Fried Potatoes (How to make them and when to eat them!)
There aren’t many cultures who haven’t, at one time or another, relied upon potatoes as a staple in their diet due to their availability, adaptability, taste, and tendency to be very filling. Southerners, of course, are no different. I remember my great grandmother, Lela, telling about how she used to be picking cotton in the fields with her kids (when you were a sharecropper, the entire family had to work the fields) and they would walk back to the house at lunchtime and dig up some potatoes to go in and fry for their lunch. Its hard to hear things like that and not look at this bowl of potatoes as a connection to your ancestors, you know?
~Sigh~ I miss Lela.
Alright, moving on to the food part…
Now y’all know that when a Southerner gets a hold of a something, there’s generally gonna be some frying involved if we can help it. There is a great misconception about frying in the south though. Folks seem to think Southern Food = deep frying. That’s not the case at all. In face, much of our “frying” doesn’t even include oil. How can it be frying then? Well, its just a matter of what we call “frying” differing from what those outside of the south define frying as.
You see, to us, a skillet has always been called a “frying pan”. Therefore, when a person in the south tells you to fry something, sometimes they are just telling you what type of pan to use. A great many of our dishes such as “fried corn” have nothing to do with oil, but are just cooked in a skillet! I actually seldom use oil in my cooking, I am much more likely to use it in my baked goods, instead.
Fried potatoes are not so very different. You are really just barely coating the bottom of your pan with oil as potatoes do have a tendency to stick. Myself and absolutely everyone I know loves fried potatoes. There is no meal they can’t pop up at, either. They are just as likely to be served at breakfast in the south as they are lunch or dinner. Despite what you may think, they do NOT taste like a baked potato or even mashed potatoes. Fried potatoes are a treat unto themselves. This is the potato flavor at its finest, better than any other, honest!
Still, they do tend to be a regional thing. You’ve either heard of them and love them or are entirely confused by the very concept. Once, when Granny Jordan was visiting us (who was the epitome of everything a Southern Lady should be), we had prepared a large breakfast at my mother’s house.
Mama put a big old bowl of fried potatoes on the table and Granny Jordan leaned in and asked in her deep drawl “Well now, those look interesting! What are they?” Mama and I hid our surprise as Mama responded that they were just fried potatoes. To which Granny Jordan replied “Well now, isn’t that neat. I bet those sure will be good!”.
Born and raised in Atlanta and had never had fried potatoes?
Lets get some on y’alls table as soon as we can, alright?
Fried Potatoes
Potatoes
Vegetable Oil
Salt
Pepper
Peel and dice potatoes into small cubes. Coat bottom of large skillet with oil, turn on medium heat and allow oil to get hot. Add potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and continue cooking over medium heat for about ten minutes, until potatoes start to brown on the bottom. Remove lid and stir, continuing to cook until potatoes are all tender and mostly browned.
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Y’all have a wonderful day!
Gratefully,
Christy
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Oct 24 2008. Filed under Side Dishes, Southern Classics.
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Actually, when I fry bacon, I always keep the drippings in a can in the fridge. There’s nothing better to use when frying potatoes. I always use bacon grease swiped on with a paper towel when making pancakes too (black cast iron skillet) and my grandkids say I make the best pancakes in the world. Just a thought.
My mom always floured the potatoes, then fryed them up. So good.
mmmmmm….love fried potatoes and so do my kids, i add garlic salto to mine…tasty
We always had fried potatoes with our Sunday breakfast and just about every night of the week also. The only time we would have something different was when Mom fixed mashed potatoes. I rarely have fried potatoes for my family. I do miss putting gravy over them for breakfast
My mother made these all the time. In fact, she made them so much that I finally got burnt out on them! I couldn’t look at a fried potato for years! Maybe I could eat some now. If they were cooked right!
I loved it when she made potato pancakes with leftover mashed potatoes, but that didn’t happen often! I guess we didn’t usually have enough leftover mashed potatoes to do it!
I loooove fried potatoes! I’ve had a love affair with them (and potato pancakes) since I was a little girl. I like to fry hot dogs in with them (till they are black!), and an onion and a green bell pepper. So yummy. Making my stomach growl just thinking/typing about it.
