Homemade French Fries

These are a splurge health-wise and make your house smell like fried food. That’s the downside.  The upside is that they taste great and you can play around with different seasonings to sprinkle on them, although just plain salt is good too.  If you want a healthier version, try these oven “fried” potatoes.  But if you fry them at the right temperature they really don’t absorb much oil. I can see how much is left in the fryer when I’m done.

I’ve seen this “trick” written up multiple times, even in the directions of my little Cuisinart Deep Fryer, Brushed Stainless Steel. Basically, cut the potatoes into strips, skin on or off, however thin or thick you’d like them, soak them in water until you’re ready to cook.  Heat the oil. Drain the potatoes and pat dry, then cook a few minutes at 325F or so.  You can do this step ahead of time. They’ll look like this:

When you’re closer to dinner, heat the oil to 375 and fry again, in batches, until cooked to your desired crispiness. Drain on paper towels (or an old dish towel) and salt.  Now they’ll look more like this:

I’m not putting a recipe per se because you can easily adapt this to how many people you are feeding. I find we eat less than a potato each so will cut up 2 potatoes for 3 people.

Rather than just salt, play around with garlic powder, onion powder and paprika if you like a more “seasoned fry” taste.

Serve them with the dipping medium of your choice. We like ketchup but we also like this mayonnaise based sauce.

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