# Not like McDonald's Fries



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 16, 2009)

I'm swimming against the current again. And yes, I know, MickeyD's are the world's most popular fries. They just aren't my faves. I grew up with fries that were thicker, were sometimes flexible, without being greasy, and fluffy in the middle. That's how all of the hamburger joints served them. And most were made from scratch, on-site.

To re-create that flavor and texture, crispy on the outside, fluffy, tender, and moist on the inside, I peel and wash my spuds. Then, I slice them into fries that are about the thickness of two McDonald's fries in both directions, width and depth. Bring a pot of water to a boil and insert the frenched potatoes. While the spuds are cooking, heat oil in a deep/heavy frying pan, or deep fryer. Test the spuds after about three minutes. They should be partially cooked, but not all the way through (cooking completely results in fries that fall apart when you try and move them from the water). When about half cooked, carefully drain the fries and immerse in cold water to remove any excess starches. Place the drained fries, a few at a time, onto paper towels to remove excess water (reduces the popping from water hitting hot oil) and then into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Remove to paper towels and lightly season with your favorite french fry seasoning. Serve piping hot.

These are not for everyone. If you love McDonald's french fries, then by all means, purchace and enjoy them. but if you want real potato flavor, parboil the thicker fries and then fry them. They absorb much less fat, and are delicious too.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## attie (Apr 16, 2009)

Excellent method GW, at times I do them that way as well. The easiest way for me was to double fry them because of the demand, however, I did them with a difference that made them super crisp. I coated them in a light batter before this first fry.






These are waiting for the second fry.


----------



## Uncle Bob (Apr 16, 2009)

I usually double fry GW....I'll give the par-boil method a try....Sounds interesting!!


----------



## SierraCook (Apr 16, 2009)

GB your method for making fries sounds interesting, I may have to give it a try.  One of the local restaurants has beer battered fries.  They are my favorite.  I have never liked shoestring fries.  Fries in need to be cut thick.


----------



## dave the baker (Apr 17, 2009)

Attie:   We have the battered fries at the Los Angeles county fair and they're billed as "Aussie Fries"  Maybe you should sue them. LOL


----------



## Able Hands (May 17, 2009)

*Did something wrong!!*

I wanted to try homemade fries for the first time, and I liked the looks of the OP's ideas.  Unfortunately, something went wrong.

I wound up with really great looking fries that were terribly greasy.  I mean almost inedible greasy.  But then I have an iron stomach, so they got eaten.

Here's what I did, help me figure out what I did wrong...  Please.

I used 6 Idaho Russets.
Cleaned off all of the crud.
Pealed and rinsed.
Cut into desired size based on original post.
Rinsed again in colander to get off all excess starch.
Spread out on cooling racks on baking sheets and into fridge for about an hour to remove excess moisture.
Brought vegetable oil up to +/- 375 in fry daddy. (not sure of exact temp in this appliance)
Cooked about 5-6 minutes in the hot oil.  Put in same size batch as store bought frozen fries, cooked about the same amount of time.
Removed to cooling rack to drain for a few minutes.

So, what did I do wrong?  The oil is a bit old and is on it's way out, but not that bad.  Did I use the wrong spuds?  Rinse too much?  Maybe cut too big?  I'M LOST!!  As usual.

Matt


----------



## GrillingFool (May 17, 2009)

I am not a fan of McDonald (or most other fast food) fries.
I like thick ones, preferably wedge with the skin on.

Our oven died a while back, and we just HAD to have fries, since 
were having burgers. OK, I admit, we generally just bake some 
Ore Ida Texas cut, or whatever they call them.

But since the oven was kaput, I fried them as the package recommended.

MY GOODNESS! Those were, perhaps, the best fries I have ever had. Crisp
outside, soft fluffy inside. Might have spoiled me forever from baking them again.


----------



## Merinda (May 17, 2009)

Able Hands said:


> I wanted to try homemade fries for the first time, and I liked the looks of the OP's ideas. Unfortunately, something went wrong.
> 
> I wound up with really great looking fries that were terribly greasy. I mean almost inedible greasy. But then I have an iron stomach, so they got eaten.
> 
> ...


