These dutch oven potatoes have been a legacy in our family for many, many years. Cooking potatoes this way in the dutch oven gives them a delicious caramelized flavor with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture that you will love.
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I’m so excited about today’s post because these dutch oven potatoes truly have become a legacy in our family (specifically my husband’s family). His dad Gary would cook these every summer year after year over a campfire or charcoal briquettes.
Since I don’t claim to be any kind of outdoor camping expert (yet – hahaha), I’ve simplified the recipe so you can cook them in a dutch oven over the stove. And they still turn out lovely. With that delicious caramelized flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture that Gary’s dutch oven potatoes became famous for. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, trust me, you’ve just got to try them.
What kind of Dutch oven to use
Okay so first let’s talk about dutch ovens for a second. If you are cooking indoors, it really makes the most sense to use a flat bottom dutch oven like this one.
We’ve had this Lodge-brand Dutch oven (non-sponsored aff. link) for many years and have loved it. It’s heavy duty cast iron and will last us for many, many years to come.
I don’t have personal experience with these, but I’m guessing an enameled dutch oven like Le Creusset (aff. link) or the Lodge version (aff. link) would work similarly well.
How to make these Dutch oven potatoes
If you want to prepare the potatoes ahead of time, you can wash, peel and slice the potatoes and then place them in a large bowl of cool tap water for up to an hour to keep them from turning brown. Just make sure you drain and dry them well before cooking.
The cooking process is fairly straightforward. Just stick everything in the pot, give it a good stir, and put the lid on and let the dutch oven do the job, stirring occasionally as you think about it. If you tend to be an overly anxious stirrer, make sure to restrain yourself from stirring too much, especially at the beginning otherwise you won’t end up with the lovely caramelized bottoms on the potatoes that make these so delicious.
You can serve these potatoes with pretty much whatever you want. We’ve eaten them with anything from grilled steaks, BBQ and fried chicken, or hamburgers to plain old sandwiches. It really doesn’t matter what you do, cause these potatoes usually steal the show. YUM!
Dutch Oven Potatoes
These dutch oven potatoes have been a legacy in our family for many, many years. Cooking potatoes this way in the dutch oven gives them a delicious caramelized flavor with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture that you will love.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds potatoes
- 1 small/medium onion
- ½ cup butter
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
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Wash and peel potatoes and slice into ½-inch rounds. Dice onion roughly into ½-inch pieces.
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In a medium sized heavy duty dutch oven over medium high heat (see note), melt butter with the canola oil, salt and pepper. Heat until butter is melted and sizzling.
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Add potatoes and onion all at once and give it a good stir to coat potatoes with butter mixture. Place lid on dutch oven and continue to cook over medium-high heat, adjusting the heat as need so potatoes brown slightly but don’t burn. Using a heavy duty metal spoon, give them a good stir every 3-5 minutes (less often at the beginning, more often towards the end of cooking time – see note). Cook potatoes for about 20 to 25 minutes or until tender and some pieces are browned and caramelized.
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Remove from heat and serve. Alternately, potatoes will stay warm in dutch oven with the lid on for up to 30 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
1. We’ve also made these potatoes many times while camping using charcoal briquettes or over hot coals. I will defer to the dutch oven experts as to how many coals you need etc to maintain the medium high temperature, but feel free to experiment.
2. When done the potatoes should be tender enough that they kind of melt in your mouth. We like them best when parts are brown and caramelized, giving them a lovely caramelized flavor.
3. If you want to prepare the potatoes ahead of time, you can wash, peel and slice the potatoes and then place them in a large bowl of cool tap water for up to an hour to keep them from turning brown. Just make sure you drain and dry them well before cooking.
4. If you tend to be an overly anxious stirrer, make sure to restrain yourself from stirring too much, especially at the beginning otherwise you won’t end up with the lovely caramelized bottoms on the potatoes that make these so delicious
Recipe Source: Adapted from my father-in-law Gary’s recipe he’s made many times over the years
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
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