Homemade French fries

I don’t make homemade French fries that often. Frankly, I’m perfectly content with Ore-Ida. However, every time I make these I think, Why don’t I make them more?

Tonight, I had a potato that needed to be cooked (I’m guessing it was only a couple of days before reaching that stage where it transitions from pantry item to fun science project) so I decided it was the perfect time to fry it up and share my technique on the blog.

Ingredients

1 baking potato

Vegetable oil

Sea salt

Coarse ground pepper

Directions

Fill a heavy skillet about 1/3 of the way with vegetable oil. Turn on medium heat, much lower than where you’d normally set it for frying.

Slice a potato up to your liking. Want extra crispy pieces? Cut them thinner. Want skins? Leave them on. There’s no right or wrong way to do this. I like to cut mine a little unevenly. I’m not sure if this makes them rustic or me lazy.

Once the oil is warm but not super hot, add the potatoes for their first fry. There will be very little, if any, sizzling going on. Let them cook in the oil for 5-7 minutes and then remove onto paper towels.

Turn the oil up to medium high and let it get good and warm for about 10-15 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready to go if you drop a French fry in and it rises quickly to the top. (Note: If you aren’t ready to finish your fries yet, you can turn the oil off until you are ready. It won’t hurt to wait an hour or more.)

Add the French fries carefully and cook 10-12 minutes or until desired crispiness.

Drain on paper towels and season generously with sea salt and coarse pepper. Serve with ketchup.