This is a fine recipe with one exception. The trick to french fries that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside is to first soak then in cold water. Dry thouroughly. Fry TWICE...first a short fry (like blanching vegetables, but in oil), drain and then fry a second time until golden and crispy. This should give the desired results. My friends know I can't eat a soggy fry... and I love fries ;-) ) Happy frying.
Out of curiousity, I divided my potatoes into two batches and soaked one batch in cold water only, and the other in cold water with the sugar added. I must say that the one soaked in sugar water did come out crispier. The difference in the taste was discernible at best, but you can totally tell that one was crispier than the other, so I would suggest that you use sugar as listed in the recipe. Wonderful french fries. Finally I can forget buying thosed frozen ones. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is a keeper.
Planned on fries tonight and decided to experiment. Per Martha S. I've been soaking my potatoes in cold water for at least 2 hours before cooking. I tried cold sugar water, warm sugar water and cold plain water. There was diffinately a difference with the sugar water which my son noticed as well. There wasn't much of a difference with warm or cold sugar water, but our preference was the cold. It just may have been the first batch we cooked. Will be doing the cold sugar method from now on as these were good. At first I didn't think it would work because the potatoes were crisp in the plain cold water and interestingly, the sugar water made the potates softer before cooking.
This is the way to make homemade fries as in a restaurant. It's in the sugar, guys! However... if you want them a bit crispier, here's a trick: first blanch the fries in hot oil for 2 min. Remove, let cool. Return and fry till golden brown.
Okay gang for those who think it's odd to soak them in warm water...well the warm water is merely to dissolve the sugar. After the sugar is dissolved I add some ice and then do the soaking. These fries are the best. I have baked these (spraying with pam & seasoning w/ garlic salt) as well as fried them and they are always a hit. Thanks Lorelei!
Soaking potatoes ahead in warm water with sugar worked wonders, but borrowed technique from Alton Brown by first frying at 320 deg. until potatoes just began to float, removed from oil, and drained then increased frying temperature to 375 deg for a second quick fry (watch the fries carefully - the difference between crispy fries and shoestring potatoes is just very far apart!). Had been looking for a "perfect" french fries recipe for a long time and this one is the closest to perfect yet!
Such lovely crispy fries! I will never use another recipe! The only change I made was that I drained my fries on a paper bag rather than paper towels; doing this makes them not as greasy.
Excellent! The sugar water really does work...I cut my fries very thin because I like them xtra crispy and making them the normal way you pretty much have to cut them very thin to get them crispy...Big mistake when using the sugar water! They were TOO crispy...I cannot wait to make these again...I will just make sure to cut them a lot thicker this time!
I was surprised by how well these fries tasted. I only ate a few (need to lose weight)but my husband inhaled the rest. He said they were the best fries he has ever had (thats a big compliment because he doesn't really like french fries). I followed directions and they came out great but instead of seasoning the fries with salt I used McCormick Grill Mates Roasted Garlic and Herb seasoning. It tasted great on the french fries. So I would suggest instead of just using plain salt on your fries, go to your spice rack and pick out a nice spice mix to put on your french fries. Seasoning salt tastes good too.
OK I see alot of great reviews. Today I experimented with different temperatures and thickness of potatoes. I must be doing something wrong. My fries either came out soggy or soggy and dark. If I kept my temperature at 365 they would burn before the cooked inside. If I lowered the temp. they would be soggy. Please Help!
