Go to the Recipe: Thin-Cut French Fries
When cooking something sous vide but packaged in a liquid such as brine, like in this case - what's the difference between packaging the food in the liquid and then cooking the packages in water, versus just skipping the packaging and cooking the food directly in the liquid? I can imagine that if I were using an immersion circulator then it might be a pain to clean, but if I'm using the saucepan-and-thermometer method to maintain a target temperature, it seems like it would be a lot easier to just fill the pan with the brine and just put the fries directly into it.
- originally posted by Richard Fine
You can do that. We use sous vied here for quality control(equal parts brine and potato) and easy transferring as they become very soft after cooking. Adding too much brine result in a very bland potato and its hard to cook the potato in equal parts brine in a pot.
- originally posted by Grant Lee Crilly
How long do you need to leave them in the freezer? Or is skipping the freezer an option, and if so, do I just continue to fry until their golden?
they're
you need to freeze them, if not it wouldnt be a "triple cooked" technique. Plus its not an option becouse in order to achieve the golden brown crispy finish, the final frying is done at a higher temp and needs to be done when the potatoe is cold (frozen)
What's the meaningful difference in using glucose syrup rather than corn syrup, given that the syrup is dissolved in the brine?
In step 2, would it be easier to cut the potatoes into discs rather than batons, and then cut the discs into batons after the SV step? Seems like they'd be less fragile that way. Or would the decreased surface area cause other problems?
can these be done with sweet potatoes using the same exact recipe?
Can the Glucose Syrup be subbed with another sugar as I do not have glucose laying around?
when using fries that have been frozen they always come out too greasy because of the starch cells being broken up by the ice crystals. maybe the solution is making sure that fries are as dry as possible before placing them in the freezer. ive used this technique commercially and chilling is always the superior option.
The answer is on the thick French fries page : 2,5 gr granulated sugar instead of 10 gr syrup
You just had to insert that last part in to the video
Has it really been two years?!?! Holly S....
why do we need to add baking soda and Glucose syrup
Can I use the stove top "sous vide" method for this recipe?
Great site! Are all chamber vacuum sealers equal? I have a Sammic SV308T and the user instruction specifically say that the vapour generated by hot products damages the vacuum pump. Jolly old Heston may well have 'deep pockets' but I on the other hand, have not. Keep up the good work!
This recipe seems to be largely culinary masturbation. Just hang the spuds in a net bag in a warm place for 1-2 weeks. This allows some of the starch to break down into sugar. Then wash, peel, slice, dry, and fry at 375°F. If you cook them in liquid, you'll wash all the natural sugar and flavor out of them. Mine do not look as pretty as yours, but I'll bet they taste better. I'll test that theory and get back to you.
So did this ever happen?
You had me until you got to the sous vide. There is no way in hell I'm serving food heated in plastic to the people I love the most. You do know that plastic is toxic right?
You do know that you're the 1000th person to make this type of comment without checking your facts first, right? Since you've obviously registered an account here on ChefSteps (known for their modernist approach to cooking, with sous vide probably being the most common method used), why not have a look around and read some of the articles/discussions regarding food safety?
What about serving food heated in plastic to the people you hate the most? ;D
I recently discovered this website. It's fantastic. However, it's one thing if you want to go from being a cook to a chef, it's another thing to keep things realistic. Homemade fries: bins filled with brine for testing raw potatoes' moisture content, sous vide process, frying, freezing, refrying... I imagine there are some users here that would commit to making these fries, but I am confident there are plenty of users such as myself that believe this is taking the practice of cooking from being a joy to excessive. After all you want to make a happy meal with and for your fam & friends, and enjoy the activity at the same time. Having that said, I love your brioche buns and beef patties recipes.
@Amirali I was given an Anova Culinary Sous Vide for Fathers Day and I've really enjoyed learning to use it. There are lots of cooking forums and websites where you can simply "get the recipe" without all the testing and explanations, but that's what makes ChefSteps different—and fun! I'll never be a professional chef, but I'm willing to try to become a more knowledgeable cook. I think part of this is understanding "why" and not just the "how" which allows for more personalization and experimentation later. Anyway, I'm not trying to chastise you or anything, just sharing my own experience. Happy cooking!
