion
In principle, potatoes with onions are fried in many families. But what secrets should be considered when preparing such a dish? To potato with onions in the pan turned out just awesome, do not put them at the same time. The frying time for these vegetables is very different. And until the potato reaches readiness, only coals will remain from the onion. And the smell and taste of the dish will be very amateur. But if the onion got too bitter, before putting it into the pan, it is better to pre-soak it in boiling water for a couple of minutes, squeeze and dry.
The latter is quite useful - from moisture, the oil in which you fry may begin to splatter. Similarly - at the end of frying - put in potatoes and garlic. Then he will have time to reveal the aroma, but will not begin to burn in oil. A good addition to fried potatoes with onions or garlic will be finely chopped parsley or dill, which can be generously sprinkled on a dish already in a plate.
With mushrooms
Another dearly beloved dish of our cuisine is potatoes in a pan with mushrooms. To emphasize the thick forest aroma, which is famous for such food, it must be properly prepared. What are the basic rules for handling mushrooms in fried potatoes?
- if you plan to use mushrooms, it is better not to wash them under the tap - they absorb moisture very much, and then they will give it away in the pan, and you will get stew instead of a fried dish.
- champignons can simply be wiped with a damp cloth and chopped. Peel them, and even more so boil, is not necessary.
- Dried mushrooms are better to pre-soak in cold water, then chop, and then boil. After they need to be dried, only then lay in potatoes;
- it is better to peel and boil fresh mushrooms with the onion for their own soothing - to exclude poisonous or conditionally edible;
Let the mushrooms be handled gently, but as a result you will get an incredibly tasty and fragrant dish. It can be served with sour cream. Or confine yourself to pickles as a snack.
Option for men
Well, real meat-eaters will appreciate the recommendations on how to make such a dish as potatoes and meat in a pan. But in this case, you need to consider which meat you will fry. Most species take longer to cook than potatoes, so frying should begin with them. The meat is cut into small pieces, no more slices. It needs to be quickly fried in oil over high heat until golden brown. So the juice is sealed inside, and at the exit the dish will not be dry. Then it is worth extracting it on a separate dish, and even better - on a napkin to remove excess oil. In the same pan we put potatoes to fry.
In this case, it will not only be cooked, as usual, but will also be saturated with the meat aroma from butter. Then, at the stage of almost complete readiness, the meat must be sent back to the pan, mixed, and allowed both components to reach readiness.
Conclusion
As you can see, even in such a seemingly simple process “how to fry potatoes in a pan” there are some nuances. They can play a more or less significant role in the taste of the finished dish. And if you know them by heart and apply in practice, you will be considered a real cooking guru.