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Fried Potatoes, in Quarters
Peel, clean and cut into quarters five medium-sized, sound potatoes. Plunge them into boiling fat and fry for twelve minutes. Lift into a basket, sprinkle a teaspoon salt over them, shake well in the basket. Dress on a hot dish and serve.
A single-fry method for large potato quarters, written when deep fat was judged by eye rather than by thermometer. The main thing to control is temperature: the pieces are thick, so the fat has to be moderate enough to cook them through before the outside colours.
- Fat temperatureThe original gives none. For quarters this size, around 325F is a reasonable starting point; much hotter and the surface browns while the centre is still raw. Some modern recipes lift them out, raise the fat to 375F and return them briefly for colour.
- Dry the potatoesPeeled, washed potatoes carry surface water that spits violently in hot fat and steams the crust soft. Pat them thoroughly dry in a towel before they go in.
- The basketThis means the wire frying basket that sat inside the fat kettle, not a serving basket. A spider or slotted spoon and a colander do the same work: lift, drain, salt, toss.
- Twelve minutesReasonable for quarters of a medium potato at moderate heat, but test one with a knife point before serving the lot. Size varies more than the recipe allows, and undercooked centres are the usual failure here.
- Salt timingSalting in the basket immediately out of the fat is correct and worth keeping. Salt sticks to a hot oiled surface and slides off a cooled one.
- Choice of potato"Sound" meant free of green patches, sprouts and rot. A floury or all-purpose potato, Russet or Maris Piper, gives a fluffy interior; waxy salad potatoes stay dense.
- YieldFive potatoes serve three to four as a side dish. Fry in two batches rather than crowding the pan, which drops the fat temperature sharply.
The wire basket assumed here belonged to a dedicated fat kettle, a deep pot in which beef suet or lard was kept, strained and reused. This is the plainest form of the fried-potato family: no blanching, no double fry, no shaping. Quartered potatoes are the beginner's version of frying; get the fat right on these and the thinner cuts follow.