French fries are a food that everyone likes. It is one of those complementary dishes that everyone can make because it is very easy: potatoes, oil and a little salt to taste.
What is not so easy is getting them the way you would like: tasty, not too dark golden in color, well cooked and tender on the inside and, above all, absolutely crispy on the outside. And that can be achieved. Now we will explain how.
If you want to succeed and have everyone wait with delight for your unbeatable French fries, you must follow this method and carry out a small action that we will tell you.
From experience, one of the varieties that look best are the Kennebec. If you can’t find them, ask for frying potatoes at the store. Whether you peel the potatoes or not is optional. There are restaurants that make spectacular potatoes with their skin on, and many customers appreciate it. We imagine you like them without skin. Once peeled, cut them approximately the thickness of a finger. You don’t need to add salt to them. The salt goes last.
Pour cold water over the potatoes and wash them so that they lose as much starch as possible, so that the water comes out very white. Starch is what prevents potatoes from being crispy, and that is why it must be reduced. Once drained, dry them with kitchen paper to remove excess water.
If you want the potatoes to be crispy, not stick together or have some sides more toasted than others, the pan (or even a casserole) has to be a little deep. This allows you to add enough oil and for the potatoes to dance, that is, they have enough space, a compact mass is not formed and then it is easier for you to stir them without breaking them.
You have to put a lot of oil. Don’t be surprised if you spend a bottle or more, but don’t worry: the potatoes don’t dirty the oil and you can use it one or two more times. It’s fine if it’s sunflower, which won’t alter the taste of the potatoes as much as olive. Heat it over low or medium heat, but don’t let it get hot or smoke.
The secret to good French fries is to confit them first, that is, to cook them in the oil and soften them evenly. To achieve this, you have to put them at a moderate temperature, low to low, with the pan covered, for about 15 minutes. Let them go stew. After 10 or 15 minutes, check the texture and consistency with a utensil. Lightly touch a potato and if it breaks (or almost), the potatoes are ready for the second phase.
Once we have the potatoes stewed, it is time to give them the final heat stroke to achieve the crispy point. Uncover the pan and turn the heat to maximum (they look better with gas heat). The oil will begin to boil very strongly and you must keep an eye on them.
When you see that they no longer break so easily, begin to remove them very delicately, to make them dance and see which ones begin to turn golden brown.
You can remove the potatoes that are already at the optimal color point with a slotted spoon, onto a plate lined with absorbent paper. You will see that first you take them out one by one, or in small groups, but there will come a time when you will have many at the perfect point, and it will then be time to take them out with more agility.
The time to add the salt is right after leaving the pan, when they are still full of oil. This way, the salt will stick to the potatoes and will not slide to the bottom of the plate. If you wait until the paper has absorbed the oil, what you will salt will be the paper, not the potatoes.
Remember that you should add a little more salt than you consider ideal. In any case, put a salt shaker on the table because there will be those who want them salty.
If you want, in the following video you can see how they are made, more or less as we have explained it to you, with the difference that they remove them between the soft heat phase and the strong heat phase. You can do the test, see what is more rewarding for you.
When you serve the potatoes, you will see that they are very popular due to the short time they last on the plate.
