Fried Sweet Potatoes

A short frying recipe that assumes you already have boiled or baked sweet potatoes on hand — a leftovers dish more than a from-scratch one. The whole thing turns on how the potatoes were cooked first.

• Start with firm potatoesBoil or bake the sweet potatoes only until a knife meets slight resistance, then chill them thoroughly, ideally overnight. Fully soft potatoes collapse in the pan and the flour coating slides off.
• Thick slicesLengthwise slices about half an inch thick hold together best. Thinner cuts tend to break when turned.
• Bacon fat and its substitutes"Other drippings" would generally have meant saved beef, pork or poultry fat. A fat with a high smoke point works in its place — refined peanut or canola.
• Pan heatMedium-high, roughly 350–375F, with fat about an eighth of an inch deep. Too cool and the flour absorbs grease instead of crisping.
• The sugar goes on lateSprinkling sugar during frying, as written, works only if it goes on in the last minute or after the first turn. Sugar added at the start scorches in the hot fat and turns bitter before the second side browns.
• Flour coatingPat the slices dry before dipping, and shake off the excess. Wet surfaces make a pasty layer rather than a crust.
• YieldTwo medium sweet potatoes give roughly six to eight slices, enough for three or four as a side dish. Serve immediately; the crust softens within a few minutes.