Perfect French Fries Finger Chips My Food Story

on May 06, 2022, Updated Sep 23, 2024 Have you ever wondered why your homemade French fries never turn out like the ones you get at your favourite fast-food restaurant? I know I have. And after years of trying to make crispy French fries but ending up with sad and soggy instead, I think I may have just nailed them! Now this way of making fries is slightly more time consuming than simply cutting and frying, I promise you it is totally worth it!

Delivers perfectly crispy fries and delicious fries every time Requires just four ingredients You can pack in a few extra nutrients by leaving the skin of the potatoes on While salted French fries are a classic, you can totally season these with some peri peri mix, garlic powder or BBQ seasoning

French Fries Ingredients Overview

This French fries recipe requires just four basic ingredients.

Potatoes: Russet potatoes are the best variety to make French fries, though most varieties work. This is because their high starch content and low water content helps give your fries that perfect taste and texture. Salt: For seasoning Vinegar: Mixed with water while boiling the potatoes. The acidity from the vinegar helps the potatoes retain their structure and not break apart while boiling. This is also the reason why fries turn out perfectly crispy. Oil: While any oil works, it is best to use something with a neutral flavour and a high smoke point. This will make sure that your fries do not have a strong flavour and the taste of potatoes shines through. Sunflower, canola or vegetable oil all work really well for this finger chips recipe.

How to make French Fries

Here’s a quick step by step collage to show you how to make the perfect French Fries:

Wash and peel the potatoes. Ensure to rinse multiple times to get rid of any dirt and starch present. Keep them submerged in water to prevent oxidizing.
Cut both the top & bottom tips of the potato & place it vertically on your chopping board and then cut thick slices of it, they should be ¼ inch thick, make sure you cut all the slices evenly. Lay down the slices and cut them into ¼ inch thick fingers. Transfer to a bowl and keep them submerged under ice cold water for 10-15 minutes.
Boil water in a pot along with vinegar & salt. Add the fries and blanch for 8 minutes. Ensure they cook evenly, stirring at regular intervals. Once cooked, remove from flame and drain the water.
Arrange the fries on a wire rack and let them cool. Let the potatoes rest for 10-15 minutes or until they come back to room temperature.
Heat oil for frying. Bring the oil to 200C, keep in mind this is a little hotter than normal frying temperature. Drop in the blanched potatoes and fry for 90 seconds.
Remove from the hot oil using a spider strainer. You should be able to see a thin coating on the fries.
Transfer the fries onto the wire rack and allow to rest for 15 minutes. At this stage you can place them in a ziplock bag & freeze. These can then be treated like a packed of frozen fries and can directly be deep fried from the freezer in hot oil or in the air fryer.
Heat the oil back to 200°C and add the fries, the temperature will drop to 170-175°C, maintain the same temperature while frying them. If you don’t have a thermometer to maintain the temperature, just fry them on a medium flame for 5-7 minutes till crisp and golden.
Remove the fries from the oil and transfer to a tissue lined plate.
Toss with salt, pepper or your choice of seasoning and serve hot!

Richa’s Top Tips

How to cut fries: To get the perfect, restaurant-style French fry texture, it is best to cut the potatoes by hand to a thickness of about one fourth inch. You can also use a mandoline for cutting fries if it’s sharp. We thought it was a little bit of a struggle Any potato variety works but new potatoes are better for french fries because of their high water content resulting in the crispiest fries After cutting the potatoes, immediately soak them in ice-cold water and cover the container. This will remove some of the excess starch (important to get crispy fries) and also prevent the potatoes from turning grey. Dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel before frying them to prevent splatters. In between frying, make sure to rest the fries on a wire rack only and not on a plate to prevent the fries from getting soggy and limp. Avoid overcrowding the pan when frying the potatoes as that will bring the oil temperature down considerably leading to soggy fries. If you are leaving the skin of the potatoes on, give them a nice scrub to remove all dirt and impurities.

Even though making the perfect French fries takes a bit of time and effort, one bite and you know it’s totally worth it! Serve it with my garlicky yogurt party dip, spicy nacho cheese sauce or some good ol’ ketchup and watch them get over in a matter of minutes!