French Fries

You didn’t think we’d have a discussion about the potato with talking about the almighty French fry, did you? It may be the single most popular method of preparing potatoes in the country. There isn’t a burger joint is all the US that doesn’t have French fries on the menu. I dare you to find one. I double dog dare you.

French fries are simply longish strips of potato dropped into hot oil and fried until cooked through. And while it seems simple on the surface, frying them correctly requires a touch more finesse. In order to get the fry cooked through without it absorbing a ton of oil, I use a two stage frying method. If you do not have a deep fryer with a built in thermometer, you can still fry in a pot or wok on the stove top. Before you attempt this, make sure that you have a good thermometer and that you know how to use it.  Temperature is critical here.

Let's talk about cooking gear for a little bit. This is mostly because you are going to need a couple of items that, while not quite specialty items, they are not present in every kitchen I’ve been in. The first is a high quality mandolin. This is not a musical instrument. It is a device for quickly slicing vegetable and proteins in various thicknesses and shapes. Need to julienne a bunch of carrots? Bust out the mandolin, don’t do it by hand.

The next item is called a spider. This is the device that you’ll be using to scoop the potatoes out of the hot oil. You may have seen them in a Chinese restaurant but they work well for many things. They are especially adept at pulling things out of liquids while leaving the majority of the liquid behind. They look like a shallow bowl made out of wire at the end of a long stick. The photo on the right is a spider of Chinese design.

French Fries

2 large russet potatoes
salt
oil for deep frying

Run the potatoes through your mandolin on a setting designed to make fry sized pieces. If you don’t have a mandolin, you can slice the lengthwise with a knife and then cut into strips. Then seriously consider buying a mandolin. Once cut, you want to immediately submerge them in cold water. You want to do this to remove any excess surface starch that could keep the potato from releasing the steam generated when it is fried.

Place the oil in your cooking vessel and heat it to 320 F degrees. Drain as much water as possible from the potatoes and fry them in 3-4 batches for just 2-3 minutes each batch. They should be pale and rubbery. Remove them from the fryer and drain any excess oil. Raise the oil temperature in your fryer to 375 F degrees. Return the fries to the oil, again in 3-4 batches, and fry until golden brown. Remove from heat and drain any excess oil. Lightly salt the fries and serve warm.