The real Bratkartoffeln are made from fresh potatoes.
The perfect fried potato, or bratkartoffeln as the Germans would call it, is a chunk of potato, with or without peel, made from a fresh and never frozen potato, that has been allowed to caramelize on at least one surface and yet still has a soft interior. To achieve this result, there are a number of processes that need to occur.
Instructions
1. Boil 4 to 5 medium-sized, peeled or unpeeled, whole potatoes in a stock pot of water. You need to allow the starches in the potato to gelatinize through the stable heat of boiling water. The starch molecules in the potato will soak up the moisture in the potato and swell. This is why the potato tends to split its peeling when boiled. Make sure each potato is covered by water for even cooking. Check for doneness by poking the potato with a knife. If the knife slides in easily, the potato is done. Drain the water and cool the potatoes to room temperature.
2. Slice the potato into bite-sized chunks. There is no need to make the pieces any smaller than one inch or they will fall apart during the second stage of cooking. As you cut, you will notice that the texture of the potato has changed from starchy and moist to firm and somewhat sticky. This stickiness shows that the starch has been gelatinized and cooked through.
3. Heat enough lard, chicken fat or clarified butter to cover the bottom of a thick-bottomed skillet until a drop of water sizzles. Add your potato chunks in one layer covering the bottom of the pan. The temperature of the pan needs to be about 350 degrees for 30 minutes, so use a fat that will add flavor to the potatoes and will handle the heat without smoking.
4. Fry the potatoes without a lid and without turning until you can see a light brown caramelization on the bottoms of the potatoes. This process usually takes 10 to 12 minutes per side.
5. Flip the potatoes to form a crust on another side in the same way, leaving the lid open and keeping the temperature of the pan at about 350 degrees. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and caraway seeds for the traditional flavor of Bratkartoffeln. Remove the potatoes from the pan and serve them immediately with sausages, eggs or wiener-schnitzel.
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