Bratkartoffeln

One of my favorite dishes that Mom makes is this German-style fried potatoes named Bratkartoffeln. The speciality of this fried potatoes is that they were boiled before they were fried. The boiling was done so that the potatoes will be firm and chewy, yet crispy on the sides. It's just how the texture of the dish should be. 

Mom usually makes Bratkartoffeln with some bacon bits because, other than the fact that the bacon lets out lard a-plenty that makes the dish tasted more awesome, just because. Cooked with a block of butter and layers of onion, alongside crispy and savory bacon bits, this foreign dish is lip-smacking in so many levels! 

Bratkartoffeln

Now, let me remind you that my Mom usually doesn't cook by the book, she prefer to go with the flow when she cooks, as in "cook a handful-of-this for as-long-as-I-want-as-long-as-it-looks-good-and-taste-great" instead of following the exact recipe. So, here's my Mom's version of the recipe to make a bucketful of tongue-lashing Bratkartoffeln!

(Note: This dish serves 10, best to be cooked for a party or a family gathering. So, if you're cooking for 3, you might want to cut down the amount of the ingredients.)

Ingredients:

- 14 potatoes (the quality of the potato affects the quality of the dish) 

- 1 block of salted butter

- 1 garlic (but if you love garlic, you can add some more)

Cooking Utensil:

- big pot (to boil the potatoes)

- big non-stick frying pan (to fry the potatoes)

- wooden spatula (you don't want to scratch the surface of the frying pan, do you?)

- knife 

How to Make:

- Clean them potatoes!

You have to wash the potatoes because they are dirty. They were pulled from the earth, God-knows what kind of substance made contact with the potatoes, and we are in doubt whether the guy form the market cleansed them or not, so don't take the risk by not cleaning them. You don't want to indulge on pesticides, do you? 

- Boil the potatoes in medium heat for 15 minutes. 

Don't set the fire too big, you would end up with mushy potatoes. 

- When the potatoes are done being boiled, let them cool for a bit and slice them.

It's up to you whether you want to make thin slices or vice versa. My Mom usually slice them around half a centimeter because the thinner, the crispier, the chewier, the better. 

- Wash your garlic and slice them around half a centimeter as well.

- Take out your big non-stick frying pan and set the fire to low-medium heat.

- When the frying pan has heat up, put some sliced garlic into it and fry them for a minute. 

- Quickly grab your butter, cut one fifth of it, and put it in the frying pan.

If you like your potatoes buttery, don't be shy to add some more. As the butter melts and fuse with the garlic, they will make a sizzling sound and let out a gorgeously delicious aroma. 

- Stir quickly for around 2 minutes, until the garlic slightly change its' color.

- Put in the sliced potatoes and fry them for around 30 minutes until the potatoes are golden brown in color.

Be careful when you're frying the potatoes, as they are fragile and brittle. You don't want to stir too often and aggresively, otherwise your fried potatoes will end up mashed. 

- As the potatoes change their color, slowly flip them to their other sides so that they well evenly fried. 

- When you end up with firm and chewy fried potatoes, with crispy brown skin on its' side and dark yellow color in the middle, you have succeed at making your very own Bratkartoffeln! 

See? It wasn't too hard to cook yourself some German-style fried potatoes, right? As long as you enjoy cooking and experimenting with new stuff, you will have an excellent dish as an outcome! Now, go eat that Bratkartoffeln of yours and enjoy the evening. Trinksprüche!