French Fries
- Total Time
- 1½ hours active, 48 hours soaking overnight and freezing overnight
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-by-¼-inch fries kept refrigerated in cold, clean water overnight (about 5-6 potatoes, depending on size)
- 2tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 3quarts canola oil
- Kosher salt
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Preparation
- Step 1
Working quickly, remove the fries from the cold water, and drain off as much water as you can without breaking the fries. Discard the water, and place the fries in a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot. Cover with 2½ quarts of clean, cold water, and add the vinegar. Bring to a low boil for 6 minutes. The fries should be cooked through but not falling apart. Remove the fries with a slotted spoon or spider onto a baking sheet fitted with a paper-towel-lined rack. Cool and dry the potatoes on the rack.
- Step 2
Once the potatoes are cool and dry, prepare your deep fryer. Heat the 3 quarts of canola oil in a large Dutch oven (at least a 5 quart). Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the fryer, and heat until the gauge reads 395. Working in three batches, add the fries to the oil, and cook for 1½ minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, remove the fries and place on another baking sheet fitted with a paper-towel-lined rack. Repeat with the rest of the fries until all of them have been blanched in the oil for 1½ minutes.
- Step 3
Let the fries cool and dry on the rack for 1 hour, and then gently place them in a large, plastic food-storage container, being careful not to break the fries. Cover, and freeze overnight. Cool, strain and reserve the canola oil.
- Step 4
The following day, reheat the reserved canola oil in the Dutch oven. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the fryer, and heat the oil until the gauge reads 395. Working in three batches, add the fries to the oil, and cook until the fries are light golden in color, about 4 minutes. Agitate the fries with a slotted spoon or spider during the cooking process to ensure even cooking. Adding the fries will have lowered the temperature of your fryer but adjust as needed in order to maintain 375. (It is better for your fryer to be below 375 rather than over it.)
- Step 5
Remove the fries from the oil into a metal bowl lined with paper towels. Season all over with kosher salt, and serve at once.
Private Notes
Comments
If anything, this recipe gives a good idea of what OreIda does to create its frozen fries. After frying up a bag of their steak fries, the chef in my head said: The Search is Over.” I prefer to leave the parboiling and parfrying to somebody with fryers the size of Olympic swimming pools.
Pshaw, sir: This fast food is a pale shadow of My Best Fries, Evah: I inject each 3/8" fry with a special truffle sauce, using a #10 needle. Time for three pounds: 12 days. THEN blanch, freeze, etc. bliss
Loved this recipe but a piece of fry caught in my teeth and I didn't have a toothpick then remembered this old family DIY: First, you will need an axe and a whittlin' knife, Second, chop down a giant Sequoia....
This is the best way to make true french fries at home. This can be done in an afternoon and evening though, just make sure to par-freeze the fries. You really don’t need to wait these amounts of times, just soak for 30mins, boil, fry once, freeze, then final fry.
Tried it. The cooked potatoes tasted like fried potato.....very potatoey, not much crunch.
These were delicious. Inpeeled and sliced the potatoes (whichever ones we had), and left them in the fridge overnight. Next day’s dinner, put them on a baking sheet, drizzled olive oil on them, plenty of salt. They were delicious, and more delicious than when I do all of this but don’t leave them overnight.
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