Go to the Recipe: Thick-Cut French Fries
Hey Antoine, great question. Curious though, how many orders of fries would you need to be serving a night? I ask because if it's a crazy amount we might need to find an even easier solution for you. But I'll take a first crack at your question and we can go from there.
First off I want to note that this recipe was designed to make the best possible results with the tools and ingredients that we had access too. Thats not to say if it's simplified the results can't be amazing. I say this incase someone wonders "well why isn't glucose in Nick's cowboy version of the recipe?". Also we're basically doing a a process very similar to Kevin Smiths Ultra-Crispy Roast Potatoes but in a different shape, check it out.
Suggested trial 1 ~
(Don't worry about the "Sort potatoes using this simple technique to find those ideal for frying". This applies to small batch production not my man Antoine.)
1. Bring a large stock pot of water to a raging boil heavily seasoned with salt. Don't need to be exact but within the ballpark of 0.5 - 1% salt. Lets just say roughly 20 g salt per gallon.
2. Peel and slice russets into 1-inch batons (sticks). Personally I don't like mine to exceed 2 1/2-inches in length. Don't need a ruler but the longer batons from a big potato and/or the center just cut them in half. Trust me they're going to break in half during the cook anyways so just get ahead of it.
3.. As the chef is slicing them transfer batons to cambro or sink filled with water. This will help keep the color and rinse some of the native starch on the surface.
4. When your pot is boiling throw in your potatoes. This amount, I can't tell you right now, this would take some trial and error. I would start with like a 4-qt cambro of cut potatoes and if you achieve the results at the end of this journey, double that amount. Should be fine though.
5. Cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes begin to soften around edges but are still completely firm and raw in the center, maybe 5-15 min I think. Don't worry about the temp drop, just keep that burner CRANKED. If anything cover with a lid for like the first 5 minutes of the cook. Don't forget to gently stir with a large spat or stick. I don't like stirring my potatoes with a spider, I find it cuts them up. But you do you!
6. Transfer cooked potatoes to wire rack to allow steam to escape and surface to dry, leave at room temperature for 30 min. From here transfer to walk-in to completely cool. 7. From here do your two stage fry. If you have any questions about that just lmk!
NOTES: So in the original recipe we we baking soda. This helps with browning but more importantly creates small crack on the surface resulting in, you guessed it, more texture. I wouldn't start with trying this off the bat. Because in your situation you would want to reuse your pot of boiling water multiple times. What should create enough texture on the surface of the potato is the agitation of the water making these lil tuber-sticks smack into one another. So lets start with that and go from there.
Also just test this out with one potato in a 3-qt pot. If you achieve the results you like we will know for certain it will scale up well for you.
Is there a practical way to scale this for a restaurant or do this without sous vide in a large pot on a medium simmer. And if done as a modification with or without sous vide when should I start the 15 min timer to account for the temperature drop due to a larger batch dropping the temp and time it'll take to get back up to temp? Do I start the timer once temp is achieved or should I use a different metric since the fries will already be cooking at a lower temp?
if you wanted/had to do this recipe omitting the Sous vide step,how/what would you change/do??
what if I wanted to waffle cut the fries? would the procedure be any different? Could you also batter the fries to make them taste even better?
I have made these without freezing and they were great. I plan to try the freeze strategy next. Any special issues with the second fry period. Straight from freezer to oil?
Hello Fernando, This recipe is only for the humble potato that is in the nightshade family. The sweet potato is a whole different root vegetable. Well, maybe we need to get some of those McCains sweet potatoes and see what we can do.
Hi,
Will this work with sweet potatoes as well? If not, could you please do the recipe like the McCain's? :DDD
Will this work with sweet potatoes as well?
It would sure be helpful if you would have a print recipe function.
Could I poach the potato in the brine at 194f/90c for 25 minutes, instead of sous vide ? Then dry, fry, & freeze, etc..
I bought a jicama and remembered Whole Foods sold these addictive Jicama Fries in their hot food bar. Would this recipe work for jicama or would adjustments need to be made?
By far, best french fries ever!
