Live the Live ™

The fifth almost-annual “Boys’ Weekend” at my house is coming up next weekend, and when we’re doing a lot of drinking, we need a solid breakfast the following morning! My home fries have become a staple, crucial for our recovery.

Home fries are a simple thing. But we’ve all been to a diner where the home fries they served tumbled out of a bag of frozen pre-cut potatoes, and tasted like cardboard. It’s time home fries got the respect they deserve.

Let’s get one thing out in the open from the very beginning: home fries were never meant to be low in calories! Mine are definitely not diet food! So, as you read this blog, if you’re shaking your head at the fat and calories, know that I know that you know!

3 lbs. Yukon gold or yellow potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 lbs. sweet potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2″ cubes (optional, see below)
1 lb. bacon, chopped
2 Vidalia onions, finely chopped
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

I like my potatoes with the skin on, so I remove any blemishes on the skins, then cut the potatoes in approximately 1/2” cubes. Some can be larger, some smaller, and they don’t have to be perfect squares. The smaller pieces will cook and soften faster, while the larger pieces will retain their shape and texture.

Place the cut potatoes in a pot of clean, cold water over high heat on the stove. (If using sweet potatoes, boil them in a separate pot. See below.) Add a little Kosher salt to the water. Let the potatoes cook until they are a bit al dente…a bit underdone. They will cook some more later in the pan. Drain them and set the potatoes aside.

 

While the bacon is frying, finely chop the two onions. Add the onions to the pan when the bacon has cooked completely. Now, here’s where eyebrows are often raised: Leave all the bacon fat in the pan!

Cook the onions until they are soft and translucent.

Now add the drained potatoes to the pan, mixing well, coating the potato pieces in the bacon fat.

Lightly season the potatoes with the Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Remember: there’s a lot of salt already in the pan from the bacon.

Cook the potatoes, mixing well, and then add the butter in small pieces, scattered around the pan. Keep mixing until the potatoes brown a little.

One option that I really like and started doing only recently: I add a pound or two of sweet potatoes to the mix. I keep the measurements of all the other ingredients exactly the same. I boil the sweet potatoes separately from the regular potatoes, because they cook more quickly. I drain them and set them aside and then mix them with the regular potatoes in the pan.