Home Fries - Brased Potatoes - Bratkartoffeln
Home fries German style … © kvalifood.com
Video Recipe - I have been eating home fries since I was a kid. We had it the traditional “Danish style” with just potatoes, fat for frying, salt and pepper. For the last few years though, I have acquired a taste for the German version “Bratkartoffeln” with onion and bacon.
Ingredients
serves 4 (the amount in the video serves 2)
- 800 g (2 lbs) of cold cooked potatoes
- 1 dl (½ cup) oil or lard
- 2 spring onions
- 100 g (3½ oz) of bacon, or salted and smoked ham.
Directions
If there is skin on your potatoes then peel them.
If you are making a portion of this size, that serves 4, then start by slicing the bacon into small cubes or strips. Prefry it until it is heated through and slightly brown at the edges. Put it aside.
If you make a smaller portion then do as I show in the video, and add the bacon later.
Clean and cut the onion into medium sized cubes while you fry the bacon.
Add the fat to the pan and heat it up. Until it looks “alive” on the pan.
Add the potatoes and turn them over in the fat so they get well covered. It will decrease the risk of them sticking to the pan when they are turned over later.
Let them fry at a good heat as long as possible on the same side. That is the best way to brown them. They are also less likely to crumble and break when they are not being turned too often. But it’s a trade off. The more potatoes you got on the pan, the more often they must be turned over to ensure they are all browned. Just do it gently.
When the potatoes have gotten a bit of color then add the bacon, onion, salt and pepper. (I forgot to show the salt and pepper in the video.)
Roast until the potatoes are well browned. Turn them occasionally so the bacon and onions gets fried as well.
Notes
You can use all kinds of potatoes. Traditionally it is made with firm potatoes, but cold baked baking potatoes can easily be used too. They do, however, tend to absorb a lot more fat. On the other hand, they are more like french fries. So that is a bonus. If the potatoes are overcooked, they also absorb more oil.
It is a good idea to use a wide spatula to turn the potatoes, so that it can be done as gently as possible.