More of my fall potato crop are starting to sprout and I need to preserve them. I have tried parboiling them in the past, but they are too soft when I go to fry them. I needed something different.
I have been making Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Potatoes and freezing them. The texture seemed fine. Maybe, baking the potatoes for home fries would be better.
I preheated my oven to 400 F (204 C). I brushed some potatoes with vegetable oil. Since my first effort, I used bacon fat and it is better, but vegetable oil works fine.
I put then on a rack over a baking tray and put them in the oven. Start checking at 1/2 hour to see if they’re done. A fork should go in with just a little resistance.
Small potatoes were done at 30 minutes, medium at 45 minutes and large at 60 minutes. Take the smaller potatoes out of the oven as they are done.
Let the potatoes cool to room temperature. Cut them into one-half-inch cubes. Put them in a sealable bag or a vacuum bag so they mainly lie flat and freeze them.
If you freeze them mostly flat, you can take them right out of the freezer and fry them in butter, oil or bacon rendering for great home fries.
The Verdict
Baking the potatoes gives a much better texture than parboiling in my opinion. I will be using this to preserve a lot of my potato crop and will have a lot of great home fries over the winter!
The Old Fat Guy