Homemade French Fries

I was convinced to give a new method of making homemade fries a chance, and I have to say, what a breeze!  Easy peasy!



Into a Dutch oven, add 4-6 cups of high smoke point oil (quantity depends on how much potato you want to fry up and the size pot you use - you'll need enough oil to just cover the potato sticks).

Scrub and dry 3-4 large yellow fleshed potatoes.  Cut into 1/4" planks, then into 1/4" batons.  Trim off thin edges to avoid burning (no need to be too particular).

Add batons to COLD oil, turn on heat and bring to a boil, ~5-6 minutes.

Continue cooking for 15 minutes or until potatoes look tender and semi-pale.  Do not disturb by stirring.

After 15 minutes, gently stir fries, carefully checking for any that might be sticking.  Continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes, or until fries have turned a scrumptious golden brown.

Swiftly remove from heat with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined platter, and season to your liking.

Why the cold oil, which seemingly goes against traditional wisdom?  In a popular test kitchen, it was proven that this method actually reduces the amount of fat that saturates the potato (and it's actually safer to fry this way) without losing the tenderness and crunch factors.

Having used this method now three times (with smaller Heron Pond yellow and, here, larger Riverside yellow fleshed potatoes), I can say it is fool proof!  No more multi-step frying processes for this cat.

And, the best part is, potatoes actually purify oil, so my 4+ cups got strained right back into a glass bottle when I was finished (after it cooled, of course), and will be perfect for another batch, or any other food item, perhaps fish chuncks for a classic fish and chips din-din!  Yum!