French Fry Science.

[worth1]

After testing and observation of several fast food fries from other people's meals I've discovered that mine beat all theirs hands down.
Not perfect but a heck of a lot better than the flabby greasy stuff they are serving.
I think the change to peanut oil made a huge difference.

[karstopography]

I recently have read about microwaving the French fries for 2-3 minutes before frying them leads to having them be done inside as the outside crisps up and browns. I’ve yet to try this.

[worth1]

I recently have read about microwaving the French fries for 2-3 minutes before frying them leads to having them be done inside as the outside crisps up and browns. I’ve yet to try this.

I don't have a microwave but it would be the same as twice frying them.
I normally fry mine till almost done without browning.
Then I let them cool in a bowl while I'm doing other stuff.
Once ready I fry them again at a hotter temperature.
I almost exclusively use a small cast iron sauce pan, about 2 quarts, that is reserved for nothing but frying.
It has a cast iron lid to keep the oil covered when not in use.
A heck of a lot easier to deal with than a separate dedicated electric fryer.
It also has the advantage of keeping the oil hot with less energy or fluctuation in temperature.

[Tormato]

In almost every town or city that I visit, if I have the time, I will go into the mom and pop places just to try their french fries. To me, most have been cut too thin, with the inside of the fry being either somewhat dried out or soggy/greasy, and the outside not being very crunchy.

I finally had really good french fries (after searching and sampling for about 20 years) last year at my state fair. The fries were from a food truck parked out back of one of the buildings (the poorest location for great all day foot traffic). Many times these food trucks, out back, are there for but one year, never to return. I hope not.

The fries themselves were how I like them, fluffy on the inside (not greasy/soggy, nor dried out), and heavily blistered/crunchy (skin on ) on the outside. A little bit thicker, and they likely would have been perfect. The odd thing is that this vendor had all kinds of seasoning options for them, none of the options being just plain salt (which I special requested). They were from Maine, so I assumed they mostly ran the food truck somewhere along the coast during the summer vacation season. I suppose with all of the different seasonings, they were trying to please people who were visiting from all over.

[karstopography]

Frozen French fries have already been cooked twice, blanched and then fried at the factory.

Those thick fries, we called them steak fries growing up for whatever reason, are very good when really crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. There was a country club when I was growing up that made them perfectly and their hamburgers were excellent also. The club is long gone, but a local restaurant, called the Local, has tried to recreate them.

Hard to go wrong salt only as a seasoning for fries. My dad used to put a little lawry’s seasoning on fries which I like once in a while, but some of these seasonings people use detracts from the experience.

One reason I want to grow German Butterball potatoes is to make fries from them. I adore Kennebec fries.

[karstopography]

I wonder if there is a premium brand of frozen fries? Maybe that might use the best potatoes, the best process, and right oils and amount of oil?

Nothing wrong with cutting your own fries, doing everything it takes to prepare those and all that, but is there a brand and/or cut of frozen fries that is head and shoulders above the rest?

I’ve gone to the market and am pretty bewildered by all the choices on frozen fries.

[sleepy man]

This is an old thread but i would consider dusting or adding a small amount of baking soda to the fries before frying. This can help speed up the Maillard reaction. More browning and belter exterior texture.

[worth1]

This is an old thread but i would consider dusting or adding a small amount of baking soda to the fries before frying. This can help speed up the Maillard reaction. More browning and belter exterior texture.

Old but ongoing thread.
I'll give the baking soda a try.
Depending on age of potato if it's older it will brown faster because the starch is starting to turn to sugar.
I've had to adjust my frying technique depending on the age of the potato.

[worth1]

Just by eyesight I try to make my potatoes around 3/8 inch thick.
I don't get to technical about it.

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[worth1]

I absolutely hate spicy French fries.
I can't stand the way they smell or taste.
In my opinion it's the worst possible thing you could ever do to a potato.
Oh but try our spicy fries you'll like them.
No I won't, get those nasty things away from me.
My God man don't you have any dignity.
It reminds me of that self proclaimed chef idiot from Utah that ruined untold hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of filet mignon by butterflying them dumping some sort of spicy seasoning on them and cooking them well done on a gas grill with the cover on.
The only one this fool didn't ruin was the one I rescued.
Let me have that one before you cut it
What?
Yes let me have that one I'll cook it myself.
What you don't like the way I cook these steaks?
No I don't.
You don't know how to cook steaks you're ruining them.
I was going to be polite but he forced me into it.
If you don't like steak any other way than well done don't waste your money on filet mignon.
Popeyes French fries are frigging horrible soggy greasy nasty things that a 4 year old could make better.

