Twice-Cooked Crispy Fried Baby Potatoes

Are these better than regular fries? Hehehe its a bit uncommon to fry baby or young potatoes. The best part about young potatoes is that they have a thin skin and a soft, creamy flavor, so you can cook them right with the skin on, no peeling required. In my case, to avoid frying them for too long, I boiled the potatoes until they were about 80% done, then cut them lengthwise and fried them, so the outside came out super crispy and the inside stayed creamy like mashed potato. Absolutely delicious and highly recommended by ME ;D

Ohh ohhh and i also would like to say, that this is a great alternative to the classic roasted young potatoes we love so much here in Portugal. I know, I know, we really do love them, but sometimes those yummy crispy edges come calling, and I have to say these are a delicious alternative to the always basic French fries or the more chunky steakhouse-style fries, so let’s get to the recipe!

Twice-Cooked Crispy Fried Baby Potatoes

Servings: 4
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: Easy
Rating: ★★★★★
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Half boiled, half fried, all crispy, these little guys don't mess around. Golden on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and dangerously easy to keep popping one after another hehehe it's like the Portuguese M&M's.

Ingredients

Baby Potatoes – 1 kg (Young Potatoes)
Cooking Oil – For Frying (Sunflower Oil)
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

Wash the potatoes and then bring the potatoes to a boil in a pot with plenty of water but only a pinch of salt (less than you would need if you were just boiling the potatoes).
Cook them over medium heat until they are almost completely cooked. You can check by piercing them with a knife. they should go in easily but still feel a little firm in the center so not fully cooked. That’s the ideal point. Remove them from the water and drain them.

Then cut the potatoes horizontally (lengthwise).

Heat the oil until very hot, and add the potatoes. Be too careful not to overcrowd the pan, as they are still hot and won’t cool the oil down quickly.

Remove them to kitchen paper and repeat until all the potatoes are fried. Season with a pinch of salt or whatever you like. That’s it, enjoy!

Notes & Tips: If you buy those really thin baby potatoes, you don’t need to cut them lengthwise like I did, you can just fry them whole. In my case the potatoes were a bit bigger, so cutting them lengthwise worked better ;D

Don’t skip the partial boil, it’s what gives you that fluffy, almost mashed-potato interior once fried, so pull the potatoes out while there’s still a little resistance at the center rather than cooking them all the way through. Let them steam-dry for a couple of minutes after draining, less surface moisture means less oil splatter and a crispier crust.

If you want to get ahead, you can boil and cut the potatoes earlier in the day and keep them in the fridge, then fry just before serving.

Don’t forget to fry in batches so the oil temperature stays steady, and always season right after frying while the potatoes are still hot, the salt sticks so much better that way.

This recipe for Twice-Cooked Crispy Fried Baby Potatoes was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Batatas Novas Fritas foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.