What happens when i increase the pH of food to cook, just as baking does in this recipe?
Why do you set the sous vide to 194 instead of 170? at 170, they'll get cooked, but the pectin won't break down so they won't fall apart,
I think "perfect" is the problem. It's getting to be a bit over used. "in pursuit of perfection" and it has not stopped. I'm not sure how perfect a french fry has to be. It should be as good as it can be but it's probably not a good idea to conceive the impossible or strive for it. How many "perfect roasted potato" recipes have we seen? They conjure up notions of potato chip crispy crusts and creamy centers. But can you really do that? No. But you can make very nice roasted potatoes if you follow the rules and that is what should be defined as perfect.
When comes to modernist cooking I think we leave a big thought out. If you've had roasted potatoes made by a high line pro you know what a good potato is. Chances are that pro used conventional methods to make them. No Sous Vide no glucose etc. Just the raw skill acquired after 50 years in the kitchen. Modernists are substituting some of that acquired skill with technology and precise blue printing of the food.. That's a good thing because we can all do better that way. But it may lead us to 'pursuits of perfection' that no one can achieve. Not the pro not the modernist. That leads to frustration and dropping out of the kitchen.
I made these for my father and his partner a few weeks ago. They were easily the best chips I have even made! My dad's partner suggested I could do this "in bulk" and freeze them in meal sized batches ready to go. Well, I did that yesterday. Three batches with Golden Delights and one with Sweet Potato.
I have a question: after the first fry and freezing, can they be oven roasted instead of frying a second time? Will that produce a wildly different result?
Also, do you need to thaw them before the second fry? I did last time but I'm not sure this is mandatory.
Just cook it at a higher temperature and it would be fine
How long can they stay in the freezer between the two fry steps?. seems like a good point to break the process over two days....
i bought a thermometer that was recommended by chef steps but it only measures to 300 degrees. Is there any way of checking if the temperature is in the the high 300 for the last fry. (maybe seeing if something dissolves in the oil)
Well of course I have mad respect for virtually everything you do. And, I am somewhat obsessed with french fries -- recognizing that there are many kinds of french fry out there, and it's hard to declare one or another 'perfect' because people have very different tastes. (As a side point, I find that these days french fries in restaurants are overcooked about 90% of the time; I think it's an artifact of today's obsession with crispiness. When I was a kid, french fries weren't overcooked, and a slightly droopy fry was not a sin.) In any event, I have to admit the fries pictured here to me -- based on my aesthetic of a fry -- are flawed. The reason is they are not uniformly brown. I think that's partly a result of the glucose soak. They also look a little bit on the greasy side. For my an ideal fry is perfectly golden brown -- indeed more like a McDonald's fry. I think it would be interesting to take Kenji Lopez's Serious Eats recipe and take it to the next level: it's still not quite at the level of a McDonald's fry, in my view, but it's pretty good. (For reference, it basically involves blanching in acidulated water for 15 minutes, I do it at 170F but Kenji does it at boil, and then relatively short first fry of 1 minute at 360, and then a second fry for 2 minutes+ at 360 again (actually Kenji uses 375 -- I find a slightly lower temp works better).
Hi Josh, it wouldn't be the same process because they have different sugar and starch content. They'd probably still taste great, but it wouldn't work the same.
Has anyone tried this with sweet potatoes? Would it be the same process?
Has anyone tried doing this with quartered potatoes? to get ultra crispy roast potatoes. Aside for the longer cooking time in the brine is there anything else I should consider? I was thinking about using my sonicating bath to get the edges really puffed up for maximum crispy crustness
Is the only reason to use glucose syrup to "emulate the natural sweetness" of the potato? Also it looks like you are just using russets. Do I really need to spring for Kennenbecs?
I have used this recipe twice now and love it. The first time I accidentally over cooked them, but my son loved my Fluffy French Fries. Today for an unexpected brunch I had to host. I made a new batch into breakfast potatoes, keeping the thickness but cutting down the length. I precooked them, froze them. And then instead of Deep frying a second time. I Sweated some onions and salt, until they started to brown. I then removed the onions, added two tablespoons of oil. and cast iron pan fried the potatoes adding back the beginning to caramelize onions. Fry for three or so minutes until the potatoes and the onions get roasty brown. I make these over night waffles most people go crazy about but today they couldn't stop talking about my potatoes.
