home-made french fries

I love classic French fries from restaurants and want to try to make them at home. Every time I try to do this, they come out greasy and soggy. What types of potato/procedure is appropriate to make the classic, skinless French fry at home? Thank you!

Sjcorcor
  • Posted by: Sjcorcor
  • September 8, 2014
  • 3727 views
  • 4 Comments

4 Comments

Dominic B.
Dominic B. September 10, 2014
I love a good burger and fries. Recently I bought a cookbook and I think the fries in Heston Blumenthals book are the best hands down.

http://www.redonline.co.uk/food/recipes/heston-blumenthal-triple-cooked-chips
 
QueenSashy
QueenSashy September 8, 2014
Jeffrey Steingarten had the same issue and ended up writing really wonderful and insightful essay about making french fries at home. It's in his book "The Many Who Ate Everything". And you can find his recipe on Serious Eats here http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/08/brunch-jeffrey-steingarten-easy-french-fries-frites.html
 

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Liza's K.
Liza's K. September 8, 2014
Usually, when fries end up soggy it's because either the oil wasn't hot enough or they sat in the oil too long. One method that has always worked well for me is the peel the potatoes, cut them into fries, and then let them soak in cold water for 2-3 hours. Then take them out and lay them on a sheet pan with paper towels on it and let them drain/dry. Put a couple of inches of oil in a deep pan/pot and bring to 300 degrees. Put the fries in (don't crowd them) and cook for about 5 minutes. Fish them out and drain them on paper towels. You don't want them to be brown or "done" at this point. You just want to start cooking them. Then bring the oil up to 400 degrees, and cook again (in batches) until golden brown. Take them out and drain on paper towels, repeat. Hope this is helpful!
 
Meaghan F.
Meaghan F. September 8, 2014
First off, I agree with the presoakjng 100%, it makes a huge difference. Other frying best practices apply: don't overcrowd your pan, and make sure the oil comes back to cooking temp in between batches. Your best bet if you're making fries for a crowd is to break out the deep fryer - it just takes too darn long/is too much darn work to shallow fry them IMO. That said, if you're looking for some small-batch special occasion fries (read: pommes frites or similar) duck fat is definitely the way to go; I was skeptical until I tried it but results were superior to every homemade fry I'd ever had. Peanut oil is a decent cheaper alternative but if you can, splurge on the duck fat.
 
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