The Best Way To Get Crispier Breakfast Potatoes Requires No Extra Frills

When you're going for a full breakfast, you can't skip the potatoes. They nestle onto your plate, finding their place alongside eggs, bacon, sausages, and toast—the mainstays of a morning feast. As you delve into your breakfast potatoes, you anticipate savoring the flavors of spices, salt, and pepper. In addition to the flavor, you'll expect a crispy bite before delving into a nice soft interior. This combination of textures may be very simple; however, when it comes to making breakfast potatoes, it's quite difficult to achieve.

The best way to get crispier breakfast potatoes is to use a skillet that comes with a lid. You don't have to boil them first or put them in the oven. Forget all those extra steps. Simply take your diced potatoes and put them into a skillet with the lid on for about 20 minutes. Then, once they're cooked through, remove the lid to crisp the potatoes at the end. For those of you who have been wondering all this time, that's the secret, folks.

To begin, choose a suitable pan for cooking breakfast potatoes. Optimal choices include a cast iron skillet, renowned for its excellent heat retention. Ensure the skillet has a well-fitting lid; alternatively, you can use a flat, long surface such as a baking sheet to cover the skillet completely if a fitting lid is unavailable. The key is to use a covered skillet or nonstick pan to trap steam, promoting thorough heating of the potatoes. This retained heat results in evenly-cooked potatoes with a flavorful interior.

While the choice of pan is crucial, handling the oil is equally important. Use vegetable oil and heat it until the potatoes produce a crackling sound upon entering the pan. You can also go for bacon grease instead of vegetable oil, which will give your potatoes some extra flavor. You'll want to make sure you arrange the potatoes to cover the pan's bottom without layering them on top of each other. Once the lid (or baking sheet) is in place, ensure no steam can escape. Allow it to heat for 20 minutes without stirring or moving the potatoes. Afterward, introduce seasoning or veggies into the pan and cook until the potatoes achieve a golden brown and crispy texture.

Using the lid method will give you crispy and delicious breakfast potatoes, but you'll want the best seasoning and veggies to take their flavor to the next frontier. The opportune moment to introduce these elements is after you've heated your potatoes for 20 minutes with the lid on, so ensure they are prepared beforehand or while the potatoes are cooking. The most basic, yet essential, seasonings you can add are salt and pepper. Another seasoning you can use is smoked paprika for a dimension of smoky and savory flavor. Red pepper flakes aren't just great on pizza — you can also add them to your potatoes for a little kick. If you don't have red pepper flakes, you can swap them for cayenne pepper.

You can add some bell peppers and onions, both diced and sautéed. Mix them in with your potatoes and watch a beautiful medley of colors and flavors take shape as you stir them. While it's optional (and divisive for some), a little cilantro will be a wonderful garnish. You can even get experimental and add bits of rosemary, thyme, or diced zucchini, tomatoes, or mushrooms. You'll have a range of flavors to enjoy with your crispy potatoes that will make breakfast not only the most important meal of the day, but also the best.