Home-made French Fries

Not frozen, but made from your own 'taters. What are some tips to make your own fries better than anyone else? I've recently gotten a deep fryer and haven't mastered this yet.

Not frozen, but made from your own 'taters. What are some tips to make your own fries better than anyone else? I've recently gotten a deep fryer and haven't mastered this yet.

Soak 'em in water to get some of the starch out. Pat dry and then I've always fried mine twice...Once for just a couple of minutes, cool them off and then fry again. That's the short explanation but there are plenty of recipes out there explaining the process in more detail. Also like to mix just a wee bit of sugar in with the salt...just a wee bit though.

Blanch 'em once for a couple minutes on 250. Chill while you turn the fryer up to 350. Re-fry until they're done to your liking. You can thank me later

I am still trying to get my fries crispy as well. I do soak them a bit, then pat dry them. What i dont do is the double frying.... i might have to try that. I don't know if part of my problem is that i do not have a deep fryer... i just fry them in a pan.

i saw an episode of Ming Tsai the other day and he was making sweet potato french fries.... wow... it was time consuming. He fried them for a couple minutes, then froze them for fifteen, then he took them out and coated them in a slurry, then he fried them again for a couple minutes...... after that you can freeze them in batches of how you will cook them....

http://www.ming.com/foodandwine/recipes ... -aioli.htm

Hey Marsha! Don't see you on here much, miss your posts!

Tips:

1. Short soak in ice water (10-15 minutes). This pulls some starch out and also keeps potatoes from oxidizing while you're slicing and dicing.

2. What Marsha said about the double fry (or blanch/fry). The first, lower temp fry gets the inside cooking. Once the fries start to turn to a golden (don't let them get near brown), yank them and let them rest until near room temperature. The second, higher temp fry finishes the inside and crisps the outside.

3. I highly recommend the Alton Brown draining method. Cooling racks over a baking sheet lined with newspaper. Salt liberally with kosher or sea salt IMMEDIATELY after removing from the oil. I would also suggest sprinking with a mixture of parsley and very small diced garlic (really, you can just mash the garlic and parsley into a rough paste).

One more tip - when cutting up the taters, keep them as uniform in size as possible, so they cook evenly.

Tips:

1. Short soak in ice water (10-15 minutes). This pulls some starch out and also keeps potatoes from oxidizing while you're slicing and dicing.

jeez...i feel so stupid. I soak them AFTER i slice them up.... could that be what i am doing wrong?

2. What Marsha said about the double fry (or blanch/fry). The first, lower temp fry gets the inside cooking. Once the fries start to turn to a golden (don't let them get near brown), yank them and let them rest until near room temperature. The second, higher temp fry finishes the inside and crisps the outside.

i am really going to have to try this......

Becky ... don't worry. I also have been cutting up before soaking. FF Experts - does that make a difference?
(In the middle of above experiment as we speak!)

Becky ... don't worry. I also have been cutting up before soaking. FF Experts - does that make a difference?
(In the middle of above experiment as we speak!)

Uh, yeah I guess I wasn't very specific. What I meant was that before you peel/slice, have a large bowl of ice water ready to go. As you slice, put them in water, so they don't oxidize as you slice the rest. When all are sliced and in, let them sit for 10-15 minutes, or even longer if you want (cover and put in the fridge if not using for awhile).

After draining, lay them out and pat dry with a clean towel or paper towels. You want them as dry as possible before going into the fryer.

Another tip, fry in batches, i.e., don't overcrowd. Putting too many in at one time will lower the oil temp too much, things won't cook, things will stick together, and generally a mess will ensue.

The key to making sure things don't get oily is to make sure the oil temp stays where it's supposed to be. At high temps, the food won't absorb much or any oil as it cooks. If the oil drops below 225 degrees or so, the food can actually absord some of the oil, thus oily, limp fries.