On Frying Potatoes

				From: leslie.borden@comcast.net Subject: Re: fun with a duck Date: November 4, 2002 3:20:33 PM EST To: aroundthekitchen@drwoonline.com Reply-To: aroundthekitchen@drwoonline.com Bistro Potatoes This is my response to an e-mail from a couple of years ago, when Tom Woteki was “vexed” by an inability to produce nice pan-fried potatoes. Being a busybody, I had to weigh in. . . . To Tom Woteki, 12/18/00 Hi, Tom, Here’s how I do it - I’ve done it step by compulsive step, so if I’m covering ground you know, please don’t take offense. I got the initial recipe from Patricia Wells’ excellent French bistro cookbook and have developed the technique from there: 1. Batterie du cuisine: I am privileged to have Rob’s mother’s mother’s venerable cast-iron skillet, which is tempered to a near-nonstick surface. I agree with you about not going non-stick. In general, I think that if you know what you’re doing, you don’t need to go there. You will doubtless hear from Nancy Pollard that she doesn’t like Calphalon, but, as the southerners say, I don’t have a dog in that fight. As to other implements of destruction, I have taken a page from the chefs I’ve watched on TV and use a tongs, rather than a spatula or wooden spoon. 2. The spuds: Waxy, not floury. I like to use the small red or white “creamer” potatoes (the ones a little bigger than a ping-pong ball), or the fingerlings when I can get them. 3. The other ingredients: Salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg (this last was not intuitively obvious to me, but it’s really good), and a mixture of minced garlic, Italian parsley, and either scallions or chives, say a quarter cup total for one panful of potatoes. 4. Slicing: Unless I’m making a lot of them (and I don’t typically make them for more than two or three people), I slice them by hand, because it’s too much trouble to get out the Cuisinart, and OK, I admit it, I’m a little scared of the beautiful mandoline my father gave me. Call me a sissy, I don’t mind. I slice them (unpeeled) about 1/8“ thick or a little thicker. If I screw up and get very much thinner slices, I toss out the thin ones, so they don’t burn while their thicker brothers are getting done. As I’m slicing, I put them into cold water (this is probably disgusting, but I’ll admit to it in the interest of the cheap laff: my big boy cat likes to sit on the edge of the sink and sip the potato water while I’m working), and then rinse them in a change of water. When I’m done slicing, I lay them out on a (non-terrycloth) tea towel and dry them thoroughly - this may be another key for you, absolute dryness. BTW, I find that, once you rinse off that first layer of starch, they do not turn dark. I cover the sliced potatoes with another towel and keep them waiting for the oil to heat. 5. The fat: I like hazelnut or walnut oil, or, yep, duck fat. Duck fat is our friend. I have used olive oil but I like the fragrance of the nut oils. I do a little more than film the pan with oil: It’s a balancing act, ‘cause insufficient oil may lead to the sticking, but too much and they’ll drown without browning, yuck. 6. The method (you thought I’d never let you actually get to the stove, didn’t you?): I find this takes about 20 minutes, and you mostly have to stand over it the whole time. Heat the oil to not quite smoking - it’s that balancing act again; you want it to be hot enough to brown them, but not so hot that the outside will brown before the inside is cooked. Keep the burner at medium high. Don’t crowd too many slices into the pan at once - you need room to toss them around (and Tom, this is where you inspired me to be able to toss things in the pan with the deft flick of the wrist, although I put a lot of food on the floor before I mastered it). With my trusty 9” Griswold, if I’m doing spuds for more than three people, I do two batches at once (being blessed with, actually, three cast iron skillets). They should not quite cover the bottom of the pan; you want to give them room to move around and brown, not steam. When the oil is hot, toss in the potatoes: toss them a few times (oh, that flick of the wrist) to get them well coated with the oil. No salt or pepper yet. Then let them sit to start browning, moving them around with the tongs a little from time to time. As they start to brown, increase the tossing around, turning them over to get both sides. I get very compulsive and turn each individual slice - another reason I don’t make these potatoes for a crowd. When they are nicely browned and crisp on the edges, turn off the flame under the pan and add the salt and pepper, nutmeg, and the garlic/parsley/scallion mixture. Toss it through the potatoes and let it sit in the hot pan on the (turned-off) burner to cook the garlic and scallions a little. If I’ve used nut oil, I like to add the merest splash of it at the end, to give a fresh nut oil fragrance. Hope this helps - good luck. Merry Christmas, and see you around the kitchen lb p.s. bonus note: I have used this same method with eggplant which has been peeled and cut into 1/2“ dice, tossed with salt, rinsed, and pressed - not patted, be firm - dry.