Do you have a tip on how to cook crunchy french fries?

Bakemehappy

Bakemehappy

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I wonder what does it take to cook a batch of crunchy french fries. I tried coating them with potato starch on some occasions I made sure the cooking oil is very hot hoping I will get crunchy fries but all my ways failed me. Do you have any tip or is their a secret ingredient I can use to make my fries crunchier and not soggy? I would appreciate those tips you had tried yourself.
 
What we cook here is not the potato fries but sweet potato fries. The style of slice is the same as potato fries and the cooking is just the same. However, the sweet potato strips are dipped in brown sugar before frying in the pan. That brown sugar will make the sweet potato fries crunchy. For the french fries, I guess you can try a dip that is made of corn starch and crushed garlic.
 
My fiancee makes awesome fries and they are always crunchy. What he does is he waits until the fat is really hot then he puts them in and lets them cook for a few minutes, not until they are done. He then removes them from the fat and lets the fat drain from them. Lets them cool a bit and then submerges them back into the hot fat until they are done. They are always really crispy and it really makes a difference then if you just let them cook right from the start without removing and cooling them.
 
What L_B mentions seems like something that could work but in my case when I did fry chips I would just leave some in the the hot oil a little longer for my son who likes them crunchy to nearly burnt and then take them out and drain them. Those that were left in longer were always crunchy to nearly burnt. Then there is the oven. Stick them in the oven on a lightly greased pan and bake until crunchy. I don't know of a secret ingredient.
 
L_B said:
My fiancee makes awesome fries and they are always crunchy. What he does is he waits until the fat is really hot then he puts them in and lets them cook for a few minutes, not until they are done. He then removes them from the fat and lets the fat drain from them. Lets them cool a bit and then submerges them back into the hot fat until they are done. They are always really crispy and it really makes a difference then if you just let them cook right from the start without removing and cooling them.
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This sounds similar to the way I do it. Its called the twice cooked method, I think. One way of enhancing crispness even more is to toss the raw sliced potato in semolina.
 
Its the cook twice method that works best for me as well. I believe that you have to make sure that the oil has properly reheated after the first cooking and that the chips has cooked down properly as well.
It works with sweet potato chips as well.
 
L_B said:
My fiancee makes awesome fries and they are always crunchy. What he does is he waits until the fat is really hot then he puts them in and lets them cook for a few minutes, not until they are done. He then removes them from the fat and lets the fat drain from them. Lets them cool a bit and then submerges them back into the hot fat until they are done. They are always really crispy and it really makes a difference then if you just let them cook right from the start without removing and cooling them.
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I think letting them cool and rest a bit will do the trick. What if I put them on the chiller to cool do you think that will add to the crispiness of the finish product? This is one of the challenges I usually face when I cook some fries either they end up burnt or soggy. I will take into consideration all the tips I read here and will try to apply them next time.
 
Yes, you definitely have to pick the right potato for making french fries. I have always found that older potatoes work best. The new potatoes don't give you the same result. I am not sure if putting them in the chiller or not but I suppose to could give it a try and see. I don't think it can do any harm.
 
To me a French fry is a old season potato cut Fine on a madoline to order ,blanched in hot oil ,then allow the oil to reheat and back in till golden
Then drain onto paper and season job done ,
But a chip you cut larger ,old season Maris piper are the best ,I steam until they flour up ,I then chill so they hold their shape ,then the same process with the oil as the French fries ,so they are triple cooked
 
Generally speaking, the best temperature for deep frying stuff is 375 degrees F. If you try to fry stuff at a lower temperature and/or crowd the oil too much, you will wind up with soggy greasy food. However if you have it at the right temperature, the outside will crisp up immediately, preventing the insides of the fries from soaking up too much oil. Personally I'm a big fan of the "fair" or "festival" style fries, which are simply potatoes cut with a french fry cutter with the skins still on, and immediately dropped into hot peanut oil and cooked until brown and crispy. Because the excess starch wasn't removed from them first, they will be browner than the fries you get at McDonalds for example. If you've got the time, you could instead soak the cut fries in cold water, changing it two or three times, to flush out the excess starch.

The biggest factor imo is cooking them in a large enough amount of oil and making sure the oil is at the right temp.

I've heard of some other techniques though too to prepare the fries - one of the more interesting ones called for tossing the freshly cut fries in some sugar and letting them rest in a colander for a while. The sugar will supposedly draw the excess moisture out of the fries just as salt would, and the bit of sugar that remains will help the fries get a nice golden color and crisp up on the exterior.
 
Slice them up thinly, make sure the oil is very hot then after it's cooked let it rest for a little bit to add some crunch. That's the way I do it, sometimes I lay the fries in some napkins to drain the oil and I find it really helpful for my help since it reduces the oils I consume. Simple as that I say.
 
Chop the fires quite thin and sprinkle with salt. Cook in small batches in a hot pan until golden and then drain on kitchen roll. Increase the heat of the oil and return the fries to the pan in small batches. This should add crunch to them.
 
I have a hard time getting my french fries to stay crispy. I have never heard of the twice cooked method but will be giving it a try. I like to cook up a batch of fries for the boys when they come home from school as a quick snack.
 
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