French Fries
Some might argue the prevalence of French Fries in our American diet is troubling…I am not of them. While I recognize, stuffing fries down our throats, morning, noon and night, may not be the greatest health choice, they are simple too tasty, and too perfect a side, to banish. They are also, not all that hard to make at home. I know people that get nervous when thinking about deep frying at home, and certain thing (like Turkey) can be tough…but fries are actually pretty simply. In this recipe video, I show how to make the perfect homemade French Fry…they’ll come out nice and tender/fluffy on the inside, with a nice crunch outside. Like I said, the perfect side. Hope you enjoy them!
Recipe Overview and Keys to Success
- If you have a deep fryer, great, use it. If not, you can safely deep fry using a pot, but it’s very important to make sure use don’t fill the pot more than half way up. When food is added to hot oil it expands, and you need the extra room in the pot to prevent spill over…and potential flame ups. (of note…we should all have a fire extinguisher in our kitchens).
- You need to get the oil to the right temperature, so I suggest you invest in a food thermometer…it’s important the oil is neither too cool or too hot
- It’s important to fry the potatoes twice. First at low temperature to cook them through, second, at higher temperature to get the outsides crispy
- Finally, you need to season the fries right when they come out of the oil from the second fry, and serve them quickly…They don’t sit around well
RECIPE FOR FRENCH FRIES
Ingredients for French Fries (for 2)
- 2 russet potatoes
- 1/2 gallon of oil for frying (I generally use vegetable oil, but others (not olive oil) work well too)
- Salt for seasoning
Making French Fries
- Note – you can do this first fry a couple hours in adance; the second fry needs to be right before serving
- Pour the oil into a deep pot, coming no more than half way up the side
- Put the pot on the heat, and bring it up to about 325 degrees, as measured by your thermometer
- While the oil comes to temperature, cut your potato into fries (can you peel or not peel), using a julienne cut. You can cut them as thin or thick as you like…the thicker the cut, the longer the amount of time they will take to cook through.
- Once cut put the potatoes in a bowl of cold water for at least 15 minutes; rinse the water a couple times to wash off the starch
- When you’re ready to fry, drain the potatoes, and dry them well in a hand towel – you don’t want wet potatoes going into hot oil
- Gently, but with confidence, please the potatoes into the 325 degree oil, you may have to work in batches, and stir them gently to ensure they don’t stick
- After a few minutes, the outside will have slightly changed color, but they should not yet be browning. Pull a fry out, and see if it’s tender/cooked through. If not, let them continue to cook, checking doneness every 30 seconds.
- When tender, drain them onto paper towels. The fries should still be limp, and not golden…you can hold them for up to a couple hours at this point.
- When you are ready for the final fry, turn the heat up and get the oil to about 400 degrees
- Place the cooked fries into the hot oil, again you can do batches, and let them cook for 3 – 4 minutes until they turned golden brown and have crispy outsides
- Remove them to a bowl, season with salt, and serve them up!!
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