Cook's Illustrated

Home Fries at Home

Published May 1, 2000.

Diced, precooked Yukon gold potatoes make terrific home fries when sautéed in a heavy skillet.

The Problem

Even truck-stop diners can go wrong when making home fries. The potatoes aren't crisp, they're greasy, they taste too bland or too spicy.

The Goal

We wanted to develop a recipe that produced potatoes with a crisp, deep golden brown crust and a tender, moist interior.

The Solution

Start with Yukon Gold or all-purpose potatoes, cooked briefly in water and then sautéed in butter and oil. Browning and crisping the potatoes, we learned, meant letting them sit undisturbed in hot fat. We found we had to let them sit for full four to five minutes before the first turn. A total of three or four more turns over another 10 to 15 minutes gave us delectably golden brown nuggets—otherwise known as home fries.

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