Read the description they give above. It's all in there
Leave them in the freezer until they are frozen solid. I find an hour works ok as long as they are spread apart. You can skip the freezer all you like, but you won't get the results they show. You could have just tried it though.
I prepared this recipe for my wife who is a fries lover (so dangerous). I don't have an immersion sous vide but I managed to complete this task by using the "pot on a stove" method. My wife carefully watched the entire process and the only thing she had to say was: "this is too much work for simple fries" (I personally don't think is a lot of work). Next day when I was getting ready to begin the frying process (I placed the fries in the freezer for 24 hrs) she was anxious to try them. I cannot describe how happy she was with the end result, but to give you an example her opinion now is that I can prepare the best french fries she has ever tasted (yahoooooooo). The only variation I did was to replace the 10gr of glucose syrup by 2,5gr of granulated sugar. I am very thankful with ChefSteps for making this website available for everyone who has a desire to cook better and more efficient. Cheers.
Hey would this work for sweet potatoes too?
Yes, FROZEN!
I have worked with fries, many methods, but the bare bones of french fries is at least;
1) Blanch them in the fryer at 290 until soft...err..sort of soft...lightly stiff?
2) Freeze them, I tried just cooling them or refrigerator but didn't work.
3) ...wait, like 2 hours in the freezer should work, then fry at 375 until lightly brown.
Can I bake instead of frying them?
If my fries stuck together in the freezer, should i thaw-separate-refreeze, or do the final fry in chunks so they split up on their own?
What happens when I increase the pH of food to cook, just as baking does in this recipe?
The pectin in the potatoes break up faster. This makes the surface area bigger and fluffier, which again leads to more crisp surface when you fry them
I've made this recipe about a dozen times now. The first time, it was decent, the second time it was out of this world. My friends all told me they were the best fries they've ever had. But every single time I've tried to cook them since, they've always been kinda off.
They don't seem to crisp up the same way and they "taste oily", even though i'm using the exact same ingredients, doing the exact same steps. Any idea what I could be doing wrong? Oil temperatures, not draining the oil after frying enough?
I am planning on making a large batch of these fries. Soooo much, the bagging and sous vide'ing seems tedious. Can I just make the sous vide bath the brine and put the large batch of fries directly into the bath? Thank you
Disregard... I see this answered on the first page... Thank you very much:
I am also planning to make a large batch of fries for a party. do you think I could peel and cut the potatoes a day or two in advance and vacuum seel them ? Thank you
Keep them stored frozen after the first fry. Make them a few days before, but stop at Step 10 in the recipe.
Been thinking, and wondering except for the possibility of an uneven cook, is there any negativity cooking in mason jars for the SousVide step? I want to do a massive prep and I’d rather save my vac bags for the freezer/ storage than loosing a bunch to the cooking process. I’d fill the jars with cut potato equal amount of the brine, finger tighten then cook,empty, and reload. At the other station I have set up do the first fry then cool package/seal and pop in the freezer.
Thanks for being a oasis of knowledge on the World Wide Web!!!
Use duck fat instead of oil. You won't regret it.
To make it healthier, instead of steps #11 and #12, can I air fry the frozen fries? If so, would the 10 minutes air fryer technique work?
Thanks for the awesome yet simple recipe!!!
Just made these (again) using duck fat. Whoo!
How long can I keep them in the freezer before the 2nd fry? Will they keep for weeks/months like store bought frozen fries or just a few days?
Can you do this with roast potatoes - of so ho w long in sun vide and how long to put in the oven?
Hello Janette, You can do this with wedge cut potatoes and the thickness of the cut will determine the time cooked. The recipe and time above is for 9 mm thick potatoes. I would increase the cooking time by 5-15 minutes for thicker cuts. For the roasting part, the time is up to you and depends on thickness and oven temperature. Roast until desired color with your oil choice, and do not forget to stir and rotate.
Grant m’man this better work baby! It’s 4:00am fries are cooling to put in freezer ... roast beef in the bath ... super apple pie in the fridge : tomorrow drenched dip apple pie in the fridge .. fries ready u my hero
