Patricia Wells' Fake Frites

Another easy and wonderful recipe! Thank you!

Most non stick baking sheets can’t be used @500 degrees. How about parchment paper on plain sheets?

I was intrigued by this recipe, but also had the problem that 10-12 minutes in a steamer turned the potatoes to mush. Of course (I reasoned) we are working with last season's russets and old potatoes cook faster. So on the next go I tried 4- 5 minutes steam time and let them dry a bit before tossing in oil. At least the oil stayed on the outside of the potato, but still found them a bit mushy in the middle when they'd attained proper crispness on the outside. I like the *idea* of the starch coating and a crisp result with less oil, as well as the short oven time in principle, but I am not yet convinced that roasting a raw potato at a lower temp for a longer time wouldn't give a better flavor result, at least with an old russet (a la tad's roasted potatoes https://food52.com/recipes/2532-tad-s-roasted-potatoes). I do mean to try this recipe one more time with a newer potato when these are available, just kissing it with the steam till I see the starch form, and preheating the pan they roast in as one other reviewer suggested.

These were SOOOO good. I couldn't help snacking on them STRAIGHT from the 500-degree oven... worth it. Thanks for this recipe :) Not as good reheated, but what ever is.

I steam the potato sticks and wait a while for a pellicle to form. Seem to recall I got the steaming idea from a documentary I once saw about MacDonald's fries. Once upon a time when I twice-fried my frites in tallow, the first fry was done at low-temp just to tenderize, not colour, the potato, and then the frites were lifted out in their basket to air-dry. Then they were fried a second time at higher temperature to crisp up. So the steaming plays some of the role of that first fry....

Best oven fries. Steamed for 8 minutes and added oil. Let sit for 30 minutes and baked at 500. You can see and feel the starch. Came out browned and crisp with fluffy interiors. Best part, two teenagers thought they were swag!

I'm sorry to report that my fries were entirely underwhelming. Like Alicia J. said, outsides were crisp but insides were gluey and tough. I also think baking the fries at 500º is way too hot. If I ever try this again I'll lower to temp to around 450º.

How many carbs in these?

I used russet potatoes and followed all instructions. These did get crispy exteriors, but the texture inside was gluey and tough- too much starch. Cooks Illustrated method, par-boiling with baking soda- produced much better results.

I made these with Idaho Russet potatoes - perfect! Steamed them in a single layer and could practically 'see' the starch forming on the potatoes and then swirled them in small batches in olive oil. This recipe rocks!

Totally works! I think I over steamed a bit but they were still undoubtedly the best oven fries I have ever made. The insides were so fluffy and the outsides were the golden brown that I thought only existed at MacDonalds. I could tell the second I took them out of the steamer that all that sticky starchy exterior would cling to the oil and make the perfect baking surface.

Okay this recipe is amazing. I have always just baked oven fries but I have to say steaming made all the difference in the texture. I've made these lots of times now and I love this recipe!

Have been making these delicious potatoes and see why booglix mentions the released starch as a good factor in taste and texture.
Am guessing this is why recipe says to transfer (and not rinse) the steamed potatoes to bowl for oiling.

This completely redeemed the long overlooked russets in the pantry so much better than potato salad, crispy, not greasy, easy to prep early and have hot when needed. Can wait to try the leftovers with eggs and sausage.
Thank you

I microwaved the russet potatoes in a paper towel covered glass bowl for 3 minutes (too hot to steam and have the oven on). worked great. I used grapeseed oil and fleur de sel to finish and cooked about 20 minutes, I tossed the potatoes halfway through. These were fantastic!

If you're lazy, you can skip the steaming process and microwave them on high for 3-4 minutes.

Mine turned out good in terms of taste. Fries can be crispier. I might have cooked it a little more than desirable during the steaming process even though I only steamed it for 10 minutes. Will try again and be more careful with the steaming process. And will try the preheat hot pan idea. Mine looked close to the picture.

Okay. I must not be a genius, because I have tried this recipe twice and have run into problems both times. The first time, I overcooked the potatoes in the steaming process and ended up with some of them being really mushy during the baking process. This time, they stuck so badly. I'll admit, my kids still like them, but the end product looks NOTHING like the amazing photo attached to the recipe. It looks like a classic Pinterest fail photo. I may have to call it a day and give up on this one.

Before I started, I read everyone's comments -thanks! I took into account my 2 week old Idahos, thickness of cuts and kept a careful eye on the steaming process. I did what one commentor did, preheated the pan with vegetable oil. When the fries hit the pan a little sizzle took place which is important in getting a nice crust. Mealy inside, crispy red-brown outside and so delicious! I took my share and tossed the fries in parmesan cheese and white truffle oil. Thanks for this healthier option for fries with minimal mess!