[worth1]

Here's one I've never seen on any video and to me yesterday it was like suddenly discovering the wheel.
I wanted to make French fries but wanted the skin off.
Most people peel the potato first then cut the fries.
What a complete waste of time.
I did my usual blocking off of the potato before I peeled it.
Then I peeled it
It takes seconds to cut the remaining skin off.
The discarded pieces of potato gets fried in their little group.

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[JRinPA]

I have trouble reading this fancy fry thread...precutting, soaking, freezing...

I got the...mandoline slicer last year partly for cutting 1/4" fries from fresh potatoes. They were good enough. Bought peanut oil to replace the canola oil, since that is "frying oil" and canola ain't cheap anymore. They were still okay, but I think they dropped half a grade in taste from canola to peanut.

This month I changed to using beef tallow. Cooked it down in crock pots and then filled the fryer. They instantly went back up a grade.

Now I have been experimenting with the tallow and holding the cooking time down. What seems to work really well with 1/4" fries is this:
325F with half a basket for about 60-75 seconds. Bring it up to 325 again and repeat for the second half. Then combine into the full basket and raise to 375F. Finish for about 2:15 at that temp.

Total time to make the fries is like 15 minutes from decision time to sitting down to eat. That's important to me. Turn on the fryer a hair to melt the tallow, brush off some potatoes, set to 325 when fully melted and raise the basket out, slice the potatoes, fill the basket halfway, 1 minute, 2 minute reheat, 1 minute, 3 minute reheat, 2 minutes cooking.

These are back to tasting like the good fast food fries when I was a kid.

[worth1]

I'm just doing the twice fry thing.
Too much trouble to do all the other crazy stuff and not getting any good results.
I might try the frozen raw method.

[Old chef]

Twice cooked- blanched either in oil -325 degress or water. If water, start in cold water, don't let it boil. Either method, take out potatoes when only par/half cooked, still firm. frezze, then, fry at 350 degrees

Thrice cooked- quick blanche in boiling water- loosens up the external starches, more crisp later, cool, fry in oil 325 till still firm. frezze.
Final fry @ 350 degrees. Produces a crackling crunch

Always finish with course salt!

Old Chef

[worth1]

I had some large soft boiled potato chunks left over I put in the refrigerator last week.
I dropped them in hot oil and they came out crunchy with a creamy inside.
As I recall we almost never if ever had French fries at home growing up.
They were always German fries sliced or chunks.
I can't remember one time ever seeing anything deep fried.
I got the idea of trying the frozen raw potatoes from some hamburger guy on YouTube that owns a restaurant in California.
It didn't work.
Still limp as I suspected they would be.

[loulac]

Being French does make me an expert of French fries. I have just watched a TV show called “nightmare in a kitchen” where Philippe Etchebest, a well-known chef, helps restaurant owners solve their problems. I have recorded preparations of pork and French fries, Belgian style.

Your French may be a bit rusty, just remember this :
Salt on the piece of pork to absorb extra water : 10 minutes. Oven : 180°C
Variety of potatoes : Bintje or Agria
Size of fries : 11 mm
Potatoes fried in beef fat 3m30 at 140° then cooled off at ambient temperature
Fried again (till the color is nice ?)
The customers who tasted them gave them high marks …

[worth1]

@loulac
My cast iron French fry cutter I recently purchased has 4 cutters.
Wedges in 8ths.
1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 straight fries.
11 mm is basically 7/16 12.7 mm which is in between 3/8 and 1/2.
I usually use the 1/2 cutting plate.
3/8 is 9.525 mm.
I tried the 1/4th inch 6.35 mm cutting plate and it was way too small for my taste in French fries.

It might just be the location but a fast food place here in Texas called Whataburger has pretty good crispy fries.
But nothing like what I got in the Netherlands before they stopped using beef tallow.

[JRinPA]

so what brand cutter and is it going to hold up?

I think we could make a better fry cutter design than what I have seen out there. Almost every one I have seen has cutting blades that interlock into a grid and are therefore greatly weakened and impossible to sharpen.

[worth1]

so what brand cutter and is it going to hold up?

I think we could make a better fry cutter design than what I have seen out there. Almost every one I have seen has cutting blades that interlock into a grid and are therefore greatly weakened and impossible to sharpen.

It's the Web restaurant store brand cast iron cutter that's about 45 dollars.
It's exactly like the more expensive ones that are name brand.
It comes with your choice of cutter size but you can order the other cutter sizes you want when you order.
The cutter assembly is 8.99.
And the shipping is free.

I am well satisfied with the overall quality of the build.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/14241/ ... ndard-duty

[JRinPA]

I think I ordered a very similar one and sent it back. I know I ordered, I think it was very similar. Way too BIG for the kitchen.