For those of you who didn’t read my Red Bliss Potato blog post, you may not know that potatoes are my favorite food. Above all else in the world - it all comes down to potatoes for me. And who doesn’t love French Fries?!?? But there's French Fries and then there's Fancy French Fries with Garlic, Butter & Parmesan. I have made so many French Fries in my life and I have to say this recipe is the best of them all.
Why Can't I Make Awesome French Fries? You Might Ask.
You know when you're craving French fries so you slice some potatoes and fry them in a pan? And then they taste okay, but they're not great? That describes most of my French fry making in life. I used to go outside my house when I wanted French fries. But I have now discovered I don't need to do that. I finally caved and tried the double fry method. It's a game changer. This is why I never made awesome fries at home. Double. Fry. Method.
There is also some soaking that needs to happen. This is another reason my French fries never tasted that great. After you cut the fries, they need to soak in water for a minimum of two hours and overnight is fine too. When I made the French Fries for this video, my fries soaked for 4 hours and they were amazing! We need to get some of that starch out of the potatoes so they actually get crispy. So this is why you most likely haven't been able to make awesome fries at home. Oh! And the oil. Must be peanut oil. Really - vegetable oil is okay, but the taste of it feels very specific and I don't always want that. Peanut oil is the other game changer when preparing French fries.
Why You Should Make These at Home
Even though I love potatoes, I am definitely a Little Miss Picky Pants when it comes to French fries. I mean… French. Fries. They are one of the most indulgent things you can eat. And while I love a good fast-food fry - they're not consistent enough for me. The price of fast-food fries is going up and the quality and hot-ness is going down. If I'm paying $3-4 at McDonald's for French fries, they better be fresh and HOT. Often, they are not.
Five Guys fries is another story. They are made to order every time and they are always hot and fresh and awesome, albeit waaaaayyyy too salty. But I mention them because of the hand-cut factor. This is what sets truly great French fries apart from the rest. What you get in a restaurant is most likely put together in some kind of food factory, mass-produced, stuffed into bags and frozen.
We can buy russet potatoes at the grocery store pretty cheap and who doesn't have frying oil around? And cheap, store-bought shaker cheese for spaghetti nights? It's never been easier or more cost-effective to make your own French Fries at home. So what are you waiting for?
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Fancy French Fries with Garlic, Butter & Parmesan
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
I’ve cracked the code for the best French fry you’ll ever eat. Soak potatoes in water. Double fry them in peanut oil. Butter, garlic, parmesan. Crispy, buttery, garlicky insanity!
NOTE: prep/cook time is not including the water soaking time.
Ingredients
- 3 large russet potatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (optional garnish)
- 1 tablespoon parmesan shaker cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh parmesan (optional garnish)
- Peanut oil for frying
Instructions
- Slice your potatoes into a French fry shape (into sticks) then soak in a large bowl of water for at least two hours and as long as overnight. After they’ve soaked, put them in a strainer and rinse them off a bit. Then lay them out on a paper-towel lined sheet pan to dry.
- Finely dice your garlic.
- Chop your parsley, if using for the garnish.
- THE FIRST FRY. Heat your peanut oil to 300 degrees. How much peanut oil is tricky since I don’t know if you will be using a pot or a pan to cook your fries. I used a fairly deep sauce pan and had about an inch of oil in there. Use your best judgment here. Once the oil is ready, start (carefully) adding your fries. Three large russets made a lot of fries so I cooked mine in two batches. Cook the fries for 4 minutes, then remove them from the pan and put on a wire rack on top of a sheet pan. At this point, the potato should be tender, but no browning on the outside.
- Let the fries sit out on the wire rack for 30 minutes before you start the second fry.
- THE SECOND FRY. Heat the peanut oil to 350 degrees for the second fry. We want to get these fries nice and crispy. Cook them in batches again for 4-5 minutes per batch until they are golden brown (See video – it shows the whole process). Once cooked, lay them back on the wire rack on top of sheet pan and salt to your taste.
- Melt butter in a small pan and cook the garlic for a minute or two, until fragrant.
- Put all your hot fries in a large mixing bowl. Pour the butter and garlic on them and give a good toss around the bowl. Add your parmesan shaker cheese here. To make things extra fancy, serve on a platter with fresh grated parmesan and chopped parsley to garnish. Serve IMMEDIATELY. Really. There’s a shelf life. They must be eaten right away.
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