I'd recommend keeping a very steady eye on them during the steaming process. Even cut thick, mine turned to mush by 10 minutes, and really disintegrated when I stirred in the olive oil. Trying to figure out what to do with them now, as they're not really mashed potatoes at this point. Going to hope for some sort of baked hash brown thing using the same oven method, and look forward to trying the frites recipe again with a severely reduced steaming time.

Wow these are good. I kept the peels on and they came out perfectly. Wish I made a double batch!

Excellent. Used Yukon golds. Did potatoes with both peels on and peeled. I liked them better with the peel on. 2 tablespoons of oil was fine. These were really good served with chili.

So excited to try this recipe!!! The only thing is, my understanding is that it's really not good to heat olive oil above 250*. For several reasons - one being I t has a low smoke point so if you heat it above 250 you will be breathing it toxic smoke. Cooking olive oil also breaks down the healthy components and releases free radicals. Everything I've read says keep olive oil for cold and warm foods, and cook with high-temp safe oils like coconut, grapeseed, lard/tallow (I use the fat that separates off my bone broth). Anyway, I thought that was important to mention, but otherwise looks like a great recipe!!

These were awesome!!

Perfect. Did a parboil with vinegar instead of the steaming. Just perfect.

These were great. Definitely use a generous amount of oil, and 450-500 is key. I could have used a larger pan so that it was easier to turn them. I don't use nonstick pans and had a well-used sheet pan that worked great. And it did take at least 20 minutes with a couple of turns. Great technique and recipe.

Made these for dinner tonight. Flawless.

Also: the steaming is a great trick. Boiling releases the starch into the water, but after steaming I could see the thick, sticky, milky-white starch coating the potatoes. Not appetizing at that stage, but it led to great frites.

Made these a couple of days ago and they are indeed very good!

I baked them in two batches. For the first, I took the "don't need much oil" tip to heart and tossed them very lightly with olive oil, and baked them at 500. They stuck to the sheet pan quite a bit, so that the crispiest parts were lost and the frites were broken up (I didn't use parchment because I never heat silicone above 450, and I don't use nonstick pans). For the second batch, I added more olive oil and also reduced my oven to more like 450. These were wonderfully crispy and did not stick to the pan (no parchment this time either). Will make again, but in my view you don't need to crank the oven all the way to 500.

How on earth do I heat extra-virgin olive oil to 500 degrees without my apartment filling with smoke?

I love oven fries, and will try this recipe. It seems similar to current fave; that strange but delicious recipe is from a favorite writer of mine. http://benandbirdy.blogspot.com/2005/10/crunchy-oven-fries.html
They are really excellent oven fries.

I made these last night and they were DELICIOUS!!!! Thanks for this great recipe!

Now if only I could heat my oven to 500 degrees without setting off the smoke alarm!

Jamie Oliver's recipe for roasting potatoes has you preboil them and then after they've drained and dried for 2 or 3 minutes, agitate then gently in a metal colander to "roughen" up the starchy edges to further aid browning and crisping in the oven. It works. I'm going to add that step to the wonderful recipe you've provided, since the fries are slightly undercooked they will (hopefully) survive this treatment and provide even more crispiness.

Forgot to add that I don't have much luck microwaving potatoes.

Wish I had this kind of steaming rack but I don't. I don't even know what they look like or where to buy one. Anyway, what else could I do until I track one of these down?

I'll definitely try this (and thanks to the commenters about steaming in the microwave). My latest obsession is sweet potato fries...any idea if this approach would work as well?

Will this work if you choose not to peel the potato?

I just put mine in a pot of cold water, place under high flame and when it comes to a full boil after 1 or 2 minutes, drain and then add seasonings, some oil and place on a cookie sheet to roast. Sometimes I do this ahead and roast half the time, remove from oven, cover until 15 or so minutes before I serve, then roast again until finished.

That's how I've been doing my oven "fries" for years, with the addition of paprika, dried oregano, garlic seasoning and salt+pepper. Fortunately, people loved my oven fries as much as I hate fried food of any kind, so it works out great.

ditto microwave

My baking sheets are not non-stick. Do you think this would work with a Silpat?

Can the potatoes be steamed in the microwave?

Sounds good. Can you offer a alternative to the steamer? Thanks

Could I steam the potatoes in the microwave?

Would this work the same with sweet potatoes as well?