Home Fries Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to homemade french fries? ›

Before all that, though, the secret is to briefly poach them in boiling water (or "blanch" them) before they go into the hot oil. This ensures that the fries are cooked all the way through before getting crisped up in the fryer.

Hash browns (or hashbrowns and hashed browns), are traditionally shredded potatoes that are pan fried to a golden brown. Home fries are made from cubed or diced potatoes. They are fried up along with onions and often bell peppers. Hash browns and home fries are staple items of breakfast restaurants around the country.

Served as a side dish, appetizer, or snack, cottage fries are potatoes (preferably Russet, but more on this below) cut into 1/2-inch rounds, seasoned, and roasted in a hot oven until they're crisp and lightly browned on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

This step is commonly missed in making homemade fries, but it might be one of the most important! Soaking your fries in cold water helps remove excess starch, which allows for crispy, golden fries! The cold water bath also helps the french fries retain their shape and contributes to a fluffy inside.

What sets them apart from other crispy potatoes you might have encountered is the cooking process, which involves parboiling the potatoes before crisping them in a skillet. This allows for some of the starch to cook off, while also adding a big dose of flavor thanks to the salted water.

The homemade version has fewer carbohydrates and calories, and less fat, saturated fat and sodium. The higher fat content of McDonald's fries is most likely due to deep fat frying or even some pre-frying done before the fries are shipped to the restaurant.

typical home fries recipes can lead to overload of salt and oil, which can clock in at 360 calories, 19g Total Fat, and 600mg sodium per 1 cup serving.

Most often they are round and smooth or crinkle cut. The name "cottage fry" comes from their likeness to shingles on a cottage when arranged in neat rows. They also have country roots, and the term cottage fry is the perfect reminder of this.

Don't stir the potatoes around too much, otherwise they won't get crispy. You know the potatoes are ready to stir when you can easily pick one up with your spatula or tongs and it doesn't stick to the pan. If it's still sticking, it likely hasn't developed enough of a crust to release naturally.

If they are still not crispy you might have skipped a step or you might not have let them cool down sufficiently. Make sure to cool them in a single even layer and also make sure that the oil has the right temperature. Or maybe you've used the wrong potatoes to make them.

Why does baking soda make fries crispy? ›

But to give you the Cliff's Notes version, the baking soda alkalizes the water. It breaks down the pectin in the potato and brings the natural starches up to the surface. This, when combined with the pot shaking, contributes to deep browning and ultra crunchines that we're looking for.

Dip potato fries into egg whites. Do not overcoat. Place coated potato onto sprayed baking sheet. Sprinkle spice on potatoes. BAke 40-45 minutes until crispy.

The Fairy Fries are thin, crisp match sticks bursting with flavor from lemon, rosemary and a crunchy coarse salt. These fries are addicting!

The Essentials

Classically, Disco Fries are crisp cheese fries smothered in gravy. “It only works if you use good gravy,” he said. As for queso, mozzarella is the go-to cheese.

Simmering the fries in water washes away the excess sugars that can cause the fries to brown too much before they have a chance to properly crisp up when frying. The water also activates the starches in the potato. Starch, when fried, is what creates that crispy surface we want!

The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.

Make sure that you soak the potatoes for at least 2-3 hours. Soaking the sliced potatoes in cold water is one of the main steps to prepare perfect French Fries. The cold water removes the starch present outside the potatoes so that you get perfectly crispy fries.

And generally speaking, restaurants fry their french fries twice: once at a lower temperature to cook the inside of the fry, and then a second time at a higher temperature to brown the exterior.