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French fries at home
My girlfriend likes to tell me that if there's a study out there that tells you to do something, I would probably do it. She's right, I love hearing about studies. It doesn't exist yet, but there's a study that tells you that french fries will beget world peace. Man, I'm telling you, you want world peace more than you think you know. Not only is world peace delicious, it's kind of addictive. Once you learn how to do it, you want to make it over and over again, until your whole apartment just reeks of world peace. Last week I wanted to learn how to make french fries because who doesn't want a kitchen with a pot full of three hundred degree corn oil? I do, and so do you. You just don't know it yet. When you learn how to make french fries at home, you're gonna be so happy you'll want to double dutch.
There's a lot of different recipes out there for french fries. Jonathan sent along some info from The Man Who Ate Everything and that was a good start. But there's plenty of good information out there not from books. The web is a great place to find free information on how to do your own french fries. Before you get started, I highly suggest a thermometer so you can keep track of oil temperatures, and a cast iron pot because it retains heat better than normal metal pots.
Basically most people/recipes tell you to pick a type of potato that you like (Russet), and then fry it twice. Some people will tell you that it's important to soak the potatoes in cold water for a period of time. I don't think that makes any difference at all in the taste. What I noticed when you soak the potatoes is that the fries change color differently. This happens because when you soak the potatoes, you have to do a good job of drying it before you deep fry it, otherwise it's going to splash and bubble up like crazy. Depending on how dry each fry is, the water content on each individual fry is going to be different. This affects how fast the fry will be cooked, and how it dehydrates as it cooks. And the coloration of the fries will be different between fries and also sometimes on each individual fry.
So the thing to do is not to soak it, because then you won't have to worry about drying it. Then the question is, how slow do you go? Some people say for a two-step process, you fry the first step at around 300. Some people say to do the first step around 265. Either method works. If you fry it at 300, you're looking at around 3 minutes of frying time. If it's around 265, probably around 6 or 7 minutes. This first step of frying is simply to cook the potato all the way through. At the end of this process, the fries will be cooked through, and limp. They will be golden and yellow, and you know when it's done when you start to notice a hint of browning on the fries. You don't want that to happen.
On to step two. Here, almost everyone universally favors a high temperature fry at 375 degrees and you're just looking for color at this point. Most suggest around three minutes, but in my experience, you never even need that much time. The fries were cooked in step one, and this time you're just looking for that crispy caramelization to occur on the outside of the fries.
Then as it attains the color you want, and you might want them slightly less brown than mine... you take them out of the oil. Drain it on a paper towel, and season liberally with salt and pepper. The french fries should be salty and crunchy. The middle should be cooked through completely, and hopefully with a soft creamy consistency that sings of potatoes. Here's something else I realized... and that is you probably don't want to cut your fries too thin. A slightly thicker cut allows for that potatoey taste that sometimes isn't in fries. And thinner fries are more difficult to fry correctly, as they burn faster. I wish there was some special potato cutter that cut fries in a special way so you have more than four edges. The edges are the crispiest part of the fries, and if you have a special cut of fries that increases the number of edges, you'll increase your crispy factor. No idea if such an invention exists though.
The oil should be good enough for at least one more frying. You can just let it cool and store it in a cool place in your apartment. Make sure there's no huge debris left in the oil. Each time you fry, the oil deteriorates, so at one point you really have to just discard the oil. Oh yea, the type of oil is important too. I used corn oil, some people like peanut oil, and you can also use canola oil if you want. Or sunflower oil if you can find that. This is all a matter of taste. I don't think corn oil departs any corn-ish flavors, and it has a high smoke point. I think when oil smokes, that's when the oil particles are breaking down and that's when your oil starts becoming useless for future frying sessions. So pick the oil you think has the most neutral taste, and also has a high smoke point.
You might wonder, how to get rid of all this oil. I'm not sure. Usually in my house, there's a grease bucket. We freeze the grease bucket, then throw it out with the trash when it's full. Does anyone else do this? I'm sure this is killing the planet later on when there's a huge tub of grease out in a waste dump... but you definitely don't want to just pour this down a drain. It's going to clog probably. If you go eat take out at the Woorijip Noodle Bar, you'll love the extra large take-out containers. It lets you store a lot of oil. So save the take-out container as a grease bucket if you want.
I made french fries like four times last week. Each time, I was fat and happy. Those suckers are just so addictive right out of the 'fryer'. It makes you realize that limp fries are just lame. You should never accept limp fries. It takes only a week to figure out how to make fresh, crispy fries. Don't fuck around with limp fries. Life's too short to waste calories on shitty fries. Don't do it. Make your own or go somewhere that can make 'em nice and crispy!
