Really good melt-in-your-mouth frites (or French fries) is an ethereal experience that everyone should have. In my experience the key factors that contribute to these great frites are lots of peanut oil (and duck fat if you can get it) and those big, fat Russet potatoes. That’s pretty much it, there isn’t much mysticism involved and by following the steps below you’ll get some insane frites. You may never look at those soggy, limp, heat lamp jobs you get at the burger joint the same again!
Equipment
-large heavy bottomed pot
-knife
-cutting board
-mandolin
-spider
-sheet tray
-deep fry thermometer
-large bowl
-colander
-paper towels
Ingredients
-3 or 4 large Russet potatoes
-1 gallon of peanut oil
-1 cup of duck fat (not necessary, but makes a huge difference)
-kosher or sea salt
Method
Take the large pot and fill it with the peanut oil and don’t be afraid of putting too much in. To do this correctly you’re going to need a fair amount of oil, but remember about displacement. Make sure the pot is big enough, so the oil doesn’t spill out when you add the frites – grease fires in the house always sound like a good idea at first If you have the option of doing this outside it might not be a bad idea. Add the duck fat in at this point if you have it. Put the pot over medium-high heat, but pay attention to it and don’t let it smoke. We’re looking to get the oil to about 300 degrees in order to blanch the frites.
After you have the oil going thoroughly wash and scrub the potatoes. When you have the potatoes good and clean use a sharp knife to cut off four sides.
starting cut
Then, cut the potato into half inch slices, rotate those slices a quarter turn and again cut half inch slices.
first half inch slices
second half inch slices
You should now have a bunch of sticks that resemble frites.
cut frites
If you’re lucky enough to have a mandolin you can bypass all of this. Set the gauge to one half inch and with the wide tooth gate locked-in, slice away. Either way you do it when you have all of the frites cut put them into an ice water bath and let them soak for about an hour.
When your oil is hot enough remove the frites from the water, let them drain in the colander and then pat them dry with paper towels. Once dry add the frites in small batches to the hot oil. A little side note on the oil: This shit is laser-ass hot and it will burn the fuck out of you if it gets on you, so be careful.
blanching frites
You want to let them cook until they turn to a somewhat translucent white color, about six minutes. When they’re ready use the spider to pull them out and put them on the sheet pan.
blanched frites
Repeat this process until all of the frites have been blanched. Bring the oil up to 375 degrees. When the oil is ready and again working in small batches, dump in the frites and cook about three minutes or until golden brown.
finished frites
While the frites are cooking line the bowl with the paper towels. When the frites are done fish them out using the spider and let them drain in the paper towel lined bowl. After they have drained for a minute or two remove the paper towels and toss them in the bowl along with the salt.
I think these golden little beauties are good enough to stand alone, but they also go great with a burger or steak. You could even add some minced garlic and parsley for great garlic fries or try them with different condiments, seasonings or those exotic salts.