Over the past few years I've come up with certain basic staple dishes that I challenge myself with mastering. For example, I've been making
Alton Brown's biscuits from scratch several times a month for the past few years, and I've gotten now to the point that I'm confident that for the rest of my life I will always be able to make great buttermilk biscuits from scratch, entirely by memory.
The next dish on my list is French Fries. A very simple dish, they're notoriously fickle. They are so amazing when done right, served piping hot - and so bad when done poorly, served soggy and cold. Unless you're at a place renowned for their frites, it's going to be a hit or miss proposition!
While I'm on the topic, here is a quick list of places in the Seattle area that I find consistently have the best fries:
Cafe Campagne Maybe my favorite fries outside of Europe.
Teddy's Burgers There's one in Woodinville, near Precor. Plus, their burgers are fantastic!
Shake n Go Also near my office, the rest of the food here is mediocre, but the fries are consistently great.
Canlis For being Seattle's most Hoity-Toity restaurant, their truffle fries are to die for. A
happy hour of fries and a cocktail - there are worst ways to spend an afternoon!
The Wurst Place This is actually speculation. I went there about a month ago and had the absolute best tater tots I've ever had, and from what I hear, the fries are of comparable bad-assery. I fully intend of finding out in short order!
If you've got some faves of your own, let me know in the comments :)
Alright, let's make some fries!
Start off with Russet potatoes. Good ol' Idaho spuds. In my opinion, Russets are the best. Their mealy texture, once prepped as below, will result in the perfect fry. Avoid waxy potatoes like Yukon Golds.
A good rule of thumb is about 1 potato per diner, obviously adjusting for appetite and intended courses. In my quest of french fry mastery, I often just eat them by themselves :)
I like to pick ones out that are not too funky shaped. Obviously, clean 'em up real good. Some people peel their fries. I like the skins on, but whatever floats your boat.
Ideally I'm looking to make my fries about 3 to 4 inches long, and a quarter inch thick. I like to first cut off a piece of the side so that I can lay the potato down flat for optimal slicing.
Lay the potato down flat. That side trim piece may or may not be workable into a fry. You're going to end up with a few scraps - that's fine. The quest for the perfect fry is not without its casualties!
Now slice the potato into quarter inch segments.
Each segment can now be individually sliced into fries.
Voila!
Scraps. Sure, I could fry these too. But I'm picky about what makes the grade ;)
Next is the most important part. Fill a very large pot with cold water.
You want to soak your fries for SIX TO EIGHT HOURS. The water will start to turn a milky white as you leach the starch out of your fries. Every so often I like to reach in and mix them around. I don't know if it helps, but it I like feeling like I'm aiding the process :)
If you don't soak them, the starch will cause all of your french fries to stick together when they fry. That does not a good french fry make!
Eight hours later, remove them from the water, and lay them out to dry.
SAFETY TIP: Make sure you get them pretty dry. Wet fries + hot oil = BOOM
If you're really in to frying things, get yourself a spider. A spider makes getting large amounts of fries out of boiling oil a breeze!
I use either Canola Oil or Peanut Oil. Vegetable Oil will work too. Don't use Olive Oil, it will burn and make your fries taste funky.
The more oil you use, the better. It will maintain its heat easier when you add the fries, which will allow you to fry easier in batches. I use this whole bottle.
Now to key tip #2: The Double Fry. A good french fry has a crispy exterior, but a soft interior, without being mushy. The way to achieve this is The Double Fry.
First, heat your oil to 325. Use an oil thermometer to get it just right.
Next, fry your first batch for 3 minutes. Four russets in this amount of oil, I opted to do this in two batches.
Pull the fries out of the oil, and place them on a paper towel. Let them cool to room temp (spread them out, too. The above picture is when I pulled them out, but I evenly distributed them on the towel afterwards to drain the oil and keep them from getting soggy).
IMPORTANT: Before you do your next batch, make sure to measure your temperature again to bring the oil back to 325!
Once your batches are out of the oil and cooling on the towel, crank up the heat and bring your oil up to 375 for the second fry. This time, fry them at 375 for 4 minutes.
While the oil is heating to 375, heat your oven to 300. French fries are obviously best served HOT! Since we're doing these in batches, assuming you don't have someone standing on point to immediately eat your first batch, I toss my batches onto a towel lined baking sheet. The towels soak up oil, and we need to keep those fries hot!
And there you have it! Hit them with salt immediately out of the heat.
Bon appetite!
PS: You can let your oil cool, and then funnel it back into the bottle for another use. I wouldn't recommend using it more than twice. If you make onion rings, or something equally as aromatic, I'd advise against using the oil more than once.
Check with your local solid waste utility for the best way to dispose of cooking oil in your area. Here in the Seattle area, it's pretty easy to recycle oil into biodeisel.
