[BRussell]

I can't seem to get it right. Cut up potatoes, then put a bunch of oil in a deep pan and put it on the stove. But my fries are really inconsistent - sometimes they seem to oily, sometimes they take forever to cook and sometimes just a few minutes.

I've tried cutting them thinner or thicker, putting them in the oil before it's hot and after, etc. Lately I've even bought frozen fries and fried them up, but it's still hit or miss.

So - any good recipes or just general hints?

[davesimondotcom]

Get a Fry Daddy... handy for hot wings and such too.

Makes a mess though!

[jwoods]

Originally Posted by BRussell

I can't seem to get it right. Cut up potatoes, then put a bunch of oil in a deep pan and put it on the stove. But my fries are really inconsistent - sometimes they seem to oily, sometimes they take forever to cook and sometimes just a few minutes.

I've tried cutting them thinner or thicker, putting them in the oil before it's hot and after, etc. Lately I've even bought frozen fries and fried them up, but it's still hit or miss.

So - any good recipes or just general hints?

The trick is that you have to soak them in a bowl of cold water, set out at room temp. Right before you are ready to fry them, drain the water and dry them with paper towels.

The soaking will remove the surface starch from the fries. You need to dry them to avoid grease splatters when frying.

Fry them at 350-375. Drain on paper towels and salt.

[Il Duce]

Proper french fries are cooked twice. I don't remember the exact temperatures, but I think it's something along the lines of:
- 6 minutes at ~140 C (referred to as blanching)
- Cool the fries for 15 minutes
- 2-3 minutes at 190 to crisp the outer surface

Peanut oil and idaho potatoes are apparently the ideal ingredients

[PacHead]

I make awesome fries, I don't call them French, since they're not, sorry Frenchies.

I make 'em in the Belgian style. I just get some nice potatoes, most likely Idaho, I cut them (not too thick and not too thin) and I cook them in vegetable oil. Don't be cheap with the oil, use half the damn bottle if you have to. Make sure all the fries are covered with oil. Don't put too many fries in the pan. It's better to put fewer in at a time and cook 2-3 batches, if your pan is not gigantic. Depending upon the stove and the heat generated, I'll cook them from 8-12 minutes the first time. When they start getting slightly darker on the outside, I take them out. I put them in a tray with bounty paper and let them soak (sweat) for 45 minutes to an hour. After this they're ready to cook for the second time. They've already been internally cooked the first time, so the second time is to get the golden coating on the outside and make them a little crispy. The temperature the second time should be slightly higher than the first time. The second cooking only needs a few minutes of cook time. Take the fries out, put whatever you want on it, ketchup, mustard, salt, mayo, whatever and eat them.

[vamp07]

It's probably a problem of not enough heat. May I suggest you get a MacBook Pro and place the pan on top of the bottom of the computer. You will need to turn it over while cooking. Definitely don't leave them cooking too long since this setup will be extremely hot but they will come out very crispy.