Learn how to make perfectly crispy potatoes and the tips for cooking in cast iron.
To make these Crispy Potatoes, you will need:
- diced potatoes
- cooking oil (I prefer coconut oil)
- large cast iron skillet
- spatula
- salt & pepper
How to Cook in a Cast Iron Skillet
Cooking in a cast iron skillet is daunting for some, but it doesn’t have to be. There are a few key things to know. Once you do, food doesn’t stick, it crisps up beautifully, and cast iron cooking will be your favorite!
Cast Iron Cooking Tip 1
The skillet and oil should be hot. Heat your skillet and oil before you place the food in. The cast iron should be hot but not smoking.
Cast Iron Cooking Tip 2
You need fat. Whether you cook with coconut oil or bacon drippings, you will need some sort of cooking fat when you cook in cast iron. Even if your cast iron is well seasoned. The more seasoned a skillet is, the less you will need. But you will need some.
The only exception is if you are cooking something that requires a dry skillet, such as when you toast nuts or make my Homemade Tortillas.
Cast Iron Cooking Tip 3
Don’t move the food. Once you place the food in the hot skillet, don’t rush to turn or stir it!
When food goes into the hot skillet and begins to brown, it shrinks away from the surface of the skillet. When it is ready to turn over or stir, it will release by itself.
You May Also Like: How to Season, Care for, and Restore Cast Iron
When you go to move food, like the potatoes, test with a single piece and see if it is ready. If it doesn’t move immediately, give it a little more time. Be patient.
Cast Iron Cooking Tip 4
The food should be dry. When you are trying to get a nice crispy brown sear on the surface of your food, you want it to be dry. Blot your food with paper towels or let it air dry for a few minutes. Moisture is the enemy of a crispy sear.
Salt your potatoes after you cook them, because the salt will draw moisture from the potatoes and work against you.
Watch this Cooking Video:
Get a printable version of this recipe below.
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Crispy Fried Potatoes in a Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 lb potatoes, diced into 1/2 – 3/4 inch pieces
- 1 – 3 Tb cooking oil, coconut or extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- To begin, you will wash, dry, and dice your potatoes. The pieces should be consistent in size and about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.
- Allow your potatoes to air dry. This is key. You want the potatoes to be dry when they go into the skillet. Let them air dry several minutes or blot with a (paper) towel.
- Heat your cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add in enough oil to have a thin layer completely cover the bottom. Let the oil until it is shimmering and hot, but not smoking. It is very important for them to be hot before the potatoes go in.
- Add the potatoes into the skillet, in a single layer. If you have too many potatoes to be in a single layer, either work in batches or use more than one skillet.
- Do not stir the potatoes.
- Let the potatoes sit and cook until they have browned and released from the skillet. This will take 4-5 minutes on average. When your potatoes are ready to turn, they will readily move. Test a piece of potato, and see if it will move. If it is stubborn, just wait. Let it sit a little longer before turning the potatoes over.
- Repeat this until all of your potatoes are golden brown and cooked through.
- Season with salt and pepper after the potatoes are done cooking.
- Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
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Thank you for this video! Fried potatoes and Kielbasa are on the menu and I want to add onions to the fried potatoes – at what point should I do that? Or wait and cook them with the sausage?
Wow-Wee-Kow-Zow-eeeee.
My taters turned out exactly as you said…perfectly cooked AND crispy.
The hardest part is, as you warned, to just leave them cook until they are ready to release and be turned. Tossed them in the bowl before serving with just smidge of hickory salt. Yummer-Doodle. Simple. Easy. Awesome! Thanks be for showing me.
FANTASTIC!!!!