How to make home fries.

You just need to cook them longer. When they stick to the pan it means it's forming that nice yummy caramelized "crust." Use a flexible spatula to scrape and turn. Add salt and pepper while it's cooking.

Fries, re. chips (UK)
Cut potatoes (floury ie. Maris piper, king edward, Desiree) into finger sized pieces.
Leave in cold water till you're ready to cook then dry completely.
Fry in deep fat at 140 degrees till just tender, but not quite cooked. Drain well and for best results cool.
Fry again at 190 degrees till crisp and scrummy Douse in malt vinegar and salt.

Not sure why you are against boiling first, that is how my best batches turn out. I slice thickly and parboil the night before if I remember, but usually that morning since I am such a clueless, procastinating flake. You don't want the patoots to cook totally and turn to mush, you want them just be soft enough to brown fairly quickly and finish cooking in the skillet after you dice into the appropriate size. If you are like me and add lots of diced Vidalia, Mayan, whatever sort of sweet onion with some coarsley chopped green onions, it is nice to have the potatoes be done before the onions are burnt to a crisp. It helps to add the green onion tops just a bit before the potatoes are done, maybe a minute or two, so they don't get too soggy and limp.

Depending on how you feel about meat one good variation is to fry up about half a pound or so of bacon. Pull the slices out of the pan when they are fairly crisp, reserve. Add the home fries to the hot bacon grease, cook for a while, add the onions, crumble the bacon slices and toss into the mix.

Gee, I'm looking forward to sunday's breakfast, even if I didn't find any farm fresh eggs at the farmer's market earlier today.

mjb.

If I were going to use red potatoes as home fries I'd boil them first, let them cool, and quarter them rather than slicing them. Just my preference. I prefer a russet for home fries. And again I always boil them first. Well, not always. If I'm baking potatoes for dinner I'll usually throw in a couple extra for breakfast the next day or so. The only time I use raw potatoes for breakfast is with hash browns or cottage fries. Cottage fries are closer to what you described. We used to do them thin sliced and unrinsed. You'd heat up a pan put some oil and place the slices in the pan covering the inside of the pan and barely overlapping. The starch would help them stick together. We'd flip it and let the other side cook. Then S&P. Very simple.

Parboil, or , blanching, is basically partially precooking something. Like you'd blanch off green beans so you can quickly saute them in butter. So you can cook them with out the butter burning.

When I parboil the potatoes first I usually cut them into fairly thick slices, maybe around an inch or so. A modest sized russet would get cut into 5 - 6 slices. Leaving skins on or off is a matter of personal preference, I prefer skin on.

A simple, basic definition of parboil is to boil something for a while, but not until it is fully cooked. Blanching is similar but different. For potatoes, as an example, you might slice them thick and boil in salted water for 35 - 40 minutes until they were tender all the way through, if you were making mashed potatoes. For home fries you might take those same slices and boil for only 20 minutes or so, without the salt, until they were starting to soften, but still somewhat firm in the center. I'd then drain, rinse generously with cold water (overnight in the fridge covered with water is good ) drain and let dry for a bit. Cut the big slices into whatever sized pieces, sticks, shreds you desire at the time before putting into your hot oil or bacon grease or duck fat or whatever, adding your salt, pepper, onions, bell pepper, chilis, etc. as they cook. Some folks like to add things like paprika, or sprinkle with chopped parsley before plating.

In my opinion, good home fries are not a uniform pile, but chunks in a range of sizes, some extra brown and crispy, some soft and tender, most bits a mix of the two, but always a good old home grown comfort dish.

Something I have been meaning to do for a while is to take a cue from corned beef hash and make a smoked prime rib hash for sunday brunch. Who knows, maybe someday I'll actually have some leftover smoked standing rib roast on hand - it tends to all disappear the night it is cooked!

mjb.

I think we have a definitional problem building here.

I was brought up that home fries are always made from previously cooked spuds. Ideally they'd be done the day before, and chilled before frying the next morning. Baked are better than boiled, btw.

For home fries we cut them in very thick chunks (and inch or so) then divide those in half. But this is an instance where you do not want everything even. They cook better if there's a randomness to their size and shape. Like Teamfat, I prefer them with the skins on. But that's a matter of personal taste.

Home fries should always, IMO, include chopped onions, as well as salt and pepper.

Raw potatoes cooked on the stove top the same way are called pan-fries, rather than home fries. If you dice them first, they are hash-browns. If you saute some onion and peppers before adding the diced spuds they are O'Brien style.

Deep fried are called French fries in America, whether single- or double-fried, although pommes frite is gaining in popularity.

I find that if they are not cooked before you put them in the pan then they don't cook evenly.

I like the red potatoes as well, although lately I've found a deep fondness of yukon golds. I poke holes in them with a knife, put them in a shallow bowl, add 1 cup of water, and stick them in the microwave until cooked through.

Then remove the skin and dice or chop the way you like. They'll be crumbbly but that's what makes the home fries unique.

I like to sautee in generous olive oil with sliced onion and green pepper. Salt, lots of pepper, and dried oregano for flavor. Sometimes my husband wants me to throw in some mushrooms or diced tomato as well. My Dad likes more onions than potatoes.

Exactly. They will already be cooked. You will just be browning them. And always boil your potatoes whole with the skin on. When you can easily stick a knife into the potato without breaking it, they're done. Some people like to cut them up first to save time in the cooking process. This is not desirable as it causes the potato to absorb water. Ideal circumstances is boil them far enough in advance to fully cool. Then slice or cut or whatever you want.

Ok so , after reading this thread i now know my idea of home fries has been lost in transatlatic translation. I thought you meant the equivelant of fries Novice_01.
Home fries obviously means something totally different in the US - Sounds tasty by all accounts though.

I'd add some hearty veggies to it like, turnips, more squash, and beets. Cut em big and just roast it all in the oven. I love brussel sprouts but the kid may not.