Salty, crispy and oh so finger lickin’ good……french fries. I’m a huge fan and not entirely picky with where they are served from. As in my husband prefers #Wendys and my kids are all about #McDonalds. I, on the other hand, tend to eat too many from any distributer. Although to be completely transparent here, I do get a bit happy-dance crazy when I see the battered, super crispy ones appear on my plate steaming hot from the fryer——- now those I will immerse myself in and ignore everything and everyone for quite some time. Sorry kids.
So what about homemade fries you may ask? Well, I think the picture answers your question. OMG- delicious! There is just something about eating the fruits of your labor within this recipe. Don't fret though- the labor is minimal, you can do it! The part that is the toughest I think is waiting for the soaking process to be done. It is like once you get the potatoes home, you just want fries, damn it! Sadly no though, the soaking is critical. So once you do that, you're golden. Fry away my friends……well actually fry away twice! Yes, another annoying part that I wish I could take away for you. Nope, not possible—— you must fry twice. In the food science world there is some amazing reason for this. I do not have that information, although I’m pretty sure it is just a ‘google’ away. Anyways, the point is- you need to soak and you need to fry twice!
So now that the dirty work is done, go ahead- heap up your ketsup and get ready to let the salt rain…..its a fry fest! Ignoring is allowed and seconds are encouraged. Enjoy!
French Fries
Adapted from: Ree Drummond via Food Network
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
5 large russet potatoes, washed
Vegetable oil, for frying
Sea salt
Cut the potatoes into equal strips, using either a mandolin or knife…. 1/4 inch thick I recommend.
Place the potatoes in a large bowl of cold water. Let soak for for 1-3 hours. You can also place in fridge and let soak overnight
When ready to make fries, drain the potatoes and lay to dry on paper towels. Blot the potatoes to remove excess water.
Heat deep fryer to to 300 degrees F or heat a large heavy pot with a few inches of oil. In 3-5 batches, fry the potatoes for 4-5 minutes—- they will not be browned or crispy at this point! Remove the batches and lay on new/dry paper towels.
Once all done with those and this ‘first fry’, heat the same oil to 400 degrees F (or 375 if that is the max of your deep fryer). When the oil has reached the 400 temp, fry the potatoes in batches again, cooking now until browned and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Drain on new paper towels.
Season with salt right away and enjoy.