Kartoffelschmarrn

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy frying pan, 28 to 30cm
• •Potato peeler
• •Flat spatula or fish slice
• •Rimmed tray for cooling potatoes

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil the potatoes

   Put the potatoes in cold well-salted water and boil them in their skins until a knife slides through without force, 20 to 25 minutes depending on size. The skins keep the potatoes from drinking too much water, and a wet potato will not crisp later. Drain them hard, let them sit uncovered for five minutes, then peel while warm if you can handle them.

   Use floury potatoes, the kind that split and fluff when boiled. A waxy salad potato holds its shape too politely and gives you fried slices, not Schmarrn.
2. 2

   Cool them dry

   Spread the peeled potatoes on a tray and cool them completely, at least 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator. Cold potato has set starch and a dry surface, so it tears into rough pieces and browns; warm potato smears under your hand and turns gluey in the pan. Das braucht seine Zeit.

3. 3

   Tear, don't mash

   Break the cold potatoes into uneven thumb-sized chunks with your hands or a fork. Leave crags and ragged edges, because those are the parts that catch in the fat and go crisp. Don't rice them and don't press them smooth. Smooth potato belongs in Knödel, dumplings, not here.

4. 4

   Start the crust

   Heat 3 tablespoons of the Butterschmalz in a wide heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, then spread the potatoes in one loose layer. If the pan is crowded, use two pans. Leave them alone for 5 to 7 minutes, because the crust forms only where potato sits still against hot fat. Stirring now is how a cook talks the dish into failing.

5. 5

   Add onion late

   Turn the browned potato pieces in broad scoops, then add the onion, caraway, and the last tablespoon of Butterschmalz. The onion goes in now because potato needs harder heat than onion can survive; add it at the start and you get bitter black onion before the potato has browned. Cook another 10 to 12 minutes, turning only now and then, until the onions are golden and the potato has crisp brown patches.

6. 6

   Season and serve

   Salt and pepper the Kartoffelschmarrn at the end, then fold once and taste. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss: salt comes late because it pulls water from the onion and potato, and water softens the crust you just built. Finish with chives if you use them, and serve straight from the pan with sauerkraut, roast pork, sausages, or a fried egg. Schön ist, was schmeckt.

Chef Tips

• •Boil extra potatoes whenever you cook them. Yesterday's potatoes make the best Kartoffelschmarrn, and that is not thrift as apology, it's better technique.
• •Use Butterschmalz if you can. Whole butter browns and burns before the potato has time to crust; clarified butter gives you butter flavour with a higher heat tolerance.
• •A cast-iron or heavy steel pan is better than thin nonstick here. You need steady heat and contact, not a slippery pan that lets the potatoes skate around pale.
• •Serve with sharp sauerkraut or a cucumber salad if the plate is rich. The acid cuts the fat and keeps the meal awake.

Advance Preparation

• •Boil and peel the potatoes up to 2 days ahead, then chill them uncovered for the first hour so surface moisture can leave before you cover them.
• •Slice the onions a few hours ahead if needed, but fry the dish just before serving; reheated Kartoffelschmarrn loses the crisp edges that make it worth cooking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 280g)