My mother has been making fried candied sweet potatoes every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for as long as I can remember. They have always been one of my very favorite parts of our holiday celebrations and now when we get together I've taken on the tradition of preparing them for our family. I have got to say, that I think that I have perfected my technique!
These always get rave reviews. They are rich and buttery and sweet, fried hot with a light crust of caramelized brown sugar - so they are a true indulgence and not for the faint of heart! Here is my recipe. This is for 3-5 people. Increase ingredients or double as needed to feed a larger crowd. Time to prepare: under 1 hour.
You will need:
- 4 medium to large sweet potatoes (when buying these, I make sure that I get ones that will all fit nicely in my pot, and none that are too huge or they will take too long to cook)
- Light brown sugar - about 1/2 cup
- 1 stick of butter
- Cinnamon (optional)
- Large pot for boiling potatoes, large frypan for frying, ungreased casserole dish for serving
Put sweet potatoes in a large pot (such as a soup pot), cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes on medium high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until tender in the center when pierced with a knife. Be careful not to overcook them, but make sure that a knife very easily slides into the center when tested.
Once cooked, carefully remove potatoes from pot and place on a cutting board or large plate to peel. You must peel them while they are hot or at least warm. The colder they get, the more difficult they become to peel. Here are my directions for peeling them perfectly.
Be careful, they are hot!
Once peeled, slice into 1/2" to 1" slices as shown below...
Melt about 1/2 sick of butter in a large fry pan over medium high heat. Once the butter is melted and just starts to bubble, add the slices of sweet potato and turn down the heat to medium. Watch carefully that they do not burn. Cook on one side for just a few minutes until the bottoms begin to slightly brown, then flip them over to slightly brown the other side.
Once you have fried both sides, sprinkle the tops of the potato slices with the brown sugar and then flip the slices over once again, so that the sugared side is on the bottom next to the frypan.
Add a little more butter to the pan if needed. The potatoes tend to soak up the butter, and you need the moisture from the butter in the pan to blend with the sugar to create the caramelization.
Watch them carefully as they fry because sugar burns easily! Watch as the brown sugar dissolves in the pan, mixes with the butter and beings to bubble and caramelize.
Once again sprinkle brown sugar on the tops of the slices, and also sprinkle with a little bit of Cinnamon (optional) and then flip the newly-sugared sides over so that the sugar cooks against the pan.
Once the sugar is completely dissolved, cooked down and caramelized, your sweet potatoes should look the the photos above and below.
Once nicely browned and finished, transfer the slices into a casserole dish and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve. Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy!
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