I have the same Corelle serving bowl that you served those potatoes in. And the set to match called English Breakfast. I got them for a wedding present in 1996, and they still look good, 13 years later! Gotta love Corelle!
Okay – I love you for posting this!
Just looking at that plate made me think of my Nanny. And boy, do I miss her! 
Howdy!
I just had fried tators tonight for supper. I was born and raised in Kentucky and have been eating fried tators since I was in diapers and sitting in a high chair.
I have fried tators at least 3 nights a week. I make them with my steak, chicken livers, fried tuna patties etc. But My all time favorite is with just macaroni & tomatoe juice, and lucks pinto beans (in a can, yes I know, they normally should be homeade but i like the can better its quick and easy)
If im home alone hungry and dont feel like fixin a whole meal, Ill just eat them by their selfs. Yummy. They sure are a southern comfort meal.
When I cut them up I do it differently depending on what time of day it is. I slice them for dinner, small french fry type for breakfast and cube them some times when I feel froggy. And for breakfast I usually dont like to brown them, just cook til tender.
Anyway, I love me some fried tators. And I just wanted to thank you for posting this with pictures and this is the best internet display I have ever seen of fried tators.
Thank you!
S. Lewis
Hazard, KY
Christy,
I just wanted to say hello, and let you know how much I enjoy Southern Plate. I am looking forward to your cookbook being published and will be standing in line to have an autographed copy!
I live in Madison and saw you several months ago w/ your pretty little daughter at Wal-Mart. I was too shy to say hello… My family constantly reminds me that I lost my chance to meet my hero.
I love your recipes and have found myself looking at your site more than foodnetwork.com.
Many Thanks!
Sherell
Hey Sherell!
You are so sweet, thank you so much! I just hope Katy was being good when you saw us! lol And if you saw me in Wal Mart once, I can guarantee you’ll see me again! I haunt Kroger a lot, too. Please please please say hello if you run into me, I’d love to get to meet you!
Don’t you worry one little bit about being shy, I’m outgoing enough for at least ten people!
I haven’t got a shy bone in my body, bless my sainted mother’s heart!
Gratefully,
Christy
Christy,
Thank you for being so sweet, I promise to speak up next time.
BTW, your little Katy was as cute as her pictures.
Sherell
I love fried ‘taters’ and that is exactly how I cook them. I’m from Ky. We eat them with Soup Beans (pinto beans cooked with salt bacon), sour kraut and wienies as well as salmon patties.
Oh and my mom does the plate as a lid thing too.
North of England. Chip Butty (pronounced as in put)other names Chip sarny or just Chippy. A Chip Sandwich, for variation add a slice of bacon or an egg.
In Australia and new Zealand popular one is Potato Scallop. A fried,coated in batter, potato slice.This is also from the North of England.
Had these when growing up in LA(Lower Alabama) all the time! Mom cut hers up in rounds and added onions! She used a small amount of oil and also used a lid to “steam” the taters & onions. Seems like the simplier the recipe the better!!
Christy I have to tell you how much I enjoy your site. But, when I found this “recipe” for fried potatoes, I just had to leave you a comment. You see, I am not a southern lady. In fact, I was born and raised in southern California, in a Hispanic family. And, we ate fried potatoes all the time. When me and my sis were girls, we would fry up a big pan of potatoes for my Dad to have for lunch. She always could get the best browning on the potatoes! We would eat those with some scrambled eggs and tortillas and we were in heaven. Thanks for bringing back those memories.
Girl, you definitely need to add some onions to this. DELISH!!!!!
We always called these “Stuck Taters” cause they stick to the bottom of the pan a little as you brown them.
You have to have onions in your fried potatoes! I cook mine in bacon grease also.
My mother was of German descent and grew up in Missouri, but she sure knew how to make fired potatos. I make mine with bacon grease, onions, fresh garlic, cavenders (used on everything here in Arkansas! LOL!) and a little salt, cooked until CRISPY! Man – there is noting better!