Southern Fried Potatoes

By OmenTrance

Southern fried potatoes, also known as Southern style hash brown potatoes, or, simply soft fried potatoes, are cubed peeled russets, that are first steamed and then pan fried like hash browns, tender inside, but with crispy outer edges.

Ingredients

• 1/2 About 1/2 cup of vegetable or canola oil, bacon fat, butter, or any combination
• 2 pounds of russet potatoes (about 4 to 5), peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Step 1

Super delicious for breakfast next to eggs, at lunch with a variety of leftovers from the fridge stirred in, from beans and leftover meats to veggies, or as a simple side dish starch for any meal. Some folks even like to stir in ketchup just before serving them, but I prefer mine pretty straight up with potatoes and onion.

There's no secret to these - we Southerners pretty much all make them the same way. Here's how we do it.

Add your choice of fat - oil, butter, bacon drippings or a combination of them all work well - to a fairly good sized, lidded skillet and heat over medium high heat. Peel and dice regular baking potatoes into small cubes and add to the hot oil.

Add to the potatoes.

Stir the potatoes and onion to coat them well with the oil.

Cover and steam over medium high heat for 10 minutes, without lifting the lid or stirring the potatoes.

Continue cooking over medium high, turning and stirring occasionally, until potatoes are browned. Great with breakfast, or as a side dish anytime. Oh mercy, these are so good!

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Add enough oil just to cover the bottom of a 10-inch skillet and heat over medium high. Add the potatoes and onion; season to taste with salt and pepper and toss to coat with oil. Cover skillet and steam cook for 10 minutes covered, before stirring. Remove cover, turn in sections, and continue cooking over medium high, uncovered, turning and stirring occasionally, until potatoes are browned as desired.

Excellent with eggs but makes a great side dish anytime.

These potatoes make an great base for any leftover meats, veggies, or even beans that you have in the fridge. Stir them in toward the end, just to warm through. Eggs are also a great addition. Beat, add to potatoes and let set slightly before stirring.

This has always been one SURE way to wake up my family on a camping trip! That, and a big, steaming pot of boiled coffee. We never felt like we had "fully arrived" at the campground until those taters were served.

Make you a potato Eva LOL!!!

Thanks Val - was a rough week for us. This getting older business is for the birds! Don't recover quite as easy as I used to. But getting older beats the alternative I guess LOL!!

This is something my grandmother used to make. I'm from Mississippi :). My husband also makes them and then adds eggs to it for breakfast tacos (a staple from his hometown in South Texas). I, however, have never been able to make them without them being mushy, and I think that is because no one has ever taught me how to do them. I am anxious to try your recipe. Maybe I can make them taste like they're supposed to now! :) Thanks so much!

OH THANK YOU! My grandmother used to make these, and I didn't get the recipe from her before she passed away. I am so happy to find this - thank you, thank you!! It will be one of my favorites, I know.

Could literally live off of these!! Been eating this all my life and make it quite often. We add smoked sausage to ours and have that as a meal! We dice sausage (like Hillshire Farm jalapeno smoked sausage) into small chunks like the potatoes and add them after the steaming, then sop up with Tortilla. SO wonderful and always hits the spot!

Thanks for the recipe, Mary. I have been trying to make these like my Mom did down in Roswell, NM when I was growing up. Never quit got it right. Now I know why. I was not steaming them properly. I just thought the lid was to keep the grease from spattering, never realized it was a crucial step in the process. Also, cutting the potatoes in cubes rather than spears helps to get a few more browned pieces in the skillet. Thanks