Homemade French Fries done right!
Homemade French Fries done right are amazing, creamy on the inside, crisp on the outside, but there are tricks to making them right, and there are two methods that work well.
Tip: Use Russet Burbank potatoes and age them for a few weeks to a month, if possible. They should be a little wrinkled; this naturally converts some of the starch to sugar and increases flavor and browning.
Method one- Overnight soak and double fry.
Cut the potatoes into desired size, put into a large bowl and rinse with water to remove excess starch, cover with water and place in the refrigerator for 12 hours or longer. Heat fryer oil to 340F, drain the potatoes and fry in batches, just until you see bubbles on the outside of the fries, drain and layout in a single layer on a sheet pan, once all the potatoes are fried put them in the refrigerator to chill. When ready to serve heat the oil to 375F and fry in batches until brown and crispy, toss with salt and pepper and serve.
Method two- Blanch, cool and fry. This is much faster.
Cut the potatoes into desired size, put into a large bowl and rinse with water to remove excess starch. Bring a pot (size will depend on number of potatoes) of lightly salted water to a boil add the cut up potatoes and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain and layout in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with paper towels, put in the refrigerator to chill. When ready to serve, heat the oil to 375F and fry in batches until brown and crispy, toss with salt and pepper and serve.
Poutine
My wife is Canadian, so this is a must around our house.
Have ready a brown gravy, it can be made from whatever you like, chicken, vegetable or the Traditional, Duck (it’s the best) and some cheese curds, they are readily available at most markets today. The trick is to have the gravy very hot, so it melts the cheese a bit. Put the fries in individual serving bowls then top with curds and pour on some hot gravy.
