Homemade French Fries; Gourmet French Fries Recipe, Easy Delicasies!

Do you love French Fries? Of all the salty foods out there, French fries are my biggest weakness (next to Popcorn that is). And since we are from Idaho; I figured it was about time that we added a recipe with potatoes. I discovered the secrets to making authentic Gourmet French Fries; you know the kind you can only get in nicer or unique restaurants. Such delicious delicacies!And you won’t believe how easy it is!

Ingredients: 

Idaho Potatoes
Frying Oil (vegetable oil usually is the oil that gives the best taste for the best price)
Sea Salt or Seasoned Salt

Directions:

Now I say Idaho Potatoes, because..well..I’m in Idaho! Where else can you get better potatoes than from the Potato State? haha!

You need to wash the potatoes; pealing is optional. In fact it’s more authentic to leave the skins on, but since I’m not a fan of potato skins, I pealed my potatoes.

Next you cut up the potatoes, you can slice them as thick or as skinny  as you like. I prefer the skinny, as it gives more crunch per bite.

Gourmet Trick: Soak sliced potatoes in cold Ice water for at least 30 minutes. This will remove some of the starch, making the fries lighter tasting, but also helps prevent the fries from being so sticky when frying or baking. This is a great trick for any type of french fries, whether baked or fried.

Drain all the excess water off. Now this is where I change things. The Gourmet version is that you then pat dry the fries and fry them in a deep fryer for 3 minutes and remove. Then when you are ready to to eat, you re-fry the fries for another 3-4 minutes…giving a double fried effect. This makes sure that the fries are fully cooked.

A Healthier way (even though it’s not THAT much healthier): after draining the fries from the water, place them on a microwave safe plate and microwave the fries for approximately 4 minutes. This helps cook the fries faster, but also prevents an extra frying which adds a lot of fat and calories to the fries. Then just before it is time to eat, then you fry the fries in the deep frier  for 3-5 minutes, depending on how crunchy you prefer your fries. You will want your frier set at 375-400 degrees. I prefer my fries crunchy and golden on the outside and soft on the inside, so with my frier I had to fry my potatoes for about 4 minutes.

Remove the fries from the frier and scatter out on a paper towel to soak up the extra grease and sprinkle with your choice of salt. If you like a more gourmet flavor, use Seasoned salt; but be sure to take care how much you sprinkle on, as it sticks very well and it is very easy to make the fries too salty. If you like an authentic taste, sprinkle with Sea Salt; this salt doesn’t stick as well, so you can use more than you would with seasoned salt.

Let cool until the fries can be handled by your fingers, or you can use the European method and eat with your knife and fork (yes, I still do this from time to time..I miss Europe quite a bit sometimes). And now Enjoy!

If you are looking for even more flavor options, I found this amazing site over the weekend called Great Party Recipes! They use the same method that we use (how exciting!!), but they have 4 different seasoning options to make your fries WOW your taste buds! Give it a look!