French fries are the ultimate comfort food, perfect served alongside a burger or a grilled steak. You don't have to spend your hard-earned money on a steakhouse meal to enjoy crunchy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside french fries. If you have an electric skillet, some basic kitchen tools and a few ingredients, you can make delicious fries in the comfort of your own home.
Step 1
Scrub your potatoes well but do not peel them. Leaving the peel on creates a crisp texture and, since most of the potato's nutrients are in the peel, leaving the peel on makes your french fries better for you.
Step 2
Cut the potatoes into french fry shapes. The Fine Cooking website recommends cutting potatoes into 1/4-inch thick discs, then slicing the discs into planks.
Step 3
Pour the oil into your electric skillet, and add the potatoes. Turn the skillet on to its highest setting. Adding the potatoes to cold oil, a trick recommended by "Cook's Illustrated" magazine, allows you to use less oil than you'd need if you added the potatoes to already-hot oil.
Step 4
Bring the oil to a rolling boil. Continue to cook the fries, without stirring, for 15 minutes.
Step 5
Stir the fries and continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the fries are crisp and deep golden-brown.
Step 6
Place a double-layer of paper towels in a lipped cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Place a metal cooling rack upside-down on the paper. This increases the contact the paper will have with the fries without allowing them to stick to the paper.
Step 7
Turn off the heat in your electric pan. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fries from the oil and place them on your draining platform. Allow the fries to drain for 2 minutes. Season them with salt to taste and serve hot, with ketchup if desired.
Tips and Warnings
- If any moisture comes out of the potatoes during cutting, pat them dry with a paper towel. You can also use herbs or spices to season french fries.
- Don't use russet potatoes for cold-oil-start frying. They will fall apart if cooked using this method.
Things You'll Need
- 2.5 to 3 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
- Large, deep-sided electric skillet
- 5 cups canola or vegetable oil
- Large lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan
- Paper towels
- Metal cooling rack
- Slotted spoon
- Salt, to taste
References
- "The Doctors Book of Food Remedies"; Selene Yeager; 2006
- Fine Cooking: How to Make French Fries
- ""Cooks Illustrated"; Easier French Fries; May-June 2009
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