Double-Fried French Fries
By Joe
Source: Serious Eats — J. Kenji López-Alt, Perfect Thin and Crispy French Fries.
A perfect thin and crispy french fries recipe for 4 servings, written from a single tested source, with times and temperatures kept as the source set them.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Bake. Put potatoes plus vinegar in a saucepan plus tip in 2 quarts (1.9L) water plus 2 tablespoons (24g) salt. Bring to the boil over a high flame. Boil for 10 minutes. Potatoes should be fully tender, yet not falling apart. Tip off the liquid and spread upon a paper towel–lined rimmed baking tray. Let to dry for 5 minutes. Heat oil in one 6- or 7-quart Dutch oven or big wok over a high flame to 200°C (204°C) while that is happening. Tip in one-third of fries in order to oil; oil temperature should drop to round 180°C (182°C). Cook for 50 seconds, agitating now and then with a wire mesh spider, next take out to a second paper towel–lined rimmed baking tray. Repeat with leftover potatoes (working in 2 extra batches), allowing oil to return to 200°C after each addition. Let potatoes to cool to room temperature, around 30 minutes. Keep using step 3, or, for best results, freeze potatoes no less than overnight or upwards to 2 months. Return oil to 200°C over a high flame. Fry half of potatoes till crisp and light golden brown, around 3 1/2 minutes, adjusting heat in order to maintain a temperature of round 180°C. Tip off the liquid in a bowl lined using paper towels and season promptly using kosher salt. Cooked fries can be kept hot plus crunchy on a rack set in a sheet tray in a 95°C (90°C) oven while second batch is cooked. Eat at once.
Air-fryer option
sourced: America's Test Kitchen, "Air-Fryer French Fries": America’s Test Kitchen
instead of frying as in the method below, the dish can be made in the air fryer.
- Oil: 1 tbsp oil for each of the two tossings, per batch (the source uses 2 tbsp for 680 g potatoes); the frying oil and the vinegar are not needed
- Air fryer: 177 °C for 13–18 min, then 204 °C for 15–20 min
- Steps:
- 1
For this option, cut the potatoes into 1.3 cm thick sticks (as in the source) instead of 7–8 mm batons. Rinse them in cold water until it runs clear, cover with hot tap water and soak for 10 minutes, then drain and pat thoroughly dry (skip the blanching and frying in steps 2–5).
- 2
Cook in batches that fit in one layer with a little overlap (the source is written for 680 g potatoes; this recipe uses 1 kg, so allow 2–3 batches). In a dry bowl, toss the potatoes with 1 tbsp oil, put them in the basket and air-fry at 177 °C for 8 minutes. Tip them back into the bowl, toss, return to the basket and cook until soft and blond, 5–10 minutes more.
- 3
Toss the potatoes in the bowl with 1 tbsp more oil and ½ tsp salt, return to the basket and air-fry at 204 °C until golden and crisp, 15–20 minutes, tossing them in the bowl every 5 minutes. Season with the finishing salt and serve immediately.
- 1
Storage
Keep well wrapped at room temperature for a couple of days, or freeze for longer storage.
EU nutrition claims
- Sugar-free: 0.3 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 0.5 g)
- Low salt: 0.01 g salt per 100 g (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 460 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- scales
- baking tin or tray
- saucepan
Nutrition per serving Calculated from USDA FoodData Central
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 4026 kcal |
| Protein | 4.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 40.7 g |
| of which sugars | 1.4 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 435.3 g |
| of which saturates | 32.1 g |
| Fibre | 2.9 g |
| Salt | 0.03 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
0.1 g High protein needs ≥ 5 g per 100 kcal (20% of energy) and ≥ 10 g per serving
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
