making good potato chips (french fries)

i want to make a great french fry.. can someone familiar with the process answer a few questions..

what potato type (waxy or starchy)
pre soaked or not?
what fat?
single or double fried?

for context im planning on serving these with steak and pints of ale.

what i do:
-starchy, powdery potatoes, like russet or maris piper
-soak for 15 minutes, pat dry
-peanut oil tastes nice, but is not always economically viable
-always drop them twice, blanch, rest and drain them, drop at higher heat to crisp

also (though not that I really make french fries at home that often) I think a finer salt grind like the grey guerande fin gris makes for a better salt to coat than the rockier meat finishing salts.

Aha, our national dish, french fries with mayonaise -firm potatoes (not mealy) -rinse them before cutting them in slices -cut them in slices of 1cm by 1cm -dry them with a towel (don't rinse them, you'll need the starch to give them a nice golden colour) -first bake 7-8 min @ 150°C; second bake 2-3 min @ 180°C (don't forget to shake them while they bake) -i prefer either 'blanc de boeuf' (melted and filtered beef fat, it's white and firm at room temp but after heating it, it turns yellow/golden liquid) or olive oil Last week, mise en place for a steak tartare with french fries: (these are after the first bake, hence the wihte/yelow colour)

Try spiking the cooking oil with bacon fat. It adds a nice meaty flavor to the fries.

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

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what i do: -starchy, powdery potatoes, like russet or maris piper -soak for 15 minutes, pat dry -peanut oil tastes nice, but is not always economically viable -always drop them twice, blanch, rest and drain them, drop at higher heat to crisp
This is what I do.

Two things not mentioned: they must be absolutely dry before they go into the oil or else you will have a volcano on your hands. Since cut potatoes need to be held in water until they are ready to use, otherwise they will oxidize, this means you need to hand dry them before you fry.

Second, use a big pot of oil. A common mistake people make is to use a pot that is just big enough to hold the fries. The problem with this is, there is not enough stored heat in a small pot, so when you drop the fries in, the temperature will plunge and they won't cook properly. A big pot has enough heat in it to ensure that the oil stays hot after you drop the fries.

Yes, peanut oil is best IMO but any neutral oil is OK.

Cook twice as noted: first time to blanch, second to brown and crisp. Temp for the first fry should be around 300, 350 for the second. They need several minutes the first time but about a minute or two the second time. They should still be quite white when they come out of the oil the first time. The second time, just go by sight. When they look like the color you want, take them out.

Lay them out on paper towels and salt immediately, when you can still see the oil glistening. Give them a good shake and let them cool down a bit.

300 and 350 sound good, I am Oriental, so I just grab a pair of disposable chopsticks from the drawer and use one to stick in the oil til the chopstick tip bubbles 'a little' and try to hold at about 300'ish, and then use the second chopstick til it bubbles 'a lot' so that it's 350-375ish for the crisp.
I have powdered instant fonds de veau so I feel like sprinkling some of that on some hot french fries

Originally Posted by M.D.

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Aha, our national dish, french fries with mayonaise
-firm potatoes (not mealy)
-rinse them before cutting them in slices
-cut them in slices of 1cm by 1cm
-dry them with a towel (don't rinse them, you'll need the starch to give them a nice golden colour)
-first bake 7-8 min @ 150°C; second bake 2-3 min @ 180°C (don't forget to shake them while they bake)
-i prefer either 'blanc de boeuf' (melted and filtered beef fat, it's white and firm at room temp but after heating it, it turns yellow/golden liquid) or olive oil

Last week, mise en place for a steak tartare with french fries:

(these are after the first bake, hence the wihte/yelow colour)

You're baking these these things? Red card, man. If you were frying them, soaking is key, as Manton said, to stop oxidization (the reason restaurants just roll up a bin over the wall-mount fry cutter and drop fries into the water-filled bin immediately) and also because you don't those things sticking together when they're frying. The insides should soften, but you need that slight water vs oil dance to get the outsides crispy and sealed.

300 seems pretty hot for blanching, IMO.

well, an English chip oft times than not resembles a rudimentary pommes soufflà es...

I've tried numerous methods for cooking french fries, from the double-fry, freeze-then-fry, freeze-then-double-fry, saltwater bath-then-fry, et al. They've all been fairly successful. The best and accordingly most ridiculous sounding way to cook french fries at home in my experience comes from Mark Bittman. It's quite simple:

1. Peel and cut russet potatoes to desired length and thickness. Dry thoroughly.
2. Place in medium to deep frying pan or cast iron pot.
3. Fill with neutral high-temperature cooking oil (I use canola) to cover the top of the potatoes.
4. Turn heat on low to medium-low.
5. Cook for approximately 45mins to 1hr until golden brown*
6. Drain on paper towels or brown paper bags. Season to taste.

*Quoted time is for medium-thickness (1/2" to 3/4" steak fries)

Complete anathema. Time and time again we've been taught to always bring the oil to cooking temperature, even slightly above to account for heat dispersion after the potatoes are dropped into the oil. We've been taught that a good amount of oil is essential to heat retention. Bittman's method was so ridiculous that I couldn't resist trying it out. Now there's no other way that I would cook french fries at home for casual meals.

You would think that in this way, the potatoes are simply soaking up the oil. To the contrary, the low temperature allows the potato to cook slowly from within. The temperature rises over the ~1hr period to allow for the development of a crisp exterior at the finish.

I prefer this method for the great quality of the french fry and the overall cleanliness of the process: no large quantities of hot oil and barely if any "oil smell" in the air. It's marginally safer too, without the risk of oil splatter at the initial stage of cooking (if the potatoes are dried thoroughly of course).

I think the main reason why most recipes call for double-frying at high temperatures is because this process is necessary for restaurants where time is of supreme importance. At home, in general, there aren't 50 guests waiting on an order, nor will the oil be reused immediately, so the above method is preferable as well for these reasons.

soak is a must

double fry, give it a rest inbetween on a drainer.

I tried frying and then in a (preheated) oven as an alternative. Worked out pretty well but make sure you use parchment paper.

thanks everyone

im a little suprised i didnt get any suggestions like frying in goose fat from this forum

Originally Posted by Mr Herbert

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thanks everyone

im a little suprised i didnt get any suggestions like frying in goose fat from this forum

I don't know about goose fat, but duck fat is delicious.