Irresistible Potatoes

Irresistible Potatoes

Smaller, younger, baby potatoes can be just a tasty as more mature potatoes.  These ones come out with buttery soft insides, and a roasted, slightly crisp and delicious crust.

In my opinion, you won't need to eat as much of these to be satisfied as you would when eating a baked potato or pile of fries, and that's the key, right?

Irresistible Potatoes

per person...

2 small white or yellow skinned potatoes
1 tsp chicken fat or clarified butter*
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Peel the potatoes.  If you have some sort of metal skewers, either actual potato nails or just some simple metal skewers for bbq or kebabs, skewer the potatoes, lengthwise.  I couldn't find my nails, so I actually used some nutpicks (who uses those?)

Potato Nails

Using a sharp knife, slice down toward the skewer.  You slice crosswise through the potato.  Slice down until you hit the nail.  Leave the nails in for faster cooking.

Still Skewered Potato

Place each potato, cut side up, in a shallow cooking pan with a lip.  I use pie plates, which have smaller bottoms and collect the fat so I don't have to use as much.  Salt each potato and top each one with a dollop of fat or butter. When cooking, the fat will melt and pool in the pan, and a nice crust should form on the bottoms.  Good stuff.

crusty bottoms

Place in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes (longer times without the metal skewers).  The potatoes are done when the slices can be easily separated when touched or when the bases can be pierced with a fork.

Remove the skewers before serving, because talk about hot!

* Who has chicken fat or clarified butter?  You should.  Chicken fat is tasty stuff and it takes less of it because of the taste. I doesn't smoke as bad as butter, either.   I'm not a pro at making this stuff.  I skim the fat from chicken stock or pour it off after roasting a chicken.  Filter it into a jar and put it in the freezer.

Clarified butter doesn't smoke up at higher temps.  Both can be made ahead and kept in the fridge or freezer.

If you can't do either, I'd use light olive oil, for the cooking process, then top with a bit of butter for flavor.