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Hands up who doesn’t like French Fries? …. No! Really? go on, I don’t believe you!
I know no one who doesn’t like French fries or “frites” [pronounced freet]. I’m not talking about the things your kids eat at McDonalds, or the oven ready fries you can buy from the supermarket –
Non merci!
I am talking about the real thing, home-made, ‘des bonnes frites maison’. I made some for lunch today, but took too long to get my camera to the table, and by the time I thought about pictures the serving plate was empty! That is the way things go here … sigh!
There are as many recipes for home made fries, as there are shapes of potato; here is how I make mine, let me know what you think.
To make enough fries for a family lunch for 4 people, I peel a good kilo or 3 lbs of large potatoes. I choose a variety that is slightly floury, slightly sweet in flavour. New potatoes don’t work for this. Apparently if a potato has been too cold, then the starch content alters and it loses some of its sweetness.
Personally I wash the potatoes before cutting them into the long chip shape. Most recipes tell you to wash them once they are cut, I find that simply blotting the raw chips with absorbent paper before cooking is sufficient.
I have a proper fryer with a drop in basket, but generally for small to medium quantities of chips I use a deep pan.
I heat up almost 2″ deep of vegetable oil and some duck fat in the pan. I like to use the duck fat for its flavour, and for that particular texture it gives the potato.
When the oil is bubbling hot, I drop one chip in to see if it starts ‘singing’ straight away. If it does then I gently slide a couple of handfuls of chips in to the pan, make sure they are separated from each other and well spread out, then leave to bubble for about 6 minutes.
The thinner the chip, the quicker they will be to cook – hum, pretty obvious!
I am partisan to the twice-cooked frite. That is to say that I half-cook all my frites, until they are just beginning to turn golden. This allows me to cook them in batches. As each batch begins to turn a little in colour, I lift the chips from the oil and put them in a heatproof dish to wait.
Just before we are ready to eat, once I’ve made sure that the oil is still bubbling hot (but not smoking) I put all the chips back into the oil, pushing them around gently so they are evenly distributed in the pan. This second cooking is very quick to react, and they should be watched carefully until they get to the colour you prefer – light to mid-golden in this house.
Lift with a slotted spoon onto a plate with absorbent paper, then transfer onto a warm serving dish, bring to the table and be prepared to be worshipped –
home made frites ensure instant goddess status …..
and that’s a promise!
Bon appetit!
Failing my own pics due to the frites being eaten way too fast, I thank La Recette de Cuisine.com; Kirbie Cravings; Kitchy Kitchen and Maison & Demeure for their excellent pictures.
32 comments
Yes. Chips, French Fries, Pommes Frites, or known by any other name, potatoes fried in deep fat and eaten with a sauce are one of life's sublime offerings. I love them.
Frites cooked in duck fat… died here and gone to heaven… 🙂 xv
They look and sound DIVINE!
I have heard how wonderful duck fat is to fry in. I have never seen it in the US for sale. I would love to try it.
I have started making sweet potato fries in the oven. They are wonderful too.
Oh, what temptation. I love home made fries. These sound so delectable – no wonder they flew off the plate!
Naughty but oh so nice……I can imagine the 'Goddess' status!
Sophia
Oh, they look so good! I do love fries.
They look delicious!
I need to check out the double-fried. We are always in such a hurry I usually just fry at 350°, and as for the duck fat, I guess I will have to experience it when I get to France. It is on my bucket-list. What are you dipping these in? We use catsup here, but yours looks very appealing.
Only homemade fries will do for my children!
Your pictures look fantastic as always!
Bon appetit!
Thank you for sharing your method! I always wondered how a favorite restaurant gets that "double fried" taste. I will try this!
XO,
Jane
I second that.
Tres yummy!! I am a fan of pommes frites, yours look fab!
Nancy
Those do look good, I just wish you wouldn't have taught us to use mayonnaise as a dip. It is decadent. In the US, sweet potato french fries are everywhere.
Thanks for making hungry. Wow…as soon as I lose my weight…. oh never mind… I'm not going to wait for the impossible. I'm going to make these this weekend. Love your blog.
You don't need to ask me twice…I love homemade fries. You just brought back so many memories from my childhood. Loved your post. Bonnie
I agree…childhood, memories of; my auntie would make fries, of all things with fried chicken (I can't imagine the calories, fat & carbs). She was Southern (U.S.) and called them "raw fries." Come to think of it, they didn't look like "normal" fries. I have no idea how she made them but I do remember large skillets (swimming pools) of hot fat because, as children, she made us stand back 'way far from the stove/oven when she was cooking. She also made mile-high buttermilk biscuits from scratch, the likes of which in this day and age I've really never seen; that was then, and this is now in today's culinary/health-conscious world. I imagine she might have used a lot of bacon grease. Her fried chicken had a dark, crunchy crust that was incredibly good to eat and the white meat was always moist & succulent.
Excuse me while I to go out to the kitchen now and eat my boring green salad and tea with no sugar…
Oh my…
my son would totally love that.
Looks delicious!
we have an Indian version of these too…called jhajra..but yeah french fries are too good!!…
I generally buy frozen packets and fry them at home 🙂
https://www.myunfinishedlife.com/
Yummy, my grandmother(southern USA) use to put them in ice cold water as she peeled them + eating one fry is not enough, ever. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
Hi,I love yours pictures,posts and You!!!!:-)
Mňam,Mńam…
Thank you..
Have nice day..
Bi
My husband is Belgian, and you probably know how they are about "French" fries (a good way to get an earful is to call them French fries because you will hear all about how they are not French but Belgian, just like Johnny Halliday and Jacques Brel). Frites are practically the national dish. There are friteries all over the place. When I moved to Belgium, I saw apartments with built-in fryers (though no stove or fridge!).
Anyway, DH and all the other Belges I know insist that the only way to fry fries is in "blanc de boeuf," not oil. It makes them crisper on the outside without getting hard on the inside. Supposedly healthier, too, because they don't need to cook as long. They also fry in two sessions, with a precise 3-minute resting time before the final fry.
BTW I love your blog!
No no no….I dont' want to see these. A definite weakness but not on my diet, lol.
LOVE french fries, with sea salt…..doesn't get better!!
I go to one restaurant that makes frites cooked in duck fat and they are delicious. As a matter of fact, the restaurant's name is Duck Fat…a tiny little bistro.
Twice fried is the way to go for crispy, rustly (is that a word?)chips.
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Ahhhh, duck fat, now available in our local store so we can indulge ourselves with beautiful pommes frites –some over-the top TV chefs now do thrice-fried, any advance on that !!
Восхититтельно!!!! Спасибо, приглашаю Вас в гости к себе ))
duck fat! that must be the secret!!! thank you!!
it is always a pleasure to come here.
Fra
So true! I fry them in black truffle oil, but I do wish duck fat was easy to find here, so I could give that a try.
They look wonderful. One small tip from cooking stunning chips (french fries) for over 40 years. After you have cut them nice and thin (5-7mm), soak them for about 40 minutes in cold water, then dry them. this removes excess starch- you may have to change the cloudy water twice. This makes them much crsiper, and less fattening. Dry them well,, and par boil them twice, ie taken out of the hot oil as they begin to go sogy, let the oil heat up again , dip them back, and repeat before the final crisping in the oil. the variety is important, King Edwards, Desiree, Romano, Estima & Marfona are all good.
It is difficlut to get good chips when the potatoes are new, and very white. they need to be a bit yellow and have been stored for 2 to 3 months but not allowed to start to sprout . Slice lengthwise first to get long chips and then five to six chips per slice