Pantry Raid: How to Make French Fries at Home
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How To Make French Fries At Home
There are a few basics that every home chef should have in their repertoire – a solid burger; a simple bowl of pasta; a go-to dessert and french fries. That’s right – french fries. Fries aren’t just something that you slap on the side of a burger with dinner. They’re a meal in their own right. If you’ve ever been to Belgium for pomme frites or a New Jersey diner for disco fries, you know what we’re talking about.
Better yet, making homemade french fries is insanely easy to do and it’s cheap. All you need are potatoes, peanut oil or vegetable oil, a deep pan you can fry in, and a chef’s knife
Now, a lot of people will cut their fries in thin 1/2 thick strips and deep fry them once. But, if you want really delicious “crispy on the outside and soft on the inside” french fries, you should check out this recipe because we like to cook them twice. It’s the best way to get the perfect french fry consistency.
How To Make French Fries At Home – The Video
How to Make French Fries at Home
Start by using a mandoline to cut the fries into long strips that are 1/2″ thick. If you don’t have a mandoline, use a chef’s knife to cut the potato into 1/2″ thick flat slabs. Then, make 1/2″ wide cuts into each potato slab, making long thin strips.
Once you have your fries ready, toss them into a bowl of cold water and let them soak for an hour or two. This process is key for reaching peak crispiness on the outside of your fries, since it helps get rid of some of the potato’s extra starches. When you’re almost done soaking your fries, it’s time to start heating up the oil.
Most people swear by peanut oil, which makes sense because some oils (we’re looking at you, olive oil) are not designed to perform well at the high temperatures that are required for frying. If you don’t have peanut oil around, you can use vegetable oil. Add oil to a deep pan or deep skillet and heat up to 300 degrees. Toss a thermometer in there to make sure you’re cooking at the right temperature, otherwise your fries might come out too soggy or too burnt.
Once the oil is heated to 300 degrees, add the fries in (you might have to do 2 or 3 batches to finish them off) for about 5 minutes each. This cooks the inside of the potato and makes it mushier so that you don’t have crispy french fries all the way through. As you take each batch out, dry off the excess oil with a paper towel or hand towel. Cook all of your fries initially this way.
After they’ve been cooked the first time, it’s time to crank up the oil temperature to 400 degrees for the second round of frying. Once the thermometer reads 400 degrees, throw the fries in for another 3-4 minutes or until they turn crispy and brown. Do this in batches if you need to and drain off the excess oil after cooking them the second time.
Once they cool, serve with dipping sauce like ketchup or curry mayo (yum!) or sprinkle with salt and red pepper for a spicy complement to burgers. Or, top with melted cheese and gravy for some DIY disco fries. There’s no limit to how you can serve french fries at home!
I Hope You Enjoy!
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How do you make french fries at home? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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