German Fried Potatoes

A plain skillet potato that depends almost entirely on the potatoes being cold, cooked the day before, and left alone in the pan.

• Start with yesterday's potatoesStart with cold potatoes -- the recipe asks only that they be cold and already boiled. Freshly boiled potatoes are wet and soft and crumble under the turner, so potatoes boiled ahead (whole in their skins) and thoroughly chilled hold up best; peel and slice them fairly thick, about a quarter inch.
• Cook slowly means mediumCook slowly -- on a modern gas or electric burner this means moderate to fairly low heat, not high. Too high and the outside blackens before a crust forms across the whole slice.
• The fatThe recipe says only "hot fat"; bacon fat, lard or drippings would all have been to hand in a kitchen of this kind. Any of those still works, as does clarified butter or a neutral oil; whole butter alone will brown too fast over the time this needs. Roughly 3 tablespoons suits a large skillet.
• Why the lid comes offThe brief covered start steams the slices through and softens the onion. Leaving it on longer traps moisture and you get a soft heap instead of a browned cake. Uncover after three or four minutes and do not cover again.
• Do not stirThe single most important instruction is the one implied rather than stated: leave the potatoes untouched until the underside is genuinely brown, five to eight minutes, then turn once. Stirring shreds them.
• Add the parsley lateParsley timing -- the recipe adds the parsley at the start with the onion. Parsley held through both browning stages will darken and lose its freshness, so if you prefer it green, scatter it over after the second turn instead.
• Pan choiceCast iron or heavy carbon steel gives the even, retained heat this needs. Crowd the pan and the slices steam; use a 10-inch skillet for no more than about 1 1/2 lb of potatoes.
• YieldAbout 1 1/2 lb of potatoes serves three or four as a side dish.