Double-Fried French Fries Recipe | Guy Fieri | Food Network Make sure the next time you cook a batch they're crispy—really crispy. You can place paper towels under the cooling rack. Look at this first: When I say so, close your eyes, imagine the smell of freshly fried potatoes, the crisp, salty crackle between your teeth and the hot, saltiness on your tongue, sigh deeply and contentedly, shut off your computer, and take a 15 minute nap, letting yourself float through a golden sky of french fries with sea salt stars and fluffy white clouds of mayonnaise... Continue here for French Fries: Iteration 1 Recipe ». I'm wondering if one possible culprit is the pot I use to fry. This is easily put to rest with a single observation: These are french fries that are in the midst of their second fry. I carefully lowered the potatoes into my hot wok full of 375°F oil (which I had set up with perforated aluminum foil divider so that I could fry both batches simultaneously without mixing them together—one of my more clever moments), and fried them for exactly two minutes before removing, draining, and tasting. Soon, individual molecules of starch break free from larger granules with the help of the energy provided by hot oil. Since rougher texture = more surface area, and more surface area = more bits to crisp up, perhaps the boiled potatoes would crisp up nicely after all? Double Fried French Fries April’s Method. Guy from the food network has lots of tips and ideas for how to double fry French Fries to get some amazing results. In batches return fries to the oil and cook until golden and crisp. *The only people who are allowed to use the inaccurate phrase "dipped in boiling oil" are medieval torturers, if only for the sake of poetic license and brevity. 4. Next, I turned to the microwave. Why are French fries called French fries? They have already been fried once, so any sort of watertight barrier-formation should have already occurred. But to take it a step further, many places will double fry their fries, first at a low temperature and then at a higher temperature. This will help to produce fries that are sturdy and crisp. These frozen french fries are already cooked using that double fry method we talked about earlier. This is the paper-like sheath you see around a potato that has been fried once at low temperature. French fries are delicious. And whaddaya know? Soak fries in cold water for half an hour to remove starch. The key lies in the fact that not all water in a potato is equal. boiling the potatoes in water is probably not the best par-cooking method. Why NOT place french fries on paper towels. For one thing, the fries inevitably come out too brown—some times massively so. J. Kenji López-Alt is a stay-at-home dad who moonlights as the Chief Culinary Consultant of Serious Eats and the Chef/Partner of Wursthall, a German-inspired California beer hall near his home in San Mateo. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Turns out that the true reason double frying is necessary has nothing to do with the very center of the fry—only with its outermost layers. I still held out hope that this crumbly texture would give the boiled potatoes the edge. Throwing potatoes in hot oil is a way that will get you a decent fry. When it comes to the actual cooking, you want to fry the french fries twice. The Double-Fry Method . Your email address will not be published. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt], Fixin for a fry? The fried potato on the left is sheathed in a robust, skin-like pellicle, while the boiled potato on the right is starchy—almost crumbly—in appearance. Russets make the best french fries. The boiled french fry on the right was certainly crisp, but delicate to the point that I could barely pick it up without shattering its surface—the layer of crispness was paper thin, and quickly softened within minutes after emerging from the oil. Add potatoes and cook, stirring and turning frequently, until golden brown, about 2 minutes (oil will drop in temperature when adding fries—adjust heat to maintain temperature between 375 and … Double Fry French Fries. With the power of radiation, I should be able to cook the potatoes through, driving off some of their excess moisture in the process. Remove fries and place on a. Who knew that their inaugural run would be on a couple of potatoes? Oil Temperature for French Fries Toss with salt and serve. All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. Get Double Fried French Fries Recipe from Food Network You can also find 1000s of Food Network's best recipes from top chefs, shows and experts. Why are French fries called French fries? If you Google "double-frying vs blanching french fries" you'll even see a lot of articles about double frying where they refer to the initial frying step as "blanching." Drain, season, and serve. Slice the potatoes into french fry shape, about 1/4-inch thick (if you have a mandolin, you may wish to use that). Some of it is bound within the potato's structure more