Fresh-Cut Fries
This recipe is so simple it’s downright hard. We’re talking about only three ingredients here—potatoes, oil, and salt. But you’ve got to pay close attention to those ingredients and their handling to come out with crispy, erect french fries. Make sure you read Fry Obsession (see below) before you start.
Recipe information
Yield
feeds as many as you care to fix ¿em for
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Fill a deep-fryer or a deep pan with oil. Heat to 325°. Wash and dry each potato well. Don’t peel them. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and then into 1/2-inch fingers. Try to cut even pieces so you won’t have any cooking issues later.
Step 2
Blanch the fries in batches in hot oil. Don’t crowd—a gallon fryer will hold 2 to 3 potatoes’ worth of fries at a time. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, til they give when you pinch them softly. Drain in a single layer on paper towels or brown paper bags, and let them cool down to room temperature.
Step 3
Raise the temperature of the oil to 375°. Add the fries in batches (don’t crowd them this time either) and fry again til golden and erect, another 7 to 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels or brown paper bags and season right away with salt. Serve as fast as you can—freshly cooked, hot, and crispy.
Fry Obsession
Step 4
Every cook at the Dinosaur knows I’m a real pain in the balls when it comes to french fries. If their fries are flaccid I challenge their manhood. The fries have to be crisp and erect or they just don’t cut it.
Step 5
Fries have been my passion for as long as I can remember. But it wasn’t til we started making them that I truly became obsessed. Between our two restaurants, we go through a mother lode of potatoes every week. So with that much at stake, I’ve become real fussy about the potatoes we use. That’s because the secret to really great fries is locked into each and every potato. You won’t know how age and type have affected its sugar and starch content til you fry it up.
Step 6
Picking the right potato is key. For the most part, the russet potato is great, but at some times of the year we get better results from the all-purpose potato. Before we put in a big potato order, we’ll have six or seven samples sent to the restaurant to test. When we find one that cooks up perfectly, we book it.
Step 7
If you’re lookin’ to make great fries, why not test a couple of types of potatoes yourself to see which one performs best for you? Look for potatoes that are even in size and don’t have any eyes or sprouts. Cut them evenly, and make sure they ’re nice and dry before you fry them. Peanut oil seems to be the best oil to use because it has a high smoking point and can be reused for several batches of fries on different days.
