Recipe: No Fail French Fries

NO FAIL FRENCH FRIES

4 (about 6 oz each) Idaho potatoes (or sweet potatoes), scrubbed and unpeeled
10 cups corn or other vegetable oil
salt to taste

Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/3-inch thick slices, trimming ends and rough spots to make slices even. Stack slices and cut them into 1/3-inch wide sticks. Place potato sticks in a large bowl and rinse them with warm water. Pat potatoes thoroughly dry with cloth or paper towels.

In a 6 or 8 quart Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat to 300 to 325 degrees F on a deep-fat thermometer. Add all the fries and fry without disturbing for 5 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high and heat oil to 375 to 385 degrees F. Fry 2 to 3 more minutes for sweet potatoes and 5 to 7 more minutes for Idaho potatoes, or until golden brown and tender, occasionally turning them with a slotted metal spoon.

Transfer French fries to paper towels to drain briefly. Serve hot, sprinkled with salt to taste.

NOTES:

"When uncooked fries are immersed in hot oil, you may notice spattering and sputtering. This noisy mess is caused when cold or wet potatoes meet hot oil. To minimize the problem, use potatoes that are at room temperature and pat them thoroughly dry after you rinse them.

Wondering why we use two different frying temperatures? To prevent the fries from getting soggy or drying out. The lower temperature cooks the fries and removes just enough moisture so that they have a fluffy texture inside. Then, at the right moment, you turn up the heat to finish off the outsides to a crisp, brown turn."

Servings: 4
Source: Mr. Food's Easy Cooking magazine, May/June 2000