Who doesn’t love french fries? With soft pillowy insides paired with crispy golden skin, no side dish compares to the mighty fried potato chips. Unfortunately, not all homemade french fries attempts are successful, and mostly it has to do with the potato used.
The ideal potatoes for french fries are Russet potatoes. This type of potato works well for frying because of low moisture and high starch content, resulting in a crispy exterior and evenly cooked insides. Another excellent choice is the Maris Piper potato, but it is usually limited to European markets, making Russet the universal fry potato.
Read on as we explain what makes Russet potatoes such an excellent variety for french fries and all the secrets to making restaurant-style crispy fries at home.
What Makes Russet Potato An Excellent Choice For Fries?
What is it about Russet potatoes that makes them such a good choice for frying? Like all starchy potatoes, the Russet variety is high in starch and low in moisture. In simple words, when fried, it takes the oil-less time to eliminate the water content on the potatoes, yielding crispier fries. Moreover, the large oval shape of Russet potatoes makes it easier to cut long, symmetrical fries, which cookout evenly.
Add to that the excellent nutritional value of the Russet variety, and you have the best fries potato on hand. These denser potatoes are starch-heavy, ensuring that they do not hollow out as you fry them. Unfortunately, a common problem with waxy potatoes is that they have a lot more moisture, which evaporates during frying, often leaving the fry “empty” on the inside and, thus, limp when fried.
Therefore, Russets, dense potatoes with brown skin and white flesh, make an excellent frying choice. Russet Burbank is the best (and one of the most popular) Russet cultivars for french fries.
3 Factors Affect The Quality of French Fries
Choosing the right potato is not the only thing you have to get right to make the perfect french fries at home. Several factors come into play when you’re trying to copycat restaurant-quality fries in the realms of your kitchen. Luckily, making minor changes to how you cook your potatoes can make a world of difference, and they are pretty easy to do so. Here are three factors that dictate how good your homemade fries turn out.
1. The Choice Of Potato
First and foremost, choosing the right type of potatoes takes the front seat. We know that potatoes like Russet, high in starch, are the best choice for frying. Plus, their shape makes it easy to cut them and get the signature fries shape.
However, if you cannot find Russet potatoes (which is highly unlikely since they are very easily available), you can choose other starchy potatoes as a replacement. Although, getting Russet Burbank is still the first choice. Some good alternatives include Gold Rush and King Edward. As we discussed, Maris Piper is an excellent fries potato, but it’s not as readily variable in the US. Both Russet and Maris Piper potatoes have high starch and low, reducing sugars, which yield a crispy fry.
If out of all options for starchy potatoes, you can go for all-purpose or floury potatoes like Yukon Gold. However, remember that this medium scratchy potato will not give the same result as the high starch alternative.
2. The Type Of Oil Used
What you use to fry the potato also plays a massive role in how your fries eventually turn out. The trick is to use a neutral oil that will not impart a lot of flavor to the potatoes. You also need to ensure that the oil has a high smoking point since the potatoes have to be fried at a high temperature to provide a crispy crust. Vegetable oil, canola oil, and peanut oil are all excellent picks. However, steer clear of olive oil since it has a strong flavor and low smoking point.
3. The Frying Age Of The Oil
One secret that allows restaurants to churn out batches of crispy fries day-in-day-out is that they fry their potatoes in used oil. This makes for better-tasting, flakier fries because used oil is broken down. Heating oil allows the molecules to break down, which will bond better with the potato to result in crispier fries. Since fries need an oil with a high smoking point, it will break down slower than oils with a low smoking point.
However, you can generally reuse oil three or four times before discarding it. Think of it this way: after the oil has been cooked for six hours, you should switch it. Even when your oil is good to reuse, you should filter it after frying and store it in a sealed, airtight container in a cool, dark place.
Always make sure your oil is not separated or tastes sour before reusing it.
How To Prepare Potatoes For Frying?
Preparing your potatoes the right way will also impact how evenly your fries cook and can be the difference between a crispy and soggy chip. Here is a foolproof way of preparing Russet potatoes for even cooking and flaky results.
Step #1: Peel The Potatoes
Peel the potatoes. You may notice a few eyes (or sprouts); you can remove them. The potatoes, once the eyes are removed, are safe to consume.
Step #2: Evenly Cut The Potatoes
For potatoes to cook evenly, they need to be cut uniformly. First, make sure you cut the sides of the potatoes to make even edges, and cut in 1/4th-inch slices. Next, cut the pieces into 1/4th-inch thick strips, ensuring all your fries are the same length and width, and cook the same. While cutting the fries, keep transferring the ready strips to a large bowl with cold water and lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
Step #3: Rinse Off Extra Starch
Rinse the potatoes to remove any extra starch. You can do so by putting them in a bowl and washing them under cold water until it turns transparent.
Step #4: Soak and Refrigerate
Add lemon juice and ice cubes to the bowl of water with the fries and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will prevent the fries from taking on color too fast during frying so that they can get cooked from the inside before turning perfectly golden brown.
What is The Double-Fry Method For French Fries?
The ultimate way to make the perfect homemade french fry is using the double fry method. As the name suggests, you fry the potatoes twice in this method. The first fry is to cook the potatoes’ insides or blanch them to cook the sides. The second and final fry is on a higher temperature to quickly give color to the fries. This way, you prevent undercooking while ensuring the fries have a crunchy exterior.
For the first fry, heat the oil to 325 F and cook them fresh for up to 8 minutes. Next, lay them out on absorbent paper; they will be soft at this point. Keep the fries in the fridge or allow them to come at room temperature. Once the fries are cool, crank the what to 375 F and plunge them in the oil again till they are crispy golden brown.
Can You Make Fries With Waxy Potato Varieties?
Waxy potatoes have too much water content and, thus, result in soggy fries. The oil has to work extra hard to get rid of the moisture, which usually results in darker, hollow fries that lack the texture of a good french fry. Waxy potatoes are better suited for recipes in which you want the potato to hold firm post-cooking. Use them for gratins, soups, and salads.
The Bottom Line
Russet potatoes are the best choice for making french fries, as they have low moisture and are very starchy – their dense texture and low water content results in a crispy french fry with fluffy inside. Russet Burbanks are excellent cultivars to replicate restaurant-like fries at home.