Meal Prep Potatoes By Par-Cooking Them In A Pressure Cooker

Our love for potatoes is ever-growing. It’s one of those food varieties we (and you) just can’t get enough of. However, the prep time for cooked potatoes can be a little taxing. Enough that it can dissuade even the most ardent potato fan from preparing a dish with the ingredient.

For that reason, we’d like to share a cooking hack that will help you meal prep your potatoes in advance – allowing you to bring them out whenever the craving strikes. Which is often.

The secret here is par-cooking your taters in a pressure cooker.

Why you should prep cooked potatoes in a pressure cooker

Rather than spend 45 minutes frying, roasting, or whipping up a mash, you can grab a serving of spuds, then fry or mash as you please.

I par-cooked some Yukon Golds in my pressure cooker on day and was able to cook up some beef tallow-fried beauties in about seven minutes the next evening. On day three, I enjoyed a five-minute mash. I’ll probably pivot back to crispy on day four.

The prep

To prepare a week’s worth of potatoes for a week’s worth of enjoyment, grab a few kilos of your favourite spud (I like Yukons here), wash them, and cut them into 5cm chunks (peeling is optional). Place them in your Instant Pot on top of a trivet or steamer basket, and pour a cup of water into the insert. Cook the potatoes for five minutes under high pressure, followed by an immediate manual release. The potatoes are now ready for roasting, frying, or mashing, and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

For crispy cooked potatoes

The quickest route to crispy potatoes is a shallow fry in some sort of delicious cooking fat. Heat a few tablespoons of your favourite frying oil in a large stainless steel or cast iron pan until it’s shimmering. Beef tallow and duck fat are both superb, but vegetable oil works great too. Cook as many potatoes as you desire for a couple of minutes on each side, letting a crust form before flipping onto the next side. (If a crust is not fully formed, the potato will stick.) Once every side is a deep, golden brown, transfer to paper towels and season with salt.

For mash

Heat a saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat for a few minutes, then add your required amount of potato chunks, about eight chunks per person. Mash ‘em around for a few minutes to drive off excess moisture. (If you have a potato ricer, you can rice the potatoes directly into your cooking vessel, and stir them around for about a minute.) Add a tablespoon of salted butter for every eight pieces of potato, and continue to mash until the butter is completely melted. Remove from the heat, and stir in one teaspoon of mayo per tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and pepper, add another pat of butter if desired, and enjoy.

This article has been updated since its original publish date.