Smoky, Savory German Fried Potatoes

The idea is simply to slice or dice the cooked potatoes and sizzle them in a skillet until they’re spottily golden brown on the outside yet creamy and lush on the inside. They’re embellished simply, with onions; fresh parsley; and bauchspeck, beechwood-smoked German bacon. It’s a versatile side that pairs beautifully with bratwurst, schnitzel, eggs, or any meal that could use a smoky, crispy starch.

Because bowls of leftover boiled potatoes are less common stateside than in Germany, I wanted to develop a bratkartoffeln recipe that achieved the same results with raw. I immediately gravitated toward Yukon Gold potatoes: They boast a moderate amount of starch, which means they are more yielding and creamy yet hold their shape better than a starchier russet. 

I began to build the dish by frying a few slices of chopped hickory-smoked bacon, my stand-in for German bauchspeck. I added a chopped onion, sautéing it in the smoky, savory bacon fat, and then transferred the mixture to a bowl (I needed all the room in the skillet I could get to fry the potatoes).

With only a teaspoon of bacon fat left behind, I added a knob of butter for slickness (Germans typically fry their potatoes in butterschmalz, or clarified butter) and then in went the spuds, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds. Here’s where I needed to make a slight tweak to tradition to account for my raw potatoes: Rather than simply frying the potatoes in the fat, I covered the pan and then allowed them to simultaneously steam and fry, flipping the slices halfway through. Cooking the potatoes undisturbed in a moist environment ensured that they would cook through evenly, their rigid interiors collapsing into velvety softness.

After the potatoes were tender, I removed the lid and tossed the slices to allow more of them to make contact with the pan and crisp (this is a rustic dish, so it’s okay if the potatoes aren’t evenly golden brown). I returned the bacon and onions to the skillet and then finished the bratkartoffeln with a flourish of salt, pepper, and parsley. Plush, yet crispy, smoky, and savory—these were potatoes that Oma Erika would approve of.