Smitten Kitchen’s Crispy Crumbled Potatoes
Tender on the inside with an irresistible craggy, crunchy exterior.
Every recipe I have tried from Deb Perelman’s blog, Smitten Kitchen, has been absolutely delicious and her Crispy Crumbled Potatoes are no exception. A recipe that’s more about the method than it is the ingredients, it turns out tender potatoes with an irresistibly crispy and salty exterior of craggy edges. They’re as satisfying a side as French fries are, but heartier and with more crunchy nooks and crannies.
To make these amazing tubers, you start by boiling whole russet potatoes with the skin on until they’re fork-tender.
The bad news is that you then have to place them in the fridge and wait until they’re totally chilled. See, the next step is to crumble them and if you do this while the potatoes are still warm or even room temperature, they don’t hold together well enough to get that nice crunchy, craggy effect.
Once crumbled, they head into some hot oil – vegetable or peanut works well – and fry until they’re a deep golden brown.
Don’t pull them out too early, you really want to get a nice rich color and crunch on them.
Salt them liberally while they’re still hot and dip them in your favorite condiment and just try not to eat the whole batch. It’s a challenge, I promise.
Smitten Kitchen's Crispy Crumbled Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 medium to large Russet potatoes
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 2 cups vegetable or peanut oil
Preparation
- Place potatoes in a large pot and cover by one inch with cold water. Season liberally with salt and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and chill in refrigerator until cool.
- Once potato has fully chilled, heat oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan to 350°F.
- Crumble and tear potatoes into chunks and place 1/3 of the chunks into the hot oil. Let cook until deep golden brown, turning potatoes over as needed. This should take 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels, season immediately with salt.
- Repeat with remaining potatoes and enjoy!
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen.