Although the origins of the technique for making "French fries" are somewhat murky, the thin deep-fried potato slices are certainly more Belgian than French, as a comparison of touristic food stands in the two countries quickly reveals. Though not the healthiest dish on these pages, it can be less harmful when you make it yourself, using good potatoes and good oil. (Russet potatoes and peanut oil are the standard choices in USA.) To limit oil content further, you can bake the potato instead, but the result is not the same.Deep frying
The net is full of fries recipes, each with a different approach: deep-frying once, deep-frying twice at different temperatures, deep-frying thrice at the same temperature but for different durations, parboiling and then deep frying twice [watch a thorough demo as a confidence booster!], etc. Lacking the desire to conduct a proper scientific experiment (I am sure the gang at Cook's Illustrated has done that already), we went for the middle of the road - double frying - especially because that is apparently what they do at Bouchon.
Peel your potatoes or don't peel them, but do slice them into sticks. Try to make them as regular as possible so they cook evenly. Cut them at least 1/4"/0.5cm thick. Soak the sticks in cold water for about 30 minutes, changing the water a few times to remove the starch.
First, bring your oil to 320F/160C and cook potatoes, in small batches, for ~6 min. Let the potatoes cool as they lie on paper towels which absorb the excess oil. Then, bring the oil to 375F/190C and cook the potatoes again until they brown, ~3 min or more. Again, let them rest on paper towels before serving.
Lacking a proper thermometer, we did the first frying when a test piece dropped into the oil would elicit small bubbles. We did the second frying when a piece would cause vigorous bubbling. This worked, but our times were longer than Thomas Keller's.
- Russet potatoes (1-2 per person)
- peanut oil
BakingThough the recipe we used did not call for it, we still soaked the sticks in water. Preheat the oven to 425F/220C. Mix oil, paprika, garlic powder, and chili powder and toss the potatoes in this mixture. Bake on a sheet or heaped into a small plate for ~50 minutes. To be certain, bite into your thickest slice to make sure it is fully cooked before removing the rest from the oven.
- Russet potatoes (1-2 per person)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder