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    Pyttipanna over an open fire – crispy potatoes, fried egg and beetroot

    Crispy cubes, a fried egg and pickled beetroot

    • 4 servings
    • Time: 15 min + 30 min frying
    • Difficulty: Easy
    • 10 ingredients
    • 9 steps
    To the recipe
    Pyttipanna with fried potato, meat and onion pieces, a fried egg and pickled beetroot on a white plate.
    Photo: Skivsamlare, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

    Pyttipanna is the saviour of Swedish home cooking – diced potato, meat and onion fried golden and served with a fried egg and pickled beetroot. Over an open fire it gets even better, because the cast-iron pan and the embers give a proper sear. But that is also where it easily turns mushy, and that is what this recipe is about.

    The secret is three things: cold, pre-boiled potatoes, not too much in the pan at once and patience – let the cubes sit still and colour before you turn them. Everything can be chopped at home, so dinner by the fire only takes half an hour. If you are new to cooking in cast iron over a fire, start with the guide cooking in the wild.

    Method

    1. At home: boil the potatoes in lightly salted water the day before and let them cool completely. Cut the potatoes, meat and onion into even cubes, about 1 cm, and put them in separate bags or tubs.
    2. Let the fire burn down to an even bed of embers and set the pan on the grate or stones, 10–15 centimetres above the embers.
    3. Melt half the butter and fry the onion until soft and lightly golden, 4–5 minutes. Set it aside.
    4. Add the rest of the butter and the potatoes in a single layer. Leave them still for 4–5 minutes before turning – that is when the crust forms.
    5. Turn the potatoes and fry for another 8–10 minutes, until golden and crispy all over.
    6. Add the meat and onion and fry everything together for 5 minutes until the meat is heated through.
    7. Season with salt and pepper.
    8. Push the pyttipanna to one side, or plate it up, and fry the eggs in the same pan with a knob of butter.
    9. Serve with the egg on top and pickled beetroot on the side.

    10. Cooking for a big family: fry the potatoes in two batches. If they are crowded in the pan, they boil instead of fry.

    Tips for crispy pyttipanna

    • Cold potatoes fry best. Freshly boiled potatoes are moist and fall apart – which is why pyttipanna is so good with yesterday's potatoes.
    • Don't stir too much. Every time you turn them you let the heat out. Let the cubes colour first.
    • Even embers, not flames. Move the pan towards the edge of the embers if it sizzles too much. More about the heat in cooking over open fire.
    • Butter and oil together give the flavour of butter and handle more heat than butter alone.

    Pyttipanna with kids

    Let the kids dice boiled potatoes with a table knife and crack the eggs into a cup before they go into the pan – that way there's no shell in the food. The cast-iron pan and its handle get very hot, so an adult handles the pan. More advice on responsibility around the fire can be found in cooking with children over a fire.

    Vary the pyttipanna

    • Vegetarian: swap the meat for halloumi, mushrooms or chickpeas, and top with feta.
    • With falukorv: a cheap and child-friendly choice – fry the sausage first so it gets some colour. The same sausage goes with fried falukorv with macaroni.
    • With bacon: fry diced bacon first and use the fat for the potatoes.
    • With beetroot in the pan: fold in diced pickled beetroot just before serving for a pink, tangy pytt.
    • With lingonberries: try a dollop of lingonberry jam instead of beetroot.

    Common mistakes

    • The potatoes are freshly boiled and warm – they turn mushy.
    • Too much in the pan at once – the cubes boil instead of fry.
    • The pan sits in the flames – the outside burns before everything is hot.
    • The meat goes in too early – it dries out before the potatoes are done.

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    Frequently asked questions

    How do you make pyttipanna crispy?

    Use cold, pre-boiled potatoes, fry them in a single layer and let the cubes sit still until they have coloured before turning. Fry in batches if the pan gets full.

    Can you make pyttipanna with raw potatoes?

    Yes, but it takes longer: allow 20–25 minutes for raw potatoes in small cubes, with a lid on the pan for the first 10 minutes. Over a fire, pre-boiled potatoes are easier and more reliable.

    What do you serve with pyttipanna?

    The classic is a fried egg and pickled beetroot. Many also like HP sauce, mustard or a dollop of lingonberry jam.

    Can you freeze pyttipanna?

    Yes. Let it cool quickly, freeze it in portions and reheat it in a hot pan without thawing first. It is best freshly fried, but frozen pytt makes a good quick dinner.

    Want to cook more over the same embers? Try raggmunk with fried pork or start the day with a breakfast burrito by the fire. You'll find the right pan and gloves in the guide equipment for fire cooking.

    More guides and recipes to read

    More food from the frying pan

    Pan cooking over the embers

    Everything you can cook in a cast-iron pan over the fire – from breakfast to a Friday treat in the forest.

    See the frying pan recipes

    The right pan for the fire

    Cast iron, muurikka, grill grate and gloves – how to choose the gear for proper food over an open fire.

    Read the equipment guide

    Lingonberries with your pyttipanna

    Cooked jam or raw-stirred lingonberries from the forest – two ways and how long the jam keeps.

    To the lingonberry jam