Go to the Article: French Fries: Achieve the Holy Grail of Air Frying
Thanks for this layout - the progression is interesting to read
I will try it tomorrow. Yum!
Does the kitchen smell after using the oven on air fry mode?
Can I request the same work for homemade fries? I love love love this, but given the love and care we put into pasta, maybe we can do the same for home made fries? I'm way more likely to whip up a batch of your fries then i am to buy a bag of frozen.
I second the request for homemade (fresh cut) fries.
Your methodology assumes all frozen french fries are created equal. Did you verify the results across various brands? What brand did you use?
You may want to read the article before commenting. “For each of the trials below, we used the Breville Smart Oven Air set on the air fry setting and Ore-Ida frozen french fries.”
CS has done recipes in the past on both thin and thick fries. They’re quite good; check ‘em out!
Hi Mark, Wes down bellow is correct. We think our fried fries that we have done previously are just the perfect way to make fries from fresh potatoes, there really just isn't a good comparable way to do it in the air fryer. unless you are par frying them first in oil....
Just to clarify - you used regular cut fries not shoestring? They look rather skinny in the photos.
yes. regular cut
With the Breville Air Fryer, do you preheat the basket?
No, just load it in with they fries once the oven is preheated.
Kyl, As is indicated in the above trials. Could this technique be adapted to the smaller brother of the BOV900, the BOV860. Understandably the size is different but what else may be different between these 2 units that we have to adapt certain recipes with a bit more accuracy. I had 320g fries @ 450 for 12 minutes and it was just south of not perfect. I will be testing once more. But any insight would be appreciated.
So don't preheat the rack in the oven, sort the fries single layer, then place in?
Cook the frozen fries at 480 °F / 249 °C. --> Is this with super convection on or off? I assume it's the hottest setting on the Breville Smart Oven Air right?
It is in the air fry mode as well. So it is the highest temp setting for the Breville oven as well as the super convection setting.
I think the problem you MIGHT have with smaller Breville ovens is in the temp regulation electronics. The Air uses PID which keeps the temp dead on where you set it. Most smaller ovens ( not sure about smaller Brevilles and I can't find the data ) is they use analog thermostatic control which roughly averages what you select by cycling above and below it between two varistats. That would not be suited to precision cooking which is what ChefSteps is all about.
Sorry it took so long to respond here Aaron, this one slipped between the cracks. I haven't had the chance to use the bov-860, does it go up to 480f? I think you just need to go a little hotter and use the same 320g weight you attempted. if it does not go higher it just needs a little more time. You are just playing with getting rid of enough moisture to get that perfect fry.
We were so pumped up about making fries like you did, we bought a new Breville air fry oven, and a bag of OreIda frozen French fries. We followed your directions exactly. No joy. Even though we pre heated the oven until it beeped ready at 480 degrees, tossed the fries about after 5 minutes, and realized they were not browned at all. We added another 810 mins to see some browning, but the fries were chewy-gummy on the outside and mealy on the inside! Not happy at all. Should we have sprayed with Pam spray first? We think the oven was at the set temp but didn’t try measuring it. Any ideas? They were standard fries, not crinkle or thick cut.
Hi Larry, sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you on the first try, I do have a couple of questions that might help me figure out where the issue is.
1. Did you weight the fries out?
2. ...A little advice for the Breville air fry oven.. It always says it is preheated after 5 min.. regardless if it is at the temp you set. For it to come up to 480°f it will take about 12-15 min. I would recommend letting it preheat for 15 min and give it another try.
hope that helps
Thank you, Kyl. We will try your fix and report back. Yes we did weigh them first. Let’s see what waiting 15 mins will do!
Is it possible to make this recipe in a convection oven? I've read that convection ovens are just like bigger air fryers, but other air fryer recipes I've tried online in my convection oven seem to need way more time to cook.
Its not going to be quite the same, the air friers have a much higher fan speed and can move the heat around more efficiently. They also have the added benefits of the air fry racks that are perforated to have air flow on the bottom of the product.
Where is the recipe and all the testing that went with it? On October 2nd 2021, it was all there. Now I need it again and it is all missing.
My Breville BOV900 Smart Oven Air Pro without fan never, ever gets higher than 400 degrees; and in super convection mode never above 425 (tested with Taylor 5932 oven thermometer which can read to 600, and which agrees all the way up to my Whirlpool's maximum 500 degrees).
Yes, the Breville lets me set to 480, but it never reaches 480 no matter how long after the misleading preheating notice goes away I wait.
Anybody else who can verify that 480 is more than a theoretical, wishful thought?
Thanks.
ps. I really want good french fries.
Hi Bob, I would reach out to Breville and see how they can help. We have used about 30-40 different ovens in the studio and have logged internal temps many times. We have certainly gotten to those temps in ours. You might have a hardware issue.
Kyle,
Thanks for confirming that the high temps are achievable. A replacement oven will arrive soon. 480 degrees, here I come.
Great to hear!
A valiant effort guys but I think I'll pass on the Air Fryer novelty & stick with the tried & true two time frying technique. Besides, does anybody actually think air frying all those carbs is actually that much healthier then old school frying at the proper temps, such that the finished food items are crisp and dry and never greasy?
So just making sure…use frozen fries right from the bag, no oil at all. ?
My oven arrived today and the box has photos of beautiful croissants. Does anyone know a good source for frozen, unbaked croissant? I can’t do those from scratch to often.
Correct, no oil. The bagged fries are ready to go.
I’m not sure where else to put this comment, but since this is the test/recipe that convinced me to buy this oven, this is where I’ll do it. I cut my losses and SENT IT BACK. I love my Joule sous vide and all the Chef Steps recipes. I always enjoy your tests. But you failed me on this one. The fries were a bust, it doesn’t toast well (and is inefficient at that), chicken didn’t work and it takes up too much room in my pretty large kitchen because of the clearances needed.
I’m sticking to what I have and know. Sorry.
Perhaps I missed it, but does this describe how to prepare freshly-cut fries using a #4 blade mandolin?
Would love an image or link to the specific Ore-Ida Fries you use.
On Ore-Ida website there is:
Golden French Fries
Country Style French Fries
Extra Crispy Fast Food French Fries
nothing is simply "Ore-Ida frozen French fries"
I guess 'Golden French Fries' ?? but a picture would have been worth a thousand words here!
Hi Stephanie,
We too have a smaller kitchen, and were a bit doubtful of it earning its countertop space. Part of this is if you had a 'toaster oven' before, with a far smaller footprint, then this is real step up, and surprise. But - we have to remember this is *not* a toaster oven - its an advanced multi function countertop oven, that can do all sorts of clever things, including cleverly roast a whole chicken with alternating heat sources, air fry foods, 'autopilot' to proof then bake bread, croissants, etc.
We're still pretty new to it, but enjoying not having to turn on our big Wolf Oven for a month. It has earned its place in our kitchen. Gas oven fumes in the home are not healthy - very happy to have minimized that.
It's a terrific design (though wish the handle was a little smaller - its too big) and there's a lot more to come as the recipes and possibilities open up & come online. It's very new, and everyone is learning what it can do!
One final tip: buy the wooden board designed to fit on top of this specific model - that reclaims a lot space above the oven, and looks good too.
Extra Crispy Fast Food French Fries. Our faves.
what did you use to make the waffle fry?
I adore mine so much that it is the only oven I will use.
what about this video? do you recommend the brine? should they be air fried twice?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upLZPLwZwgM
Every now and then I'll want to make fries just for myself. For a smaller batch size, let's say 100g, what would you recommend for time and temperature?
