It’s National French Fry Day!
You love french fries, right? Just close your eyes and imagine them. Perfectly crisp outside. Tender and light inside. That crunch when you bite into them — no soggy wannabes. For most of us the siren call of a side of fries is almost too magnetic to ignore.
And for most of us – we get our fries when we’re eating out. Not at home. Never at home. Why? Hello??? – they’re a pain in the ass, um, too much trouble to make. Until now. Seriously.
The traditional method — requires frying not once, but twice. The first time cooks the inside, the second crisps the outside. P.I.T.A. No more. I heard about this new technique on NPR. I’m sure you’ve heard Christopher Kimball and his culinary gurus broadcast America’s Test Kitchen answering questions and offering tips to home cooks.
You’ve been making french fries the wrong way!
This episode was revelatory to me — because they suggested that frying only once with very little hands-on effort would result in magically crisp-tender fries — and use about 1/3 less oil. Whaaat??? Easier and healthier?
“No”.
“Yes.”
“Noooo”.
“YES!”
It was all too much to believe, so I did the only thing I could. I tried it. The secret to these fries is to place the rinsed and dried potatoes directly into COLD oil. As the oil heats to the normal frying temperature, it gradually cooks the inside of the potato, so that by the time the oil is bubbling, the inside is cooked – and it goes right into the crisping phase. All by itself. No help from me. AND the potato doesn’t soak up as much oil. Really.
To confirm that, I fried the potatoes, let the oil cool and then poured the oil back into the original container. It filled back up nearly to the top. Maybe a quarter cup was actually absorbed in the whole batch. Incredible.
And look at the result. Perfectly browned. Not greasy. Perfectly crispy and gorgeous. A sprinkle of sea salt while they’re still hot is all they need. And maybe some ketchup. I love ketchup.
Also try these crazy good Duck Fat Potatoes. They’re baked in real duck fat until crispy and crackly.
Ingredients
- 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
- 32 ounces peanut oil for frying
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl halfway with cold water. Set aside. Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the potatoes into thin fries (about 1/3"-1/2" thick). Transfer the cut potatoes to the cold water. Swish the potatoes in the water with you hand and drain the water from the potatoes. Refill the bowl with cold water and rinse again. Use paper towels to pat dry the potatoes.
- Add the oil to a medium dutch oven. Put the potatoes into the cold oil. Place the oven on the stove and turn the heat to medium-medium high. The oil will bubble briskly once it comes to temperature. Cook the potatoes for 25-30 minutes until crisp outside and tender inside, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.
- Use a spider or slotted spoon to scoop out the fries and transfer them to the baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle the fries with salt. Serve.
More Ways With Potatoes:
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- Creamy Scalloped Potatoes with Thyme
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- Luscious Blue & Gold Souffle
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- Hasselback Potatoes
Don’t Forget To “Pin It” For Later!
Lisa,
I can’t figure out how to reply to your replies so I have to make a new comment.
The multi-chopper I have came from Williams Sonoma and it cost $50. It’s no longer available but newer versions of the product are. Here is my old one (one of the pictures shows the french fry cutter):
https://uedata.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-5471628-Professional-Multi-Chopper/dp/B0047ONEVM
I’m not sure I’d buy it new myself. If you just search on multi chopper you can likely find a better one, but this one does work.
And yes, I know too much about ketchup. I was shocked to learn that mayonnaise outsells ketchup as the #1 condiment in America. Did you know that Heinz shut down one of their production plants up north (Ontario) which would have put lots of local tomato farmers out of business? Well, French’s (the mustard company) learned of this and bought the plant from Heinz. And that’s why French’s now makes ketchup. I bought some and it’s, well….. ketchup. It tasted good but with that secret ingredient I’ll always prefer Heinz. Own your ketchup purchasing and bring your family to heel!
Lisa,
Thanks for the reply. Tonight I used russets and so tried a different method. I boiled them whole for 15 minutes, then sliced them using a multi-chopper for ease and perfect dimensions, then fried them in oil until golden brown. They turned out great – at least as delicious as high quality fries from a restaurant.
And I’m highly aware of ketchups! I really enjoy Heinz ketchup, it’s got a “secret” ingredient I learned of from the Food Wishes blogger. It’s clove oil. Heinz now has a version with reduced and/or no sugar (the label has changed in the last year) that I really enjoy because it has, as I mentioned, a quarter of the sugar in regular ketchup. Almost all brands of ketchup, including Heinz, has 4 grams of sugar per tablespoon whereas their low/no sugar version has 1 gram per tablespoon. I love it!
Those fries sound dynamite. Which multi-chopper do you have that gave perfect dimension? IMO, Shake Shake makes the perfect restaurant fries though — I’ll never say no to fries. Glad you’ve got the down low on the ketchup. I’ll have to look for the no sugar version in my store, but I’m gun shy after being lambasted for buying the wrong stuff the first time.
I’ve tried this method before because of Cook’s Illustrated and they turned out great. I did use Yukon Gold as prescribed. However, will this work with russet potatoes? Do any adjustments need to be made if using russets?
I wouldn’t think you’d need to do anything different with russet potatoes, the texture will be more fluffy than with the Yukon Gold. Not necessarily a bad thing!
Well I never ! I wouldn’t have thought of using COLD oil ! I’ll definitely try a batch using your method 🙂
I know! It’s CRAZY! But it works!
Thanks for showing me the right way of making fries!
These look better than restaurant fries and I know my fries! I have got to make these ASAP! Thank you for sharing! I can’t wait to try these.
They’re delicious but I really like how simple they are to make!
They look like the perfect crispy fries! You really can’t beat homemade.
What temperature?
Keep it between 350 and 375. I had it on a medium high heat on my gas cooktop.
Yes!!!! We love fries, but you’re right… Homemade fries have always been a P.I.T.A 🙂 Can’t wait to try this method – looks super easy!
Super-easy!