What's the secret to home-made fries?

i just made some (thanks to this thread). i used coconut oil, threw in some garlic. delish.

I make them the way Rex Reed suggested except I use a plastic bag rather than a bowl. Takes less oil that way.

Mom had a home version of a deep fryer and I remember her making them from raw potatoes, just cutting them with a fry cutter, rinsing the excess starch from them, patting dry and then cooking them in small batches. Temperature and oil quality is very important.

Also remember the oil temperature drops considerably when potatoes are added so don't get impatient and add then too early and be sure to give the oil time to come back up to temperature between batches.

My mom always said that her dad's were the best she'd ever had, and his thing was to dip them in ice water before frying.

Cheeseburger in Paradise in Hawaii has some of the best fries; they're not cut evenly, the outside is crisp, and the inside is soft. I'm not sure how they accomplish this "magic," but they're about the best I've ever eaten.

Once you master the deep frier then try homemade eggrolls too. :p

I agree with Butrflynet, the secret is keeping the oil at the optimum and continuous temp to brown them without over or under cooking the center and surface. This is hard to maintain in a small vat of oil. This is why most people don't make fries at home because of the large volume of oil needed to keep the temp up once the fries have been dropped in. She is right small batches work best.

Ohhhhh yeah
those are amazing.

I have egg roll wrappers in the freezer as we speak, and have previously looked up some recipes.. I won't deep fry them, might shallow saute, or oil brush/roast, will have to fool around with it. And then I've also got a slew of pot sticker recipes awaiting my attention, probably some combo of steaming and quick-saute of the bottoms..

The trick to making them crispy is the double frying. This is how we did it in the restaurant:
1. Fry them once until they just start to turn brown.
2. Cool completely. Doesn't matter how long, just so the inside is cold when you fry them again. This is the secret to crispy.
3. Fry again till they look done.
Crisco will work very well.
Hint: Toss in a large salad bowl with a little salt AND black pepper, for best flavor.

Do you mean chips?

Use a little bit of bread to test the temperature of the fat.

It's ready for the chips when the bread is browned and sizzling.

O'Bill's got it. The trick is to fry them the second time at a hotter temp. I'll look up the directions and be right back.

Here's a link. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_23715,00.html

The cooking times depend, of course, on the thickness of the fires. We alsways soaked them in water first and dried them thoroughly, so there's no spatter.

Thank you, O'Bill. I didn't cook them the first time long enough for them to turn brown, though... just 2 - 3 minutes. They're in the fridge cooling down. I'll cook them again just before dinner. I don't have any way of turning up the heat - the burner's already on Max. Thanks for your help.

And thanks, Swimpy, too. I've got Russets and Yukon Gold. Will let you know which is better.

Oh my.

Will you come over and cook for me?

Wow, what a lot of trouble! I just stop by McDonald's on the way home. Theirs are the best. They seldom make it all the way to the house.

How far is it to a McDonald's, Mame?

Sorry, darling, I already had Chinese.

Swimpy's right about the rinsing though. I should have mentioned that as well... though the drying isn't terrible crucial... wet just means messier, but won’t affect the flavor. Also in the basics department; if you fill your pot more than 2/3rds full, have a fire extinguisher handy and plan on using it.

The best? You poor, poor woman...

Well, since you're not here to cook for me, Bill...

Actually, I'm not alone. McD's fries are so popular they now have french fry stands in amusement parks.

First, you need a home

I mentioned this thread to a friend of mine today and he said he had just had some sweet potato fries than he really enjoyed. BTW I am sure you all know but cut off the green part of the potato it is bad for the health.