 
Unless you left the step out in your post, you didn't mention par boiling them before frying?  Could this be the problem?


----------



## Dumpandstir (May 17, 2009)

Able Hands said:


> I wanted to try homemade fries for the first time, and I liked the looks of the OP's ideas.  Unfortunately, something went wrong.
> 
> I wound up with really great looking fries that were terribly greasy.  I mean almost inedible greasy.  But then I have an iron stomach, so they got eaten.
> 
> ...



My thoughts are that the grease was not to the correct temp.  You may have overloaded the frydady.  The frozen fries have been precooked so all you have to do to them is warm them and brown them.  

I have always been a fan of the 2 fry method.  The first fry cooks them (gets them to the same point as frozen), the second fry browns them and makes them crisp.  Also the first fry does not have to be as hot as the second fry.  

Keep at it.


----------



## dave the baker (May 17, 2009)

Dumpandstir said:


> My thoughts are that the grease was not to the correct temp. You may have overloaded the frydady. The frozen fries have been precooked so all you have to do to them is warm them and brown them.
> 
> I have always been a fan of the 2 fry method. The first fry cooks them (gets them to the same point as frozen), the second fry browns them and makes them crisp. Also the first fry does not have to be as hot as the second fry.
> 
> Keep at it.


 Most excellent advice!  Best way to do it.


----------



## Able Hands (May 17, 2009)

Sorry, I did skip a step in my last post.

I did in fact par boil them, then rinsed with cold tap water, and then into the fridge.  Perhaps the 2-fry method is necessary.  Are Russets OK of fries?

Matt


----------



## Dumpandstir (May 17, 2009)

Able Hands said:


> Sorry, I did skip a step in my last post.
> 
> I did in fact par boil them, then rinsed with cold tap water, and then into the fridge.  Perhaps the 2-fry method is necessary.  Are Russets OK of fries?
> 
> Matt



Russets make good fries.  I still think that you may have overloaded the frydaddy.  Those things are not meant for many fries.  I have a fryer that uses 1 gallon of oil.  I use it quite a bit and I don't think I would use anything much smaller.  I think that when making fresh fries it is important to be able to maintain the temp with a large amount of oil.  

I started with a fry daddy but that was back when it was just me and my wife.  Now we are a family of 9 and I'm forced to think big.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (May 18, 2009)

I agree thatg you probably overloaded the Fry-Daddy.  The par-boiling initially cooks the potato.  Frying makes the outer surface of the potato crisp by replacing the water with oil.  But the oil must be very hot.  Then, as fry browns, the steam pressure  from the potato exerts enough pressure to keep any more oil from soaking into the potato.  The outer surface becomes crisp, without the inner meat losing its moisture, thus remaining soft, fluffy, & tender.

The reason I prefer this method of cooking fries is that the outside of the fry isn't as dark by the time the potato is cooked through in a thicker fry.  It remains lightly browned and very tasty'

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## appleyard14 (May 18, 2009)

Able Hands said:


> I wanted to try homemade fries for the first time, and I liked the looks of the OP's ideas. Unfortunately, something went wrong.
> 
> I wound up with really great looking fries that were terribly greasy. I mean almost inedible greasy. But then I have an iron stomach, so they got eaten.
> 
> ...


 
The only reason for greasy fries would be oil temp to low. But it sounds like when you put your fries in the oil you dried them out. Since you washed and dried them so much, the potatoes had nothing left in them so they wanted to absorb whatever they could, and in yoru case oil.


----------



## Able Hands (May 18, 2009)

Thanks everyone, I think I probably did over load being used to precooked fries.

The comment that made the most sense to me was about the fries being too dried out and sucking in the oil.  I may try to do another smaller batch today and see how they come out.  My fryer only holds 2 quarts of oil.  Any thoughts on an amount of spuds to put in?


----------