18mm? They do not look like 18mm.
After preparing these a few times recently, (by popular request), I can say, without a doubt, this is the best way to cook french fries that I have come across bar none! These are just as good as Heston's and a bit easier. Putting them in the sous vide about three hours before serving allows enough time to freeze them between frying. I omitted this stage on the first attempt, and found it really does make a difference.
They call me "monsieur pomme frite" because I love french fries. I've used chef Blumenthal's ff recipe on multiple occasions and I agree, they are the best I've ever made or eaten. However, using sous vide to cook the potatoes is silly and this technique is not mentioned in the recipe from his book. I learned of this technique of dehydrating the potatoes by freezing while taking an EdX course - The Chemistry of Cooking.
Just did Part 1 and 2 where I sous vided the potatoes (I did them right in the sous vide supreme with no bag) and then deep fried. Now I didn't thick-cut them, I used a French fry slicer so 8 minutes would have been way too long. I did 3.5 minutes before freezing.
I've done a similar recipe before where I boil the fries with vinegar for 10 minutes but the sous vide method is way more consistent and precise.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/potatoes/potato-varieties/agria/eng/1312587385617/1312587385618
Did this tonight, best fries ever.
Used NZ Agria Potatoes with Skin on. Cheers!
Hello!
I'm a fan of lacto-fermenting vegetables and remember reading somewhere that fermenting pre-cut raw potatoes has a magical effect on fries. It firstly improves the flavour (as does fermenting for many vegetables) and secondly the fermentation process eats aways starches/sugars that usually burn easily. Thus a lacto-fermented potato chip is more resistant to burning and therefore makes for a better french fries experience.
In theory at least. I haven't tried it yet and like the other Adam below this post, I have difficult getting decent potatoes of any description here in Sydney.
Anyway, I am LOVING Chef-Steps - it's like the super user friendly version of my Modernist Cuisine. Well done all and please don't stop!
Adam // Sydney
Anyone in Australia (Brisbane Ideally) found russet or a similar potato that would work for this recipe? I've tried 3 varieties now, all sub-par results. The best so far I have been able to get is royal blue potatoes.
Should the Fries be added frozen? How long will they last in the fridge instead of freezed?
Just did it without sous-vide machine, i used thermometer and heated all of the potatoes in the brine. After initial frying they already are damn delicious!
The sous vide process just cooks the potatoes. You can certainly do sous vide any number of ways, You don't necessarily need to use a sous vide machine.
Anything that can hold water at a relatively constant temperature can work. These machines just make the accuracy of the process much much more refined. You can even buy small machines that go in some water reservoir for ~$100 USD.
An old crock pot with some type of temperature gauge, and control you could use to adjust the temp appropriately. Or, you could also use a pot of water on the stove. These will just need much more attention.
Attempted this tonight. Had a few questions and a recommendation.
Is the cooking time for the sous vide the time after comes to temperature or after it gets back to temperature. I made a double batch to test both scenarios, and ended up overcooking the potatoes on both occasions. I did cut my fries thinner than the recommended 18mm, which may have lead to the inconsistency.
What is the gas released in the sous vide process. I did water displacement technique to get a vacuum and it looks pretty good. However, as the potatoes cooked there were bubbles in the brine and the top of the ziploc bags was full of air. Was this the Baking soda reacting with the potato somehow?
What is a tolerable amount of temperature drop for the first fry? How quick should one try to get the temp back up?
Recommendation - When I cooked the potatoes there were some that weren't salvageable to be fries. Too small, broken ends etc. I kept these, and will be refrigerating them over night, and plan on making hash in the morning with them. Should be a GREAT texture when pan fried with some butter and bacon fat.
How necessary is the sous-vide step? I'd love to produce fries like this commercially but the sous vide step would make it impractical. Also, how long should the potatoes brine for without the sous vide method?
