These skillet potatoes are simple to make as a side or breakfast. The fried onions and crispy potatoes marry well to create this very flavorful dish!
Here it is! The secret is out and here is my most asked for recipe for my skillet potatoes! 🙂
This simple skillet potatoes recipe is adapted from a recipe I learned to make from a friend's mother. She called them Hangover potatoes because this was the most requested recipe people would ask for after a night of wild drinking!
Do they cure hangovers? They sure do! But who cares! These skillet potatoes are greasy, AMAZINGLY flavorful (the ingredients and flavours just meld together), comforting and very simple to make -- it literally can have less than 3-4 ingredients. Hangover or not, I will gladly eat these any day - and since this is one of the most requested dishes for shindigs (even from the pickiest eaters!), I'd say this dish is very well-loved as well regardless of how you want to serve them.
These are essentially Turkish potatoes! Traditionally at the very end of the cooking process, she would put in diced tomatoes to give the dish a more soft and tomatoey flavour. I tweaked the recipe a bit and omitted the tomato to because I wanted a crispier texture as my end result -- the tomato gives it a more soft and saucy texture. But please add the tomato and experiment with the flavour! It gives it a whole new different flavour 🙂 It's the way it should be made!
Optional: To give this dish an extra something-something, I sometimes top it with a sunny side up egg, which transforms this to a hearty breakfast!
Mama Tip #1: She cooks the onions with the potatoes, be sure to put the onions a few mins after the potatoes to give it a head start in the cooking process so it doesn't burn the onions. The onion infuses the oil with an amazing flavour which melds into the potatoes.
Mama Tip #2: She was not a fan of garlic! but not having garlic in it also works well! I made this recipe once without the garlic and noticed that the absence of garlic made the roasted onion flavour stand out more. I personally love garlic so I have made it an addition when I make these 🙂
Mama Tip #3: She adds the salt into the oil during the cooking. Don't be shy with the salt. The salt crisps up the potatoes nicely and gives it an even saltiness. To test for saltiness, I dip a utensil into the oil and taste it. Yuck right? but it works! 🙂
Skillet Potatoes Infused with Fried Onions (aka Hangover Potatoes)
INGREDIENTS
- oil (canola, peanut or vegetable oil)
- 3-4 medium potatoes (diced)
- 2-3 small onions (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon salt
- pepper (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add about 1 inch of oil into a cast iron pan (or frying pan)
- Turn the heat up to medium heat
- Add the salt into the oil. I use about ½ tbsp of salt but you can use less if you find it too salty
- Once the oil is hot, add in the potatoes and let it brown for about 5 - 10 mins (They fry up better if they aren't touched too much)
- Add in the onions and let it brown as much as possible to infuse the oil with onion flavour! ?
- Cook for about 5-10 mins and then add in the garlic,
- Drain excess oil (if there is any)
- Add cumin and paprika
- Cook until the potatoes are golden brown and onions are caramelized and brown.
- Ta da! We're done! Best enjoyed hot
NOTES
- Add the salt into the oil. It allows the salt to evenly coat the potatoes during the cooking process. Don't be shy in adding in more salt than normal, it brings out the flavours and you lose a lot of it in the oil during the cooking process.
- To crisp the potatoes, don't touch them too much during the initial cooking stage. When we touch them too much we agitate the starch which doesn't allow for that crispiness to happen.
- Add the onions after the potatoes had a chance to cook and brown up. (5-10mins) Onions cook faster than potatoes and will burn if they are put at the same time. Don't wait too long to put them in though, the secret is having the onions flavour the oil the potatoes are cooking it!
NUTRITION
John says
These were very good, but they aren’t caramelized onions. The title needs to be revised.
Joyce Lee says
Hi John,
You are absolutely correct. Caramelized onions are slow-cooked, browned and sweet, and cooked over low heat.
At the time, when I wrote this I was focused on that flavour and not the process haha.
I am happy you liked it! 🙂
Margaret says
How much is 2 cms of oil? Never heard of cm in cooking.
Joyce says
Hi Margaret,
cm is centimeters. Which is approximately 1 inch. I have adjusted the recipe card to use inches instead of cm to avoid any confusion in the future. Thanks!
Lola says
These were very good with chipotle pork chops. The onions are not caramelized since takes about 40-45 minutes of cooking slowly for an onion's sugars to caramelize, but they are delicious this way as well.
Joyce says
Yum! Chipotle pork chops sound AMAZING! (I'm drooling a bit right now.) I'm so happy you liked these! These are definitely my favorite potatoes. Onions and potatoes pair up so beautifully don't they? 🙂
Jenalys says
I thought I was already a pro at making potatoes. I use my own special mix of spices, including these that you use, and add tons more garlic, some mexican cheese, and tons of green onions at the end. Usually I top with eggs as well! Anyway, after reading your method of cooking these potatoes, it really took mine to a whole new level! Best potatoes ever! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe.
Joyce says
Hi Jenalys!
WOW!!
Your potatoes sound absolutely spectacular! I absolutely must try your additions as well this weekend for breakfast!
I'm super happy to share! I was blown away by this technique as well when I watched my friend's mother make these for us, so I'm very happy I can share this for others to enjoy as well! 🙂
Jenalys Carl says
Somehow just seeing this but I hope you do try my version. I'm in TX and it's extremely cold here compared to normal and I still drove to the store just for green onions bc I couldn't imagine eating these without hahahaha
Joyce says
Hi Jenalys!
hahaha we are so alike! I love green onions, and I put them on everything and I would even go out in a blizzard to make sure I always have it in the fridge! heehee!
I have tried your version a few months ago and it is absolutely amazing and really hits the spot for comfort food. I'm so happy you shared that with me!! 😀 Thank you!