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POTATOES, FRIED (another way) (Take a sufficient number)
Take a sufficient number of potatoes, and cut them into thin slices. Wash well and dry, then put them in a saucepan with cold water, and boil up once. Drain and dry. Melt a slice of butter in a frying-pan, shake the slices in this over the fire till brown, and serve. By way of variety, potatoes may be fried in batter, a little pepper and salt being shaken over them when they are frying. Small new potatoes are best for this method.
A pan-fried potato slice rather than a deep-fried chip: the brief parboil is what makes it work, and the rest is patience with the heat.
- The hinge: boil up once, no more"Boil up once" means bring the pan to a boil from cold and drain immediately — perhaps a minute of actual boiling. The slices should be barely set at the surface and still firm in the middle; if they soften they will break up in the frying pan.
- Dry them properlyThe instruction to dry is given twice and both times it matters. Spread the drained slices on a towel and blot the surfaces, or the butter will spit and the potatoes will steam rather than brown.
- Slice thicknessThe recipe says only "thin". Something around 1/8 inch (3 mm) is a workable reading: thick enough to hold together after parboiling. A mandoline gives even slices, which brown at the same rate.
- "A slice of butter"A loose phrase for a piece cut off the block rather than any fixed measure; an ounce or so for a pan of slices is a reasonable working guess. Butter alone browns fast over a brisk fire, so keep the heat moderate or add a spoonful of a neutral oil to raise the smoke point.
- Fry in batchesThe recipe assumes a frying-pan over the fire. Crowding a modern skillet drops the temperature and the slices stew; cook in a single layer, shaking rather than stirring, and hold finished batches in a low oven.
- The batter variationFor the fried-in-batter version use a thin coating batter and enough fat to come partway up the slices, and season as directed while they cook — batter takes salt badly once it has set.
- New potatoesThe note that small new potatoes suit this best still holds: their waxy flesh survives the parboil. Floury maincrop or russets will crumble; choose a waxy variety if new potatoes are out of season.
- YieldNo quantity is given. About 1 1/2 lb (700 g) of potatoes serves four as a side dish.
History: The book offers several methods for fried potatoes in succession, this one headed simply "another way". The preference for small new potatoes reflects a seasonal kitchen; before year-round imports, the waxy early crop of late spring and summer was the obvious candidate for any dish where slices had to hold their shape.