The pan-fried potato problem is simple: a raw Russet takes much longer to cook through the center than to brown on the outside. Start with raw potatoes in hot fat and you get a choice — raw interior or burnt exterior. There is no temperature that solves both at once.

The parboil solves it. Boil the potatoes to about 75% done — fork-tender outside, still firm in the dead center — then let them cool completely. Now when they hit the hot tallow, the interior is already cooked. The entire frying stage goes toward one thing: building crust.

Refrigerating parboiled potatoes overnight makes this even better. The surface dries out, the starch sets, and the crust that forms in the tallow is genuinely shattering — the kind that fractures when you bite rather than bends.

Peter Luger cooks in beef fat. The restaurant is a steakhouse — the tallow comes from trimming the same dry-aged prime beef that goes on the broiler. At home, purchased beef tallow is readily available from butchers and online. The flavor contribution is subtle but real: a beefy, savory depth in the background of every bite that vegetable oil cannot replicate.

Duck fat is the best substitute — it has a similar fat structure and produces a comparable crust with a slightly more refined flavor. Lard works. A butter-and-oil blend will produce a very good result but lacks the depth of the original.

Do not use olive oil. Its flavor profile works against the dish.

The complete steakhouse experience at home is three items: the porterhouse, the steak sauce, and these potatoes. Add a thick-sliced beefsteak tomato with raw onion rings drizzled in the steak sauce (their famous tomato-and-onion appetizer — no cooking required) and you have everything on their table. Creamed spinach is the fourth side if you want to go further.

Both the Peter Luger porterhouse and steak sauce recipes are on this site. The potatoes are what most home cooks skip — don’t.

• Copycat Peter Luger Porterhouse — the dry-aged porterhouse for two, with the broiler-sear method and the exact butter finish the steak arrives in
• Copycat Peter Luger Steak Sauce — the sweet-and-savory anchovy-and-tamarind sauce that doubles as the dressing for their tomato-and-onion appetizer
• Copycat Ruth’s Chris Potatoes Au Gratin — the creamy, cheese-blanketed steakhouse potato side, if you want a richer alternative to the fried version
• Copycat Bouchon Bistro Pommes Frites — Thomas Keller’s double-fried fries, the technique counterpoint to the parboil-and-pan-fry method here
• Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole — the comfort-food potato bake, for when you want make-ahead rather than fry-to-order