Cast Iron

World's Best Skillet Potatoes

by:
October  1, 2009
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

This is an hearty, heavenly melange of crispy and tender potatoes. It's an amalgamation of several recipes, and is such a hit at the house that some meals are not considered complete without it. With the bland potatoes as the foil, the smoked paprika takes centre stage, where it belongs. —tatiana131

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1.5 pounds baking potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons duck fat
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Directions
  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Peel potatoes and cube into fairly large chunks, about 1 - 1.5 inches per side. Drop potatoes into boiling water, and cook until easily pierced with a knife, 15-22 minutes.
  2. In the meantime, preheat a large skillet on med-high heat with olive oil and duck fat. Cast iron works awesome, but I've made this in regular and even non-stick skillets with no ill effects. Peel and slice the garlic lengthwise.
  3. As the potatoes are done, remove with a large slotted spoon, and drop directly into the hot skillet. Be careful - the hot oil will splash. A long sleeve shirt is best. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and about two-thirds of the smoked paprika.
  4. Cook without stirring until the bottom of the potatoes develop the lovely crusty edges, eight to fifteen minutes, depending on your stove's prowess. Moderate the heat to not burn, but crisp.
  5. Turn down the heat and give the potatoes a stir to acquaint their other sides with the hot skillet. They may need a drizzle of oil at this point, so drizzle as needed. Sprinkle the exposed sides with remaining third of paprika. Add the sliced garlic to potatoes, and toss around to add some garlic flavor without burning the garlic, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add a few turns of fresh ground pepper and serve right away.
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4 Reviews

HeatherM
HeatherM April 10, 2010
I just made these for the first time and they were fabulous. Thank you!
 
tatiana131
tatiana131 April 27, 2011
Awesome, glad they work for ya. They are addictive.
 
boardoe
boardoe October 1, 2009
I make a similar dish with some variation. I start the potatoes (3/4" cubes) in cold water, bring to the boil and then turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Then drain in a colander and set aside. In the skillet, slowly cook a thinly sliced sweet variety onion until very soft but not browned. Remove onion from skillet and set aside. At this point, follow the recipe above from step 2 adding the onion with the garlic in step 5.
 
tatiana131
tatiana131 October 5, 2009
My one and only failing as a cook is an inability to appreciate soft cooked onions. They either have to be raw or caramelized. But I completely understand that the rest of the normal world would likely love your variation. :)