Sign up to the feed and never miss a post!Posted by Danny on April 27 2009 at 12:58 am
The absolutely most important "taste" things, from my point of view are:
1. Use some kind of animal fat when frying.
2. Never throw out the oil, just keep reusing it for years.
Now, before you dismiss me as some kind of kook, try it out. The best fries I've had were made this way. Does it contribute to longevity? Of course not, but who wants to live long?
FN on April 27 2009 at 10:35 am
Hmmm... well I can't imagine the animal fat doing too much more for the fries. They're already really delicious right out of the fryer. I know duck fat is really popular though. The second tip is a great one though, I might just have to keep the oil. It'll be like sourdough bread starter.
Danny on April 27 2009 at 9:06 pm
Okay.
A few things.
1. I wrote about duck fat fries a few days ago on my bloggy, so you're clearly reading my mind.
2. If you're older than me, will you adopt me? If I am older than you, can I adopt you?
3. I actually really appreciate the technique and instruction portion of this post, because I'm planning on making my own fries, and am, sadly, horribly inept at following textbook recipes. Your commentary is extraordinarily useful.
Rochelle on April 27 2009 at 10:29 pm
I read your site all the time and really appreciate your approach to food. I live in Canada but I share your curiosity about food and interest in the dynamics of cost, production etc... I often am provoked to thought or a good chuckle and I've never said thanks before.
I'm quite a good cook but I have no knife skills! Do you have any tips for getting the fries so square? Did you use a tool? I always end up getting short badly shaped mutant fries. I just can't bear to throw any of the potato away. I'd like to surprise my hubby with fries that look like yours though!
Thanks for such a consistently fun read!
Shine on April 28 2009 at 2:30 am
Oh man, the animal fat adds all kinds of flavor. There is this spot in Paris that cooks their fries in suet. They are the best.
The place is called La Bourse Ou La Vie (Your Money or Your Life.)
FN on April 28 2009 at 7:54 am
I tried to bake sweet potato fries. They were limp and not crunchy at all. but I didn't have enough oil to deep fry that sucker. Yours looks scrumptious!
The whole fat collecting thing - I do that as well. It is a good method. :)
I have that blue plate too!!
Ambitious on April 28 2009 at 4:47 pm
@Rochelle,
You know, there was some duck fat on sale the other day. But I'm not sure how much animal to use or what temperature to use it with... most instructions out there talk about just using peanut/sunflower/corn oil and the likes. I got a feeling duck fat would mean a slower frying temperature... but it does sound delicious!
@Shine,
To get the fries in a nice rectangle, you just first have to cut the potato into a block. This means you end up wasting the round edges of the potato. Maybe you have a compost or you just want to fry up the edges by themselves. Once you got the potato cut up into a block, it gets easier :)
@FN,
Suet...mmm... I heard a place uses horse fat. Now that's some crazy ass shit right there. I don't even know where you go find horse fat
@Ambitious,
baking fries does introduce a new element to this class of food. The frozen fries actually do great in the oven, the ones that are deep fried already. I wonder if maybe there's just no way around the fact that you have to fry it to get the great taste
Danny on April 29 2009 at 10:01 am
Super cool!!!!!!! I read the article in the man who ate everything a few years ago and have always thought about it (alas, too lazy). Super curious about the "horse fat fries" he was talking about though. (Didn't he (illegally?!) import some?)
Your fries look & sound super good. :)
Veronica on April 29 2009 at 11:37 am
Thanks for answering my answer so kindly Danny. It should have been obvious and yet was beyond my grasp (I never did well in Geometry). Using the leftover potato nubbins for compost is brilliant as well.
I will get cracking on making some tasty, well-shaped fries!
Shine on April 30 2009 at 4:56 am
Love this post! For Ambitious: although fried potatoes are always going to be better, I often bake sweet potato fries (or potato potato fries), and it is possible to make them crispy and delicious. I think the key is using a hot, pre-heated oven, around 425 or even 450, and coating them evenly with oil and salt. Then you put them on a baking sheet, all in one layer, spaced at least a half inch apart (if you crowd them they'll steam and go limp). Roast them until one side gets brown and crispy, and then flip them over and roast them a little while longer until the the opposite side is brown and crispy.
Sarah D on April 30 2009 at 3:36 pm
You should invent that invention. It'll be like diamond cutters constantly trying to get more facets on a diamond for extra sparkle; you'll have one to get extra edges on a fry for extra crispness. I love it. Seriously.
I was going to mention reusing the oil but someone beat me to it. And good call on the Woorijip containers...
Yvo on May 6 2009 at 10:37 am