tightly then the rest, requiring more energy to expel it. To circle back to the main thrust of the question - if you blanch, then frying once is fine. The intricacies involved with taking potatoes and oil, applying science, heat, and a bit of blind faith are so complex that I will not even attempt to cover it in a single blog post. The best way to make a fry is to either bake it or pre-fry it in low heat. Well sorta. Return fries to hot oil and cook until golden brown. Comments can take a minute to appear—please be patient! The get nice and brown during the second fry, but still end up limp on the plate. It’s the best way to achieve the crispiest result. The traditional double fry method (once at low temp, then again at high temp) works, but it's far from foolproof, and fails to meet all of the requirements I've set for a perfect fry. There are a few tricks to French Fry making. No further discussion needed! If you are going to make these from scratch (not frozen store-bought) you gotta do it right! I've tried sticking them in the freezer between frying as some recommend, but still not all that great. Fry And Fry Again: The Science Secrets To The Double Fry : The Salt You might have heard that double-frying food gives you a thicker, crunchier, more soul-completing crust. This will make the food soggy. No wait—don't close your eyes yet. Par-frying is usually handled in factory, and finish-frying is … Add citrus acid or vinegar to the water solution to prevent darkening. Follow this recipe and a few tips for the best batch of homemade double-fried French fries! I've heard three reasons that have a bit of sense to them: Well, It's been 10 years, and it's time to put the theorizing behind me, and get some real answers so that I can once again sleep soundly at night. French fries are simply cut up potatoes, fried and salted. Fry the potatoes again … The first thing is you need the right potato. French fries dipped in a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise are divine. If Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have taught us anything at all, it's that sometimes, when you combine two extraordinarily simple things, the results can get a little complicated. Fries made from peeled potatoes should be chilled after cutting in cold water for 30 minutes to 2 hours before frying to ensure maximum crispiness. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy. The WWI story, as endearing as it might be, almost certainly isn’t true. Or, my personal favorite, and the very first response I ever received when I was still a lowly line cook. Fry potatoes in small batches, maybe 7-8 fries per batch, so that they cook evenly. The double-fried french fry, on the other hand, had a thick layer of golden brown, cracker-like crispness that stayed crisp even when it was almost fully cooled. I cut a single potato into perfect 3/8-inch square matchsticks, soaked them in water, then divided them in half. In a medium sauce pan heat sunflower oil to 320F. Lucy, an employee at Belgium’s Musée de la Frite de Bruges, had a totally different theory: “During World War I, the Anglo-Saxons fighting on the front lines met French-speaking soldiers eating fries. During the first fry, some of the water present in the potato evaporates and exits, allowing the oil to enter the space it was taking, and come in direct contact with the potato's cells. Check out his video for all the details you need to know. This easy pie dough recipe doesn't require special equipment or training. Second, you need to be using the right oil. August 17, 2010, maureen, Leave a comment. The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science (based on his Serious Eats column of the same name) is a New York Times best-seller, recipient of a James Beard Award, and was named Cookbook of the Year in 2015 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. What we do is we take the raw potato slices and fry them for 6 minutes in high heat, salt, then serve. Note: Any kind of "frying" here refers to air-frying. Also, the potatoes were picked from the same batch, they were cut in exactly the same way with the same width, using a … Lift the basket, turn the heat up to 360 degrees, and lower them back in to cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden. In common cases, the frying of French fries is carried out in two steps, par-frying and finish-frying, with a cooling step in between. 2. Third, you want to blanch the fries in heated oil. After you fry them once, moisture creeps its way back to the top of the french fries, causing them to get soggy. But first, let's quickly run through french fry basics. Why Double Fry French Fries? Why do you double fry the potato fries? I tried par-cooking a potato that has been fried once at low temperature fries.! Potato that has been fried once at 325°F, according to traditional French fry basics classic recipe, really. I ’ ve come across use the double-fry method is easily put rest! 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