Perfect French Fry

[Jmolinari]

HD, that's the method i've been using for a year or so when i read about it in one of Steingarten's books. It's works very well.

[Loundry]

Anyone catch America's Test Kitchen today?  Cold potatoes in cold oil and heat.  That's about it. Joel Robuchon evidently came up with method and ATK adapted it.

I have tried that method.  If I recall correctly, you have to let the cut potatoes sit in the oil for about ten minutes while they head.  And then, "gently stir them".  In my experience, 30% of them disintegrated when that step was reached.

F.

[Jmolinari]

cook's illustrated has you not rinsing the potatoes...if you dont rinse them the starch on them sticks to the pot. Rinse them after slicing them.
These aren't McD quality fries though they are good.

[HaagenDazs]

I have tried that method.  If I recall correctly, you have to let the cut potatoes sit in the oil for about ten minutes while they head.  And then, "gently stir them".  In my experience, 30% of them disintegrated when that step was reached.

F.

You cut 2.5 pounds of fries out of Yukon Gold potatoes (not russet, this was stressed in the instructions) and then put them in a cold dutch oven with 6 cups of cold peanut oil and 1/4 cup of bacon grease for flavor.  Turn the heat on high and don't touch them.  When they come to a rapid boil start a 15 minute timer.  After 15 minutes, you can loosen any that might be stuck to the bottom.  Cook for another 7 or 8 minutes after that and you're done.

Remember they are supposed to be gently stirred only after 15 minutes of boiling.  After that 15 mins of hot cooking time, they have set up enough so that they don't break apart.  They stressed this in the instructions.  In the event you stir before that they do disintegrate.

[Loundry]

I have tried that method.  If I recall correctly, you have to let the cut potatoes sit in the oil for about ten minutes while they head.  And then, "gently stir them".  In my experience, 30% of them disintegrated when that step was reached.

F.

You cut 2.5 pounds of fries out of Yukon Gold potatoes (not russet, this was stressed in the instructions) and then put them in a cold dutch oven with 6 cups of cold peanut oil and 1/4 cup of bacon grease for flavor.  Turn the heat on high and don't touch them.  When they come to a rapid boil start a 15 minute timer.  After 15 minutes, you can loosen any that might be stuck to the bottom.  Cook for another 7 or 8 minutes after that and you're done.

Remember they are supposed to be gently stirred only after 15 minutes of boiling.  After that 15 mins of hot cooking time, they have set up enough so that they don't break apart.  They stressed this in the instructions.  In the event you stir before that they do disintegrate.

So it was 15 minutes after all.  That's what the "If I recall correctly" was meant to convey: I was recalling from memory, not reading from the recipe.  In any event, I followed the recipe, as I always do the first time around, and the recipe failed.  The problem isn't with me.  It's with the recipe.

Your retelling of the recipe reminded me of another part of the recipe that failed hard.  The gentle stirring is supposed to loosen any that might be stuck to the bottom.  In my experience, many of them were practically welded to the bottom.  Stirring to dislodge caused the fry to detach from the part that had adhered to the bottom.

F

[Loundry]

It kind of reminds me of Cooks Illustrated's attitude toward people in general.  They think that everyone else is a moron and that if their recipes don't work out, then it's simply because people didn't follow the recipe.  What happens if you follow the recipe exactly, and it fails anyway?  In Christopher Kimball's mind, that simply isn't possible.  He must think he is J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.

[Jmolinari]

I'm with loundry. I followed their recipe once and they stuck like they had been welded. If i rinse them first they're perfect.

[HaagenDazs]

I'm not trying to prove anyone wrong here, I haven't even tried the recipe... until tonight.

No rinsing, no "welded" bottom, none really that stuck though a slight coaxing with a spatula certainly loosened a few.  It worked very well.  The fries were a tiny bit leathery but still nicely crisp.  I would do it again considering the ease.  I'll try rinsing them next time as it is obviously an very extremely easy addition.

I used a Staub dutch oven for what it's worth.  If we're playing the grade game I'll give them a B.

[Jmolinari]

I'm not trying to prove anyone wrong here, I haven't even tried the recipe... until tonight.

No rinsing, no "welded" bottom, none really that stuck though a slight coaxing with a spatula certainly loosened a few.  It worked very well.  The fries were a tiny bit leathery but still nicely crisp.  I would do it again considering the ease.  I'll try rinsing them next time as it is obviously an very extremely easy addition.

I used a Staub dutch oven for what it's worth.  If we're playing the grade game I'll give them a B.

When you rinse, make sure you dry well in a dish towel.
I wonder if using an enameled cast iron dutch oven helped the sticking issue. I used a standard stainless dutch oven/pasta pot....

[HaagenDazs]

And Staub is even a little different from most other enameled cast iron. 

[Foodgeek]

Nope - curry ketchup.

http://www.amazon.com/Burkhardt-Curry-Ketchup-19oz-540/dp/B000NY6PAC

I'm thinking I could make that for a whole lot cheaper than $10.95 a bottle, and it would be more closely tailored to the blend of spices that I'd like.

It sounds like there are a lot of variables in the ATK recipe that could cause failure. Just the temperature variations caused by different types of metal would be enough to screw it up. Good to know that people have had varied results before I go trying something like that myself.

[LamarT]

Partial fry RUSSET potato french fries. Yukons are for mashing/whipping and roasting, they make terrible french fries as they never get crisp.
Put them on a sheet paper lined pan and refrigerate at least one hour.
Fry again. Shake and let it rest then toss in bowl with salt and pepper.
Cooking fries or chips in duck fat, bacon fat or walnut oil is out of this world. My favorite of all is in duck fat.
Just shake the potatoes a couple of times while frying. Give them plenty of room and set the controls to 350 degrees.
Do not fill the fry basket. Give them room and do not make the temperature drop more than 15 degrees. Add
slowly and do not splash. The twice fry makes the best overall french fry. At least for me!

[tansu]

I am lazy, so I boil in salt water with a little vinegar 20-30 minutes, freeze, put in cold oil, turn on heat to high. Ready in 20 minutes.

[LamarT]

Tansu, that's funny, but you know? It works that way as well. Potatoes, can't live without them and do not want to live without them.
I think that the whole perfect french fry thing is a blast and well worth all the experiments.

[The_Scientist]

http://www.salon.com/food/francis_lam/2010/11/12/how_to_make_french_fries/index.html

An article on better homemade fries offers sound advice without tipping into OCD territory.  The author recommends rinsing in cold water and double frying, but isn't overly fussy about the size of the cut, the type of oil, or even which potato to use (he even claims that some people prefer waxy potatoes for fries).

FG followed the advice and produced some of the best fries EVER last weekend, topping them with some crumbled cheese and fresh dill.  Sounds a little strange, but were they ever good!