Restaurant-Style French Fries
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So I took a break from the French fries recipes last week but I couldn’t leave a stone unturned. This is the one that I’ve been waiting to get out here… deep fried French fries! Yeah, the restaurant-style stuff, aka the REAL deal!
Frying your French fries at home isn’t as much work as you think it is. You just need to master the technique. While I don’t deep fry often, when I do I have to admit it’s so much fun! As much as I enjoy air frying my French fries - or up until I got an air fryer - baked my French fries in the oven, the most satisfying type of fries are the deep fried fries.
With this recipe, you’ll achieve perfectly crisp and golden brown French fries, just as good - if not better! - than what you get at your favourite steakhouse or burger joint. They’ll be piping hot and so fresh! Skip the bagged frozen fries and enjoy frying up a storm for an exciting weekend event! Pair with your favourite burger, turn this into fish and chips, or use these fries as the base for an Epic Canadian Poutine. Do whatever you want with them, fries are such a versatile side dish, and you’ll be addicted to these Restaurant-Style Fried French Fries!
HOW MANY POTATOES PER PERSON?
If you’ve ever made fries before, you’ll know that the amount that’s yielded from a single potato is kind of disappointing. The cut potatoes certainly shrink up! Time and time again, I was always regretting not having made a second potato when I was cooking fries. They just disappeared way too quickly!
Unless your potato is huge, for a regular-sized potato, I’d recommend two potatoes per person, that’s about 1 pound each!.
HOW TO CUT THE POTATOES
Rinse and wash the potatoes well. You may peel the potato or keep the skin on.
Slice each potato into 1/2 inch thick slices.
Then, stack 2-3 slices at a time and cut the potatoes into about 1/2 inch matchsticks.
WHY SOAK THE POTATOES FOR FRENCH FRIES?
One word answer: starch. Starch is not your friend if you are looking for crispy fries. Starch is gummy, and just like how you rinse rice before cooking to get the perfectly separated grains, you want to rinse off the excess starch from potatoes as well to help them become crispy.
WHAT OIL SHOULD I USE TO DEEP FRY FRENCH FRIES?
Before preparing these fries, I wanted some inspiration. I watched a mini documentary by DW Food on Why Belgium Has the World’s Best French Fries. The “expert” here recommends beef dripping, also known as tallow.
As far as I know, you don’t get this at the grocery store, and I really don’t know how to make this. If you know how to get your hands on beef drippings then please let me know in the comments!
With that being said, the host does not recommend using oil of any type. Too bad, though, because oil is all I have! Don’t worry, you’ll be fine! To make these fries, I used peanut oil because it has a neutral taste and a high smoke point. When looking for a cooking oil, stability of the oil is key, so that the oil doesn’t react with the oxygen when heated.
Oils that I recommend you use include coconut oil, avocado oil, palm oil or ghee. These are oils with a high smoke point, and if you’re health conscious, the healthiest oils will be coconut oil and avocado oil. If you can, use lard or tallow for the best tasting fries.
For more information on what oils are best for frying and why, be sure to check out this article by Healthline.
WHAT TEMPERATURE SHOULD THE OIL BE?
In this recipe, you’ll be frying your French fries twice. Belgium, arguably has the best fries in the world and I will be following their footsteps for these golden fries. The temperature during the first cook of the oil should be 125 degrees Celsius and, and the temperature for the second fry should be 175 degrees Celsius. Here, having a kitchen thermometer is immensely useful.
WHY DOUBLE FRY THE FRIES?
Double frying your fries is a must, because otherwise you’re just having potatoes.. sorry to burst your bubble. The first fry will be to cook the potatoes on the inside. You’ll want to do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd your pot or wok.
Then, after we’ve cooked all our fries and have given these a chance to cool down, we fry them again at a higher temperature when we’re ready to serve. The potatoes are already cooked, but we just want the lovely golden brown colour and the crispiness on our potatoes. Don’t make the mistake of taking them out too early though! When I first made the fries, I was nervous that they were going to get overdone and I took them out of the oil too soon. Really ensure that you get the perfect colour on all your fries. It’ll be quite hard to overdo them so don’t be nervous!
TIPS FOR PERFECT HOMEMADE FRENCH FRIES
Be consistent with the thickness of the fries as you cut them. The more even the shape and size of the fries, the better consistency you will see with the doneness.
Soak the fries in cold water to rinse off excess starch to help get the fries crispy.
When you’re ready to fry, pat down your fries and ensure they are completely dry so that any water residue doesn’t cause oil to splatter
Make sure to heat oil to 125 Celsius for the first fry and to 175 Celsius for the final fry.
Double fry your fries to first cook out the potatoes, and then to get them golden brown and crispy!
Season with salt after the second fry!
WHAT POTATOES SHOULD I USE TO MAKE RESTAURANTS-STYLE FRIES?
If you’ve seen my Perfect Air Fryer French Fries or Homemade Baked Oven French Fries recipes, you’ll see that I used Yukon gold yellow potatoes. I chose those potatoes for those recipes because I preferred the taste and the colour that comes from cooking those fries in those appliances.
For these Restaurant-Style French fries, I wanted to truly compare which potato was best, so I used both russet potatoes and yellow potatoes. Ultimately, I’ll say that my preference is using the Yukon gold yellow potatoes for fries in general. Especially when deep frying, if you use yellow potatoes, I kid you not that these will smell, look and taste just like McDonald’s fries! The resemblance is just striking and these fries totally blew me away!
On the other hand, when frying the russet potatoes, they had an after-taste like that of a baked potato. When testing this French fry recipe, for the first attempt I used just russet potatoes. They were tasty, but the taste and appearance wasn’t what I was looking for. That’s why the second time I used both types of potatoes to really be able to compare and contrast. If you want some serious restaurant or fast food style French fries, then I highly recommend you use the yellow ones! You may have read that the yellow potatoes can become limp and mushy and that they don’t get crispy. Not true at all! You just need the right cooking techniques and you’re good to go!
How to Make Restaurant-Style French Fries
Soak potatoes in cold water
Soaking the potatoes helps remove extra starch from the potatoes, and you only need to soak the cut potatoes for about 25 minutes. The water will turn white as the starch releases. This helps with making the fries more crispy.
Frying Your Fries
Add fries in batches to hot oil and cook for around 10 minutes, or until the fries are soft. Drain and set aside on a baking sheet layer with paper towels. Repeat this step for any remaining fries
Season with salt after Frying
I find that seasoning the fries prior to making tends to make the fries mushy as they cook because salt speeds up the cooking process. So by the time they are crispy, the fries tend to fall apart.
Once the fries are crispy, transfer to a large stainless steel bowl and immediately season with salt.
Can I make Deep Fried French Fries Ahead of Time?
I wouldn’t suggest it! I did have some extra fries in this case, but they definitely lose their crispiness, and they’ll become limp. If you want sturdy, crispy and delicious fries, then serve hot and fresh right away! The best thing I would suggest if you want to get a bit ahead in your timing, such as if you need to cook a burger, is to do your first fry and let those cool down. When you’ve got your main dish ready, then do your second fry and serve right away!
Baked French Fries
I understand that deep frying your fries is a lot of work! Trust me, it is! I think it’s well worth it for a special occasion, and I do have loads of fun watching the fries fry and get super crispy. The smell is also amazing.
If you want a more accessible way to make French fries, then baking is definitely the way to go! You can bake your fries either in the Air Fryer or in an oven, depending on what appliances you have and the quantity of fries you’re making. If you’re making fries for a crowd, I recommend you bake your fries in the oven. You’d have to be making your fries in batches for the air fryer, and this just isn’t efficient!
The air fryer will give a colour, taste and crispiness that more resembles the deep fried French fries. However, the oven-baked version is a very close second!
For both of these cooking methods, I recommend you par-cook your French fries. This will help speed up the cooking time in the oven or air fryer, and will give a much crispier French fry than if you were to skip this step. If you’re short on time, then I recommend you soak your fries up until the water of your pot comes to a boil to par-cook your fries!
Then, before baking or air frying, coat your fries with olive oil. This will help generate the lovely golden brown colour and achieve a crispiness that’s similar to when you deep fry. You’re still using oil but it will be a lot less! Plus, olive oil gives the fries a great flavour!
For more details, check out my Perfect Air Fryer French Fries or Homemade Baked Oven French Fries recipes.
Recipe Variations
Well, now you’re set with your perfect Restaurant-Style French Fries! These fries are a blank canvas, and you can enjoy them on their own or enhance them in a number of ways! Here are some ideas.
Cajun fries: Once fries are done cooking, simply sprinkle with Cajun spice and salt to taste. Here’s how to make Amazing Homemade Cajun Seasoning!
Greek feta fries: Sprinkle the fries with parsley, minced garlic, lemon juice and crumbled feta cheese.
Parmesan fries: Add generous amount of finely grated Parmesan to hot fries and serve immediately.
Watch How to Make Restaurant-Style French Fries Here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!