Beer-Battered Potato Wedges -- Something Honest for the End of a Long Week

Brianna's week. The coldest week of the year. Negative four overnight. Truck barely started. Plant had a quality issue Wednesday. Caught it. Antoine and I rebuilt fourteen Jeeps in three hours. Earned the team a pizza party.

Pop's in the recliner. Tigers on. Sugar in range this week. Sunday at Mama's. She made greens with hambone the way she has since 1985.

Pot of greens. Smoked turkey neck for the pot likker. Cooked low for two hours. Cornbread to soak.

Aiden's 10. The youth basketball league. I'm coaching. He's the best player on the team and he knows it. Zaria's 8. Helps me cook on a step stool. Has opinions about the seasoning.

I sat on the back porch with a beer and looked at the smoker and thought about nothing for an hour.

Mr. Williams across the street had a heart scare. He is okay. We are all watching each other now. I took him a plate of greens and chicken Wednesday. He said, "DeShawn. You're a good neighbor." I said, "We're even, Mr. Williams. You shoveled my walk in 2024." He laughed.

A reader wrote in about the smothered pork chops. Said her late husband loved them. I wrote back. I told her about Pop. We exchanged three emails. She's in Saginaw. She's coming to the city in the spring.

Aiden had practice Tuesday and Thursday. I drove. He shot threes for an hour after.

The Lions on TV Sunday. Lost on a missed field goal. Detroit. The neighborhood collectively groaned at the same moment. You could hear it through the windows.

Truck needed an oil change Saturday. Did it myself in the driveway. Took an hour. The neighbor across the street gave me a thumbs-up from his porch. I gave him one back. Detroit men do not waste words on car maintenance.

The grass came in fast this week. Cut it Saturday morning before the heat. The mower had been sitting all winter. Took three pulls to start. Once it ran, it ran. Some things just need patience.

Watched the Tigers Sunday afternoon. Lost in extras. Detroit reflex. I yelled at the TV the way Pop used to yell at the TV. The TV did not respond. The bullpen will probably not respond either.

Plant ran clean this week. The line ran. The body held. The paycheck is the paycheck.

The custody calendar holds. Aiden and Zaria alternate weeks. Brianna and I co-parent without drama now. We do not always have to like each other to do this right.

The block had a small drama Tuesday. Somebody parked in front of Ms. Diane's driveway. Ms. Diane addressed it directly. The car moved within the hour. The neighborhood polices itself on small things.

A song came on the radio Tuesday — old Stevie Wonder — and I had to sit in the truck for the rest of it before I went into the store. Some songs do that. Detroit is a city of songs that do that.

Drove past Jefferson North on Tuesday. The plant is still the plant. The trucks coming out. I waved at the gate guard out of habit. He waved back even though he didn't know me. The plant is its own neighborhood.

I made grocery lists on the back of envelopes the way Mama did. The list this week was short — onions, garlic, half-and-half, cornmeal, a pound of bacon. The list is the recipe of the week before it happens.

The basketball court at the rec center got refurbished. New floor. Plays different. Bouncy. I shot a few from the elbow before practice Wednesday. The knee held. The shot fell short.

That hour on the back porch with a beer and nothing on my mind — that’s the version of tired that deserves something good. I had potatoes, I had beer left in the fridge, and the kids were fed and somewhere being kids. Beer-battered potato wedges aren’t greens with hambone, but they’re honest food: crispy outside, soft inside, made with your hands in your own kitchen. Some weeks you cook a pot that takes two hours. Some weeks you make wedges and sit down.

Beer-Battered Potato Wedges

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dredging
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for finishing
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup cold beer (lager or ale)
• Vegetable oil, for frying (about 4 cups)

Instructions

1. Prep the potatoes. Cut each scrubbed potato lengthwise into 8 even wedges. Pat completely dry with paper towels — moisture is the enemy of a crispy batter.
2. Make the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Pour in the cold beer and whisk until just combined. A few lumps are fine. Let the batter rest 5 minutes.
3. Heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil into a deep heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven to a depth of about 3 inches. Heat over medium-high to 365°F. Use a thermometer if you have one — temperature is everything.
4. Dredge and batter. Lightly dust each potato wedge in plain flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip into the beer batter, letting any extra drip off.
5. Fry in batches. Carefully lower wedges into the hot oil in batches of 6 to 8 — do not crowd the pot. Fry 4 to 5 minutes per batch, turning once, until deep golden brown and cooked through. Maintain oil temperature between batches.
6. Drain and season. Transfer finished wedges to a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Season immediately with a pinch of kosher salt while hot. Repeat with remaining wedges.
7. Serve. Serve hot with your preferred dipping sauce — ranch, hot sauce, or nothing at all.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 340 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 480mg