stuart james beall

Everyone I know loves fried potatoes, in the form of French Fries. Some of the best French Fries are from Burger King, but this air fryer recipe gives me more hyggelig than a trip to Burger King.

There’s a wonderful way to season potatoes for baking. Short story: it’s called Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning. Amen.

Okay, here’s the long story. You can get a similar result with Simply Organic Lemon Pepper, or Lawry’s Lemon Pepper, but I like the Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning better. I don’t really know what’s in the Weber spice blend, so I tried this CarneDiem.blog recipe for Chicago Style Steak Rub. It’s not quite what I was looking for, so I tweaked it. I don’t care for crushed red pepper on potatoes; makes them too peppery.

If you’re going to grind your own peppercorns, try using an electric mini coffee grinder or food processor. I really don’t care for twisting a manual spice grinder, beyond a couple turns.

* Maldon sea salt flakes… 1 Tablespoon

* Dill seeds… 1 Tablespoon

* Black peppercorns, coarse ground… 1 Tablespoon

* Garlic powder… 1 Tablespoon

* Minced dehydrated onion… 1 Tablespoon

* Whole yellow mustard seeds… 1 Tablespoon

* Lemon zest… 1 Tablespoon

* Dried thyme… 1 teaspoon

* Smoked paprika… 1 teaspoon

In my experience, dehydrated bell pepper bits are not as good as smoked paprika. Minced dehydrated garlic is not as good as fresh garlic powder. And if you don’t have Maldon sea salt, don’t make an extra trip for it. Substitute your own sea salt. Measure spices into a small bowl and stir well. Put your spice blend into a glass shaker bottle.

Now peel and dice three Russet potatoes. Put them into a medium mixing bowl, add about 3 Tablespoons of avocado oil, and 1 or 2 teaspoons of your Chicago Steak Seasoning. Stir well.

Spread out on your air fryer tray. Cook at 375* F for about 10 minutes, then stir gently with a metal spatula. Cook an additional 8 minutes.

This is a breakfast favorite at my house. Of course, there are unlimited tweaks you can make here. Some ideas:

* Use an olive oil infused with hot pepper.

* Use olive oil infused with garlic or rosemary.

* Use warm bacon grease.

* Add a couple Tablespoons of prepared mustard paste.

* Use Yukon Gold potatoes.

* Add a diced plantain. Green skin removed.

* Add a diced jicama.

* Add a diced sweet potato.

* Add a diced bell pepper.

* Add slices of Andouille sausage.