There are few things quite as fabulous as a hot, crispy, salty french fry. I cannot tell you how often I get a craving for fries and while there are plenty of fast food joints famous for theirs, I am here to tell you that you can make some truly spectacular fries right in your own kitchen.
There are many different ways to make fries. Stovetop frying, deep frying, air frying and even baking and if you do a little research, you will find lots of people discussing the ongoing search for ways to make fries that are truly crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and who’s prime lasts longer than a minute or two.
After much testing and experimentation, this has become my go to way to whip up a batch of really good fries. They really are crispy, crunchy and last for a good long time. The recipe has a few different steps, but they can be done in advance making the recipe flexible enough to guarantee perfect fries will be accompanying your burgers, steaks, fish or chicken tenders.
Let’s get started…
The first step is to prep your potatoes. I am using 3 large russet potatoes and this will make about 4 servings. A “serving” of fries is very subjective, so this is just an estimate, but this recipe can very easily be doubled or halved depending on how many fries you need.
Begin by peeling the potatoes, rinse them off and slice them into long, thin, uniform portions. It is important that your fries are all a similar size, so they will all cook the same. If some fries are skinny and some are thicker, you may have some burnt fries and some undercooked ones and we can’t have that.
Step 2 may feel unnecessary, but I have found it to be one worth the time it takes…
Potatoes have loads of starch and the excess starch can prevent your fries from getting crisp, so we need to get rid of as much of it as possible. This can be done by soaking, rinsing or par-boiling the fries.
In my opinion, soaking potatoes just doesn’t work. Letting potatoes sit in water may remove some of the excess starch, but it goes against everything I know about working with potatoes. Rinsing them can work better, but you’d have to rinse them in very hot water for quite a long time and keep moving them so they are get some action and this is just too much work.
Par-boiling is my preferred method. It takes 10 minutes and pretty much guarantees your french fries will have soft, tender and fully cooked interiors, which is an important element in a perfect batch.
To par-boil your fries, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1/4 cup of white vinegar and boil your fries for 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on the clock, because 10 minutes is the sweet spot. Eight minutes is not quite enough and 12 minutes will give you potato mush, so pull them out at the 10 minute mark.
If you are wondering why we are adding white vinegar, it helps to slow down the potatoes break down process as they boil. We are boiling them to start their cooking process, not make them soft enough to fall apart and white vinegar will help with that. Don’t worry, you won’t taste the vinegar at all!
After a 10 minute par-boil, use a spider or large slotted spoon to transfer the fries onto a cooling rack. Spread them out a little so they can dry out. The residual heat does a good job of drying the fries out, but if they look damp, blot them dry with a paper towel before moving to the next step.
Once all of the fries have been par-boiled, empty the pot of water and dry it out.
Add 24 ounces of a neutral frying oil, such as vegetable or canola, and place over medium high heat. When the oil reaches 300 degrees, you can start the first fry….
Why fry twice?
In general, it is optimal to fry french fries first at a lower heat for just 2-3 minutes to give them a head start in cooking. This prevents the outsides from getting overdone when leaving the fries in the hot oil long enough to cook the insides.
Now, you may wonder why I am still frying the fries twice when we par-boiled them… well, after much experimentation, I have determined that this order of events creates the best fries and I am sticking to it…
Fry your par-boiled and dried fries for 2-3 minutes (and no longer) in the 300 degree oil. Do this in batches and transfer them back onto a cooling rack.
Note: This step can be done in advance to prep all of your fries up to the point of the final fry, so once your main course is resting, you can quickly do the final fry and have hot, crispy fries all ready to enjoy!
When you are ready for fries within the next 5 minutes or so, bring your oil temp up to 375 degrees and fry the fries until they are lightly golden and super crisp.
While your fries are in their final fry, line a big bowl with paper towels and have some salt close by, because as soon as they are done, transfer them into the bowl (the paper towels will help soak up excess oil) and season generously with salt while they are still hot.
Once you use this method to make a batch of hot, crispy fries, you will know why this is my chosen one. Yes, there are a few steps, but if you peel and slice the potatoes while your water is coming to a boil and do all 3 steps back to back, you can have these fries ready to go in 20-25 minutes.
Plus, you can enjoy them at their prime right on your couch and you can season them however you want.
Want parmesan garlic fries… do it. A squeeze of lime juice and dusting of tajín… why not?
However you want to enjoy these fries, one thing is for sure… you are going to be so glad that you made them!
Classic French Fries
Ingredients
- 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup of white vinegar
- 24 ounces of vegetable oil
- sea salt
Instructions
Prep the potatoes...
- Peel 3 large russet potatoes, rinse them off and slice them into long, thin fries
Par boil the fries...
- Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil
- Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar and carefully place the sliced potatoes into the boiling water
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the potatoes for 10 minutes
- Transfer the potatoes onto a cooling rack to dry
Fry the potatoes...
- While the potatoes are drying, empty the pot of water and dry the pot
- Add 24 ounces of vegetable oil into the pot and place over medium high heat
- Once the oil reaches 300 degrees, carefully place about 1/3 of the par boiled potatoes into the oil and fry for 2-3 minute
- Transfer the partially fried potatoes back onto the cooling rack and repeat the 2-3 minute fry on the remaining batches (the potatoes will still be pale and soft after the first fry)
Re-fry the potatoes...
- Once all of the potatoes have been partially fried, increase the oil temp to 375 degrees
- Fry the potatoes until they are golden brown and crisp
- Transfer the fries into a paper towel lined bowl and season generously with salt while they are still very hot
- Enjoy immediately
