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Plate of french fries served with a mayonnaise dip and ketchup
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Best Homemade French Fries

Always wanted to make crispy, fast food joint style french fries at home? These are better than the french fries you get outside because you know exactly what goes into them. It takes a few steps but the result is gorgeous golden, crispy fries that can be served immediately or frozen for later so you always have a stash in your freezer.
Course Snacks & Appetizers
Cuisine Continental
Diet Gluten Free
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 288kcal
Author Richa

Ingredients

  • 4-5 medium Potatoes washed
  • ½ Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Vinegar
  • 4 tablespoon Oil for deep frying

Instructions

  • Wash potatoes to get rid of any dirt and starch present. Peel the potatoes & keep them submerged in water, this will prevent them from oxidizing.
  • Cut the potatoes into fries. Cut both the top & bottom tips of the potato & place it vertically on your chopping board and then cut thick slices of it, they should be ¼ inch thick, make sure you cut all the slices evenly. Lay down the slices and cut them into ¼ inch thick fingers. As you cut the potatoes, transfer them to a bowl and keep them submerged under ice cold water for 10-15 minutes.
  • Drain the water and rinse thoroughly to get rid of any excess starch.
  • Keep water for boiling in a pot. Add the vinegar & salt to the boiling water and stir to combine. Add the cut potatoes and blanch for 8 minutes.
    Stir in regular intervals using a spider strainer to ensure it cooks evenly. Remove from the stock pot and place them on a wire rack.
  • Let the potatoes rest for 10-15 minutes or until it comes back to room temperature.
  • Heat oil in a kadai or deep fryer or frying pan. Bring the oil to 200C, keep in mind this is a little hotter than normal frying temperature. Drop in the blanched potatoes and fry for 90 seconds.
  • Remove from the hot oil and transfer it back onto the wire rack and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
  • At this stage you can place them in a ziplock bag & freeze. These can directly be deep fried and treated as packet frozen fries.
  • Heat the oil back to 200°C and add the fries, the temperature will drop to 170-175°C, maintain the same temperature while frying them.
    If you don’t have a thermometer to maintain the temperature, just fry them on a low flame after heating the first two minutes and fry till golden.
  • Remove the fries from the oil and transfer to a tissue lined plate. Toss with salt, pepper or your choice of seasoning and serve hot!

Video

Notes

  • The right way to cut the potatoes: To get the perfect, restaurant-style French fry texture, it is best to cut the potatoes by hand to a thickness of about one fourth inch. Even though the process of cutting them by hand takes time and effort, it helps in maintaining uniformity and ensuring that the fries fry more evenly. You can also use a mandoline for cutting fries if it's sharp. We thought it was a little bit of a struggle
  • Potato variety: Any potato variety works but new potatoes are better for french fries because of their high water content. Using them results in the crispiest fries
  • After cutting the potatoes, immediately soak them in ice-cold water and cover the container. This will remove some of the excess starch (important to get crispy fries) and also prevent the potatoes from turning grey. Dry them thoroughly with a kitchen towel before frying them to prevent splatters. 
  • Make sure to rest the fries on a wire rack only and not on a plate to prevent the fries from getting soggy and limp. 
  • Freezing the fries: These fries freeze well so you can easily make a large batch and store them to be fried later. Half fry and allow the fries to cool down completely. Place them on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place them in a ziplock and store them in the freezer. These French fries stay well in the freezer for up to 3 months. 
  • Avoid overcrowding the pan when frying the potatoes. Overcrowding will bring down the temperature of the oil considerably leading to soggy fries. 
  • If you are leaving the skin of the potatoes on, remember to give them a nice scrub before cutting them to remove all dirt and impurities. 

Nutrition

Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 303mg | Potassium: